It was a necessary – but perhaps a final – meeting with a new client. And so, another trip to Marshfield was scheduled, along with dinner at a Mexican venue: El Mezcal. If you have followed me at all through the years, you know that Mexican food is a favorite of mine, as well as one of Lauren’s. We were both looking forward to our meeting, as well as dinner. A nice thing was that El Mezcal was close to our hotel.
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A Large and Tasty Margarita
We arrived at about 5:30 – on the early side for Lauren and me – but early was good on this occasion. We had an early appointment on Monday and needed to be ready for more windshield time after that in order to avoid potential storms heading our way. The restaurant was fairly empty and we were seated almost immediately. Almost as quickly, our waitress arrived with a big basket of warm tortilla chips and some salsa for dipping.
Normally I’d have been concerned about a lack of diners but, for some reason, not this time. Besides, it was a Sunday, and we had put in some serious windshield time today. It was time to relax, take many moments to enjoy the chips, salsa, a large and tasty margarita, and check out the menu.
Order In!
The menu was chock full of great selections – from appetizers to desserts. And, as usual, a decision was difficult for me. But not for Lauren or our guest. Mel immediately announced that his choice was the Tacos de Pescado (Fish Tacos: three haddock fish fillet tacos, topped with cabbage, grilled onions, and “our secret sauce” and served with Mexican rice and beans – $14.75).
Lauren wanted the Taco Salad (Crispy flour tortilla with chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, and sour cream,– $12.99). I finally decided on the Burrito Fajita Bowl (homemade Mexican rice and beans bowl, topped with flame-roasted vegetables, a mix of chicken and steak, and served with sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, and shredded cheese – $13.75).
Enjoyable Evening
The overall experience was good. Our server was polite, professional and prompt, and checked several times to see if we were in need of anything. She took very good care of us. On the other side of the coin, Lauren’s tortilla shell was overdone and the lettuce was “kinda tired”, Mel’s fish were way overdone, and my Burrito Fajita Bowl was enough to have fed the entire table, and there was way too much rice in it. I’m definitely not complaining about that, but… And, in Lauren’s words, “the plate presentations were a bit clumsy.”
Final Thoughts / Bottom Line
I did take a huge portion of my dinner back to the hotel – I don’t know why… Bottom line here is that both portion and quality control seemed to be a bit lacking that evening. Other than overly large portion size all around (everyone took a to-go container with them), It was an enjoyable evening at El Mezcal. If we need to go back to Marshfield, I believe that another stop at El Mezcal would be in order. I rate El Mezcal restaurant at 3 Zins.
Your Table is waiting…
Ralph Pancetta
Location of El Mezcal
El Mezcal Restaurant is located at 2312 N Central Ave in Marshfield, WI. They also have locations in Wisconsin Rapids and Wausau!
Lauren’s Links
- Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless (Amazon book)
- Dos Sueños Mexican Hand Blown Glass – Set of 4 Hand Blown Margarita Glasses
