Tag: Mexican Cuisine

Habanero- A Tex-Mex Culinary Experience

The moment someone says Mexican, I imagine cowboy hats, a raw appeal, some Guns and Roses type music and Nachos! So it was about time we explored this Tex-Mex Restaurant & Brewery in our very own Goa, and hence Habanero happened. Living up to its name, Habanero, which means North America, looked every bit Mexican. I especially loved the vibrancy of the place, the bold colors of lamps and those big Mexican hats adorning the tables. It has a picnic table kind bench seating, which gives it a very appealing look overall. You feel as if you have entered a happy zone and this seating enhances the experience. They usually have live performances quite often and there is a decent size stage where it happens. Unfortunately for us, it was only instrumental music, but anyway the place seemed lively enough. As we settled down, the first thing we did was to pick up those hats and of course, pose and get some pictures clicked 🙂

 

The lady manager at the Restaurant was a very warm person and came forward to both welcome us and then also suggest the must-haves. So going mainly by her choice we ordered:

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Starters

Macho Nachos, Chicken

Fully loaded with chicken, tomatoes, beans, jalapenos, olives, melted cheese, sour cream and guacamole, these were simply the best. Rated amongst their signature dishes, I would say it does full justice to it. I have eaten loaded nachos at a lot of places, but topping it with sour cream and guacamole was an add-on that I had just at this place.

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Sesame Shrimp Lime Tostada

Lightly grilled shrimps, cooked with a sesame lime sauce on a bed of lettuce leaves and salsa on a crispy tortilla, it made for an interesting dish. Totally worth indulging.

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Chipotle Chicken Skewers

I totally loved these, grilled chicken chunks in sweet and spicy chipotle sauce. The first bite may feel more on the sweeter side, but as you eat, you feel the chipotle spices doing the work. I quite enjoyed this sweet and spicy combination.

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Drinks

Bloody Mary

Pineapple Mojito

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Beer Sampler

There were 3 beers served as a part of the sampler, IPA, Lager and Mango Wheat, of all three I liked Lager the best. IPA was ok, but the Mango Wheat did not leave me with any mango flavor.

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Main Course

We were so full with the starters, that main course almost confused us. We glanced through the entire menu, shifting choices between Burgers, Tacos, Mexican Rice Bowl and Pork Ribs. All of them seemed appetizing enough to order, but we weren’t sure if we would be able to finish. Hence after a lot of deliberation, we settled for a Mexican Thali. Yes, even Mexican menu has a thali, though reading the word thali with Mexican food, didn’t quite gel well for me, but it made me all the more curious to see what was it all about and how was it served.

Well to be honest, when I saw the thali, I was disappointed. I understand that thali concept basically means getting to try a little bit of everything and we are normally used to seeing traditional thali’s in many cuisines, but with Mexican, all I expected was at least a different presentation. A typical steel thali with compartments didn’t do justice to this cuisine. I was quite put off with that, the food did not look appealing at all presented that way, neither did it look Mexican. It’s my heartfelt suggestion to the management, that even though the concept is great, it would be better it items are presented in some other manner, more like a combo than a thali. Taste wise the food was very Mexican and alright, but the presentation kind of ended the game for me, as far as the main course was concerned.

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Desserts

Fried Ice Cream

This was nicely done, but the outer covering does have a scope of improvement, it should be slightly thinner, the quoting was too thick.

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Tres Leches Cake

This definitely was a very soothing experience, both of the eyes and the mouth. It looked beautiful and tasted equally good. Again a small suggestion here would be to not sprinkle too much of cinnamon powder on the cake, as it takes away the subtle taste of buttercream cake dipped in milk.

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Overall the experience was not very great but wasn’t bad either, it was good, and I can surely give another chance to the place because I enjoyed the starters and my drinks.

 

Habanero Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Jon’s Head Grill- Restaurant Review

I recently visited this vibrant yet quaint place in GK-1 M block market called Jon’s Head Grill. It was a bloggers table organized by my foodie friend Vaishali. Do check out her food journey on Facebook.

It’s a perfect hangout place, if you are looking at spending a chilled out time with your family or friends.

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Now coming to the food, it offers a wide range of multi-cuisine food from Italian, Mexican to American. Here are some of the things that I tried:

Chicken Nachos: Amazing and fully loaded nachos with oodles of cheese, chunks of chicken, beans, queso & jalapeno served with pico, sour cream and guacamole. This one surely makes for a perfect evening snack. It really was very satisfying.

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Triple Way Non-Veg: A combination of chicken rolls, chicken wings and chicken sausages, this platter can be any non-vegetarians delight. I dint like the sausages much, but the rolls and wings were really worth trying.

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Cajun Spiced Fish: Seasoned white fish fillet, grilled to perfection, is served on a bed of rice with some seasonable vegetables. This dish is a complete meal in itself and definitely a must try on the list. The flavours are mild; the dish is simple, yet wonderful.

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Grilled Chicken Platter: This is basically the chicken version of the above-mentioned dish, where marinated grilled chicken breast is served on a bed of rice with seasonal veggies. This was equally good, and those who don’t prefer fish can settle for chicken without compromising on the taste. By the way they also have a cottage cheese version for my vegetarian friends, and trust me as a dish it was heavier than the non-veg one, as two big pieces of cottage cheese on bed of rice, make it too filling. My suggestion, share it with your friends 🙂

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Chicken Supreme Pizza: A thin crust pizza loaded with barbecued chicken, mushrooms, peppers and jalapeños. I really liked this one. It tasted great and all pizza lovers must try.

Chilli Barbecue Chicken Pizza: This pizza was loaded with spicy chili barbecued chicken with some green bell peppers and onions. This one had a slight Chinese taste twist to it, but Chinese being my favorite, I loved this pizza as much.

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Chicken Pasta: They serve pasta as per the choice of sauce, alfredo, pesto or marinara. We opted for the creamy alfredo sauce and it was yumm. Served with two toasted garlic breads, the pasta was creamy, saucy, and cheesy with loads of chicken. Sounds orgasmic isn’t it, tasted good too. Go for it.

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Burgers: They have some amazing variety in burgers and I am sure any kind of burger you are fond of, go to this place. You name it and they have it. We tried the Bacon Burger, a seasoned lamb patty, grilled perfectly with smoked bacon, cheese, mayo, tomato wedges, lettuce and pickle, this burger was heavenly. My mouth waters as I write about it. This is definitely a must try. The next was the Ranch Burger. One can select the option of patty from chicken, lamb and vegetarian. This one comes with barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, mayo, onion rings and shredded lettuce. This was as amazing as the bacon burger. And after tasting these two burgers I can easily say that it makes a good burger joint for sure.

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Chicken Dimsums: Well nothing too great here, this was the only disappointment. The dough of the dimsums was very sticky; in fact it was breaking down and sticking to the bottom of the sheet upon lifting it up. The filling too was just about OK. All in all a very regular sort of a dish, I won’t really recommend it unless you just cant do without dimsums for a day.

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Desserts: Chocolate Pastry and Brownie was served for desserts, the pastry was simply amazing, dense, chocolaty, super moist and delectable. It’s a must have for all chocolate lovers, and those who don’t like chocolate, try this one and you may start liking it for good. The brownie was good too, though could have been a little more fudgy and gooey, but still can give it a try.

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Drinks: I tried the Jon’s Head Raspberry Classic Margarita and it was nice and refreshing.
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Overall I loved my foodie experience at Jon’s Head and I recommend giving it a try for sure. It is definitely a food joint worth visiting, you wont be disappointed.

 

Jon's head Grill Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato