| rev:text
| - I started going to Elmer's when I was in high school. Back then, it was a stand over on the corner of Erie & AZ, where the oil change place is now. It's a couple (okay a few ... okay MANY) years later, and I'm still going there. I will admit that I have an extra-special affinity for Elmer because he kept my little sister fed in high school "on account" when she spent her lunch money on various and sundry pharmaceuticals. He's a good guy, and his little taco stand is an institution. I used to stop for breakfast and have a butter tortilla with sauce, which was just that - a simple flour tortilla warmed up, buttered, spread liberally with Elmer's killer sauce and folded in fourths. It's making me hungry just writing about it! His offerings are pure comfort food for me (as well as a lot of other Chandler residents!).
Elmer's serves solid, inexpensive "kitchen" Mexican. It's way casual. You queue up in line (along with a couple of teenagers, a sunburned 20-something with wet hair and a t-shirt over her bathing suit, a city worker, and a mom with a couple of toddlers) place your order, pay, then move aside and wait for your food. Indoor seating consists of Formica booths, and outside there are some concrete patio tables with umbrellas. While you're waiting, you can peruse the bounced checks posted around the register to see if you know any deadbeats, or read the thank you notes from elementary school tours or newspaper articles about Elmer and his restaurant. Unless you have infinite patience and fortitude, don't go at lunchtime during the school year. I love kids - I even made a couple of my very own - but the noise level reaches levels above extreme. That being said, the lunchtime experience can be very enlightening - high school kids today are a little different from high school kids when I was that age (maybe it's all the hormones in our beef?). =)
The menu is posted on the wall behind the register, and embraces the usual cast of characters of burritos, tacos, beans, etc. There are burgers, too, and they're great! Sodas come in large, extra-large and bring a wheelbarrow to carry. There's also horchata and some aqua frescas.
All of Elmer's burritos are good - big, soft flour tortillas wrapped around savory bits of spicy meat and creamy smooth beans. Bring plenty of napkins, a blowout is guaranteed with an Elmer's burro. His cheese enchiladas are equally good; corn tortillas wrapped around melty cheese, covered with a handful of crispy raw onion and rich, flavorful enchilada sauce. But nothing on the menu holds a candle to Elmer's strips. They are the most important thing to order. They're long rectangular strips of corn tortilla, fried to crispy goodness, and served with confetti (yellow and white) cheese. Get a large with extra cheese and extra sauce, cheese on the side. This dish is neither complicated nor gourmet, but it is tasty, satisfying and comforting. Pair it with a bean and cheese with sauce and a large Pepsi, and you've just ordered the meal that thousands of Chandler High School students have treasured for more than 25 years. If you want to really indulge, have them deep-fry the burrito. The combination of greasy, fried tortilla "skin," bubbling hot beans and cheese and that signature sauce is Nirvana.
If you're looking for some chi-chi Mexican food with blue corn and jalapeno foam, Elmer's is not the place for you. If you want comforting food that will more than fill your gut yet not empty your wallet, Elmer's food will fit the bill.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)