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| - Best red chili in town. Others have beat me to it, and it's no wonder. Norteno has been serving simple Tex-Mex with local flair since 1981. It's not much to look at, for sure. After driving by for so many years, I finally gave it a whirl and ordered take-out for five to sample its many specialties.
What overwhelms is that it is home made, right there in that little building. You have to wonder how they do it, but damn! Sorry, Sylvia's. You've been de-throned.
My tastes included the red chili beef chimichanga, then smothered with more of the delicious rich red sauce. Even fried, the flour tortilla was somehow still moist and the minced beef melted like butter in my mouth. I added rice and beans like any gringo should. Yeah, the cheese on the beans was not melted by the time I got home, but how could it be? And unfortunately the stock used in the rice was not fresh, possibly cubed or powdered because its taste was explosive in some bites, absent in others. Rice was overcooked, but it was freshly made, not served for days and days after the batch was made like other places... nice.
The salsa was not the usual "picktwosyllables"-berto's watery vinegar, but its ground chili was brilliant. Makes a great addition to any dish: douse heavily for best results.
Norteno makes their own chorizo, and it does not disappoint. Difficult to get excited about toenails, snouts, lips and assholes, but it's Mexican Spam, and it's home made!
The only puzzle for me is that after almost 30 years they haven't got their act together for a proper dining area or a better location. Diners must take orders to go, or sit in the lean-to at tables and seating from Kyoto Bowl under bad florescent lighting. I think the owner's going over to My Florist to have a look at the space. A bit much glass for me, but it's close to her original location anyway.
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