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| - Without trying to name-drop, I happened to be chatting with a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court at some legal-social event recently, and he recommended that I try this restaurant as it was a long-time favorite of his. Who am I to dare ignore a personal recommendation from our state's highest court? So I went, and as we were eating I spotted yet ANOTHER Supreme Court justice walk in with who I guess was his wife. It turns out, apparently, that El Portal has long been the favorite of many appellate judges in Arizona. I'm frankly embarassed I never knew about it before, because it's one of the closest Mexican restaurants to where I live.
Setting my celebrity-stricken bias aside, this is a cool little Mexican dive with a nice, welcoming, cozy atmosphere inside. If you're a staunch Republican, you might cringe as you walk in because it appears that this is an unofficial headquarters for the Democratic Party of Arizona. There's a huge Hillary Clinton campaign sign inside, along with a projection of Mayor Gordon's campaign website on one of the walls, oddly enough, plus other political/Democratic signage.
The food was good, and I liked the salsa which had quite a kick to it.
From everything I can tell, El Portal clearly qualifies as a genuine Phoenix institution.
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