Hacienda
Our next adventure in Mexican dining takes us to Hacienda on Debarr. I just can’t get over how many Mexican restaurants there are in Anchorage…ok, it’s stupid, but it’s little things like this that almost make me think Anchorage was developed with me in mind! How’s that for being a bit egocentric?
Hacienda was recommended to us by the guy who rented us the storage place for our trailer, a talkative fellow, who, like so many people we meet here, hails originally from within a 300-mile radius of our origin in Cleveland. In this case, Indiana.
I digress. Hacienda is a smallish, but very nicely appointed restaurant in a small shopping strip on Debarr. I do have a soft spot for Mexican restaurants in shopping strips, as our dear La Fiesta originated in such a location. Anyway, I was very impressed with the décor; very nice booths, very nice-looking tables and chairs, everything Mexican themed, well-lit, and in nice condition.
Chips and salsa. This was the second time in Anchorage that we were served somewhat thick chips in an elongated/skinny triangle shape, as opposed to an equilateral triangle. Wonder if this is a trend up here? No matter, they taste just as good. Hacienda served two types of salsa. The mild was very flavorful and delicious. The hot was quite hot and enjoyable; Tim felt it didn’t have as good of a flavor as the mild and he wasn’t overly excited about it on that count, although the heat level was right on. I really enjoyed both salsas.
Margaritas were quite large. I’ve learned so far that the Mexican restaurants here are really generous with the size of their drinks and the alcohol content, so I’ve had to (after my initial head-spinning experience at La Mex) resign myself to just one drink on these little outings. Hacienda’s margaritas were quite tasty and served in the traditional tacky salted glasses. Nothing extraordinary about them, but they did the trick.
The food was pretty darn good; actually bordering on exceptional, really. I had one of their special dinners, consisting of tiny pieces of tender steak in a delicious spicy sauce with onions and cilantro, wrapped in warm flour tortillas. The name of the dish escapes me, it is near the bottom of their list of special dinners, and is called something like Carne Advocado; I’m sure that’s not the exact name, but it is something like that. Be aware that there is also a similar sounding dish higher on the list, this is the one near the bottom of the list. Rice and beans were typical; nothing out of the ordinary. The meal was garnished with a cooked jalapeno pepper, which was also delicious and a nice added touch.
Tim had a chili releno, which he felt was probably the best chili releno he ever had anywhere. The flavor of the pepper was obvious and delightful, and the breading was not mushy, which is a problem many places seem to have with chili relenos; I took a bite, I have to agree it was delightful. Tim also had a pork enchilada with green sauce, which was good and tasty as well.
We were enjoying ourselves so much here, we actually ordered a dessert to share. Of course, at a Mexican restaurant, that had to be flan. It was very good, and nicely presented on the plate with some decorative whipped cream flowers.
Oh, haven’t mentioned the service. It was perfectly fine, attentive and friendly. Helpful too, as I asked the waitress to recommend a dinner selection from the two I was considering. She obviously got it right, I really enjoyed my selection.
We really were impressed with how good the food was here. We heartily complimented the staff on the food quality, and will likely be back. Tim only felt that the hot salsa flavor could stand improvement; I often like to see more exotic menu items available to try (nothing earth shattering here, and no mole sauce or spinach enchiladas), but this is nit-picking. The quality of the food that is on the menu will surely have us coming back.
Overall rating for Hacienda: 4
(Ratings are 1-5; 1=ick, 3=average, 5=yumyumyum!)
Ambiance: 4+
Waitress: 4
Chips and salsa: 4-
Menu options: 3+
Food tastiness: 4+