I love living in the States because groceries and restaurants are so cheap! I can eat a nice meal out two or three times a week and still come out ahead in my budget.

I’d heard about Paso del Norte restaurant back in my south Surrey days two years ago. It’s funny how I spent four months living on the border with Blaine and never once came across. Not sure why! It reminds me of tales told by friends who grew up in west Berlin of their first adventures across the fallen Wall and discovering a whole other world on the other side.

Paso del Norte has a menu that compares to other American ‘Mexican’ restaurants as well as a few offerings, like fajitas, found at Tex-Mex establishments. They also have an ‘American’ menu with burgers and the like. I had my ‘usual’, a chicken burrito, and I really don’t know how to assess the meal beyond it being ‘adequately delicious’. These restaurants are starting to all resemble themselves!

Let’s start with the chips and salsa. The chips were, by far, the best I have ever had; light, crispy, non-greasy, and with only a hint of salt. I didn’t like the salsa, but that’s only because it was heavy on the cilantro, an herb that just does not agree with me. I didn’t have much time to tuck into the chips since my dinner was in front of me in mere minutes!

The burrito was flavourful and I appreciated the all white meat filling and the generous portion of melted cheese and sour cream on top. The refried beans were yummy! Some places just mush up beans, but these had some seasonings. The tomato rice was plain, which worked well with this meal since the other sides were so flavourful. Finally, there was some savory coleslaw. I prefer my coleslaw sweet, but I don’t turn my nose down at the savory kind! Everything was portioned American-style: huge!

I had a margarita with my meal. Tequila isn’t a favourite of mine, so I like margaritas in small doses. Tonight’s special was a 6oz margarita, which is a perfect size for me. I’m not a connoisseur of such things, so all I can say is that I liked it!

Dinner came to a mere $12.75. Turns out their Monday 6oz margarita is 99 cents!!! Guess who’s only going back to Paso del Norte on Mondays? 😀