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| - It's not very often that the owner of the restaurant is your server. It was kind of funny. At first I thought he was the chef since he was wearing a white chef jacket, but then he came up to us and said, "My name is Carlos and this is my kitchen." He introduced himself AND explained the name of his restaurant.
I kept reading about how specials are posted on a board, but I couldn't find it at first and I didn't want to just get a regular sandwich or burger. I eventually noticed it behind the bar area and for today they had Enchiladas, a Southwestern burger, and a turkey ruben. I asked Carlos what was in the Southwestern burger and he said it had Pepper Jack Cheese,Roasted Peppers Grilled Onion, Lettuce,& Tomato with Chipotle Ranch. I was going to order it, but my mom jumped on that before I did, so I went with the Enchiladas. We both got iced tea that was always refilled once it hit the halfway mark.
While waiting, I took a look around the place. It's definitely Arizona Charlie themed, as Lucy E stated and it doesn't have the best ambiance. When we first walked in, we were greeted by a strong smell of smoke, but we just sat at one of the tables farthest from the bar area and it was fine. The furniture is pretty outdated with some old looking floral print fabric and our table cloth kept trying to fall off. Normally I would knock off some stars for that, but the food + service was outstanding. It seemed like everyone working at Charlie's Saloon was involved in the restaurant. The bartender in the saloon went up to us a few times to see how we were doing, gave us our menus when we just sat down, and asked how the Enchiladas were. When I told him they were great, he said, "That's what I'll be having for lunch. Everything in Carlos' Kitchen is amazing. You could probably throw a dart to pick anything on the menu and it'll come out awesome." Before we even ordered the burger, Carlos said all their burgers are very good. You can tell that Carlos and everyone that works here is very proud of the food.
Carlos came out with our plates. The first thing I noticed was that the Enchilada plate looked a lot smaller than the ones you'd get at Mexican restaurants, but it was the perfect portion. Normally other places will just fill the plate with a bunch of sauce and watery beans, but this plate just had the two Enchiladas in the center and a small portion of beans and rice on the right and left. At first I thought the sauce was going to be overbearing because it looked like there was a lot of it, but it actually had a nice subtle flavor that complemented the Enchiladas perfectly. I'll be honest, I scraped my plate clean. I don't even remember the last time I ever did that, but I couldn't help it. The Enchilada plate was just so yummy and the portion was perfect. It didn't leave me overly full and I didn't have to waste any of it.
I took a bite of my mom's burger and it was good. The patty was very juicy and I actually really liked the Chipotle ranch that was inside. When I took a pic of the burger, it looked like there was A LOT of cheese in it, but the piece I ate didn't have any cheese on it, so I can't really comment on it ruining the burger (http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/w3pRWx5xOnPmmuZL7c9Pvw/l.jpg). My favorite part about that dish was the beer battered french fries. They are soo long, so crisp, and perfectly breaded (http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/Ie6f7x2-KBkbpdbxKJAuRA/l.jpg). I absolutely love their fries!
When we were done with our meals, Carlos talked to us for a while. He told us about how everything they make is from scratch including their soups. They always have a different soup and they just create it from whatever vegetable is in abundance at the grocery store or whatever is in season. He also told us about the New Years Eve Feast they're having for $20.12 (clever, right?). It includes: Mixed Greens with Poached Pears, Bleu Cheese and Champagne Vinaigrette,
Grilled Filet Mignon topped with Two Sauteed Prawns, Eggnog Pannacotta with Brandy Caramel Sauce and fresh Whipped Cream. It's an awesome deal and it's served from 4pm-midnight.
Everything about our experience here today was excellent an I'll definitely be coming back to try out some more of their daily deals and definitely some of their soup!
Tips:
*Carlos' Kitchen has an app that you can download for free! It shows you their daily specials, menus, and restaurant info
*Daily specials are posted on a board on the left side of the bar area. It's next to the kitchen door
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