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Charlotte's restaurant...always consistently great!


gringohombre

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Sometimes we forget the better restaurants for trying new ones and others on your favorites list. I have never had a bad (or near bad) experience here as attested by the many Tapatios you see there. They are on the Libremiento just up from the Laguna plaza and the gas station. You can park in the lot there near the car wash or in front of the restaurant. Have seen some  comments here about the noise and pollution from the highway, but in fact they are set a ways back and this in not a problem. Lori, the most efficient and hospitable proprietor, runs a tight ship and will personally make sure that you are taken care of. I remember when she ran Lake Taco (still my fish and chips take out place). Of course her fish and chips are also great but her menu expands well beyond that. They have a full menu of the normal things but always a large chalk board of daily specials. Also they have a traditional stone Pizza oven and a large choice of toppings on the menu. Just a few days ago I was sitting on the patio and saw many mouth watering pizzas emerging from this oven. However as I joked with Lori, I had to have the special that I found there years ago...the Chiles en Nogada. This is a traditional Mexican dish of a large chili pepper stuffed with ground meat and nuts and topped with a great cream sauce and comes with a fresh vegetable salad topped with avocado slices and a special home made salad dressing. All this for $130 and together with 2 Negro Modelos the tab came to $210. I left a $30 tip and Lori gave me a hearty Hasta Luego! when I left. What a deal!

 

 

 

 

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LOVE this place! We often go 2x or more a week. It's nothing fancy, but it's consistent and good. The noise is a bit obnoxious, but you learn to tune it out...it's worth it. As for the dogs, people stay outside with them and I've never been bothered. If you prefer not to be in a dog-friendly place, fair enough, but I'd hate for others not to even try El Fogon de Charlotte simply because of one comment. If you haven't already tried them, go! I can also recommend the Chiles en Nogada...diet-buster, but omg, so good! ('scuse me while I mop up the drool).

 

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17 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

I have been four times. I have never had a decent meal there. Why is that?

We gave it two tries, sampling four different entrees and disliked all four. We left most of what we were served for the flies on both visits, who owing to numbers probably cleaned the plates before they were bussed. 

I would rather pay $40 pesos to stuff myself at my favorite Chapala taco stand, $53 if I grab a cold Corona at the abarrote across the street and return the bottle after drinking.

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I really like their rib eye steak and end up taking 1/2 home.  And last week their special of cameron tempura with veggies.  It was an enormous plate and again I took a bunch home.  Their clam chowder is good.  What are you ordering that your don't like or is only so-so?

 

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On 8/13/2019 at 1:24 PM, ComputerGuy said:

I have been four times. I have never had a decent meal there. Why is that?

Interesting. We go there close to once a week and have never had a bad meal there. Different strokes for different folks.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 8/13/2019 at 1:24 PM, ComputerGuy said:

I have been four times. I have never had a decent meal there. Why is that?

I went for the first time today and found my chilis en nogada perfect and so large that half was brought home. The salad was excellent and included avocado slices and fantastic dressing, it being served on the side. The beer was cold and came with a frosted mug.

Their location would be great for a tire store. As a restaurant you have to ignore the quite loud road noise.

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Perfect remedy for flies at table: Peel a dozen tangerines (or oranges at this time of year) Save the fruit for a salad. Soak the peels in white vinegar for two weeks. Put the liquid in a spray bottle and spray the table surface. You will NOT be bothered by flies for hours. When you see even one, re-spray and you're good for the rest of the night. So easy, so cheap! 

An afterthought: wonder if it would work as a body spray ? If you have O + blood, like me, you will try ANYTHING! We are the caviar of the mosquito world!!!

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, gringal said:

Gosha of "Gosha's" restaurant (on the same lake side block as Bruno's) is herself Polish and offers some Polish specialties on weekends.

The food in general is fresh and well prepared.  Prices are reasonable and the ambiance is pleasant.  One of our family favorites!🙂

My wife and I are very familiar with "real"  pierogis and cabbage rolls and costs thereof when not making your own or doing so. What Polish weekend specials are you referring to? We tried the former 2 twice even though we found the price unusually high. In Edmonton,Alberta where eating out is much more costly than here the average price for a Ukrainian/Polish dinner  is $ 6-14 Canbucks[see pic]. 'Nough said.

pierogi.jpg

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Another hijacked post. Can we get back to my OP?

I went there again over the weekend because, as I had mentioned, I had seen some great looking pizzas emerging from the stone oven on the patio. I told Lori “Since I am a simple man I want to order the basic cheese and pepperoni pie”. WOW…excellent! I would say a somewhat thin crust with crisp and tasty edges cooked perfectly. It is served on a raised wood platform and cut into 8 slices. At $135 this would be perfect for a couple, and there are many more choices of toppings although at higher prices. I could eat only 4 slices even though I was hungry and took the other 4 home and had them 2 at a time over the last couple of days with a salad. 

As far as my OP and the responses…of course there is has to be a poster to complain about dogs….I have been there many times and never seen a dog. Another poster brings up flies, but never have had that problem since there are huge fans above that work quite well in discouraging all but maybe a few that are soon gone. As for this poster: “have been four times. I have never had a decent meal there”….My question is, why did you go back after 2 bad meals and what about stopping after the third time? As far as the comment about the noise from traffic, I would estimate that at least 60% of the most popular restaurants here are located on carreteras and many more on busy streets or noisy plazas. Remember, you can always sit inside.

I hope these negative remarks relating to a positive review does not discourage folks from posting restaurant reviews here...Good, Bad and Ugly, however I prefer to emphasize the positive. Just my OPINION.

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I really can't abide your constant insistence of keeping "control" of your threads, rather than let them wander where they may. I also find it a tad narcissistic when you take on every single comment in that same thread that doesn't agree with your own. Perhaps you believe that topics get posted here only to please the OP. Well, that would be an incorrect supposition.

To answer your question to me, first let me apologize: I didn't realize there was an entity greater than I who could make judgments about how many times I should visit a place before giving up. Most would see four visits as really making an attempt (said attempts always coming after someone with little or no taste tells us "it's a good place again"). But could you just clarify, please: is it two, or three, visits you feel I am allowed?

There are so many other points you make that could easily be trashed, but let me just say turnabout is fair play: what makes you think you could have four whole slices and take four home? The rule is three slices and take the rest home. Also, it is widely known that you should never have a salad with leftover pizza at home. If you want a side, you must have only chicken wings. And that must consist of four leftover wings from an order of 12.

Wait: what??????

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21 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

I really can't abide your constant insistence of keeping "control" of your threads, rather than let them wander where they may. I also find it a tad narcissistic when you take on every single comment in that same thread that doesn't agree with your own. Perhaps you believe that topics get posted here only to please the OP. Well, that would be an incorrect supposition.

To answer you question to me, first let me apologize: I didn't realize there was an entity greater than I who could make judgments about how many times I should visit a place before giving up. Most would see four visits as really making an attempt (said attempts always coming after someone with little or no taste tells us "it's a good place again"). But could you just clarify, please: is it two, or three, visits you feel I am allowed?

There are so many other points you make that could easily be trashed, but let me just say turnabout is fair play: what makes you think you could have four whole slices and take four home? The rule is three slices and take the rest home. Also, it is widely known that you should never have a salad with leftover pizza at home. If you want a side, you must have only chicken wings. And that must consist of four leftover wings from an order of 12.

Wait: what??????

Brings to mind what we call in Canada a Newfie joke. Yes I have told it to my Newfie friends and they laugh like haitch at it. "Newfie goes into a bakery to buy a pie. The baker asks him if he would like it cut into 4 or 8. He is deep in thought for a while and then says"make it 4 ,I don't think I can eat 8.

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38 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

I really can't abide your constant insistence of keeping "control" of your threads, rather than let them wander where they may. I also find it a tad narcissistic when you take on every single comment in that same thread that doesn't agree with your own. Perhaps you believe that topics get posted here only to please the OP. Well, that would be an incorrect supposition.

To answer you question to me, first let me apologize: I didn't realize there was an entity greater than I who could make judgments about how many times I should visit a place before giving up. Most would see four visits as really making an attempt (said attempts always coming after someone with little or no taste tells us "it's a good place again"). But could you just clarify, please: is it two, or three, visits you feel I am allowed?

There are so many other points you make that could easily be trashed, but let me just say turnabout is fair play: what makes you think you could have four whole slices and take four home? The rule is three slices and take the rest home. Also, it is widely known that you should never have a salad with leftover pizza at home. If you want a side, you must have only chicken wings. And that must consist of four leftover wings from an order of 12.

Wait: what??????

First, let me congratulate you on winning the Gold Cup for the Most Prolific Poster here. You have been on this board since May, 2013 and posted 11,267 times since then. If my arithmetic is correct you post on average almost 5 times a day. Also, as an old marketing and advertising guy, a tip of my hat for winning the Blue Ribbon as well for the most BUSINESS  IMPRESSIONS here since your user name is your business. WOW...such a font of knowledge as well as a marketing expert!

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24 minutes ago, gringohombre said:

First, let me congratulate you on winning the Gold Cup for the Most Prolific Poster here. You have been on this board since May, 2013 and posted 11,267 times since then. If my arithmetic is correct you post on average almost 5 times a day. Also, as an old marketing and advertising guy, a tip of my hat for winning the Blue Ribbon as well for the most BUSINESS  IMPRESSIONS here since your user name is your business. WOW...such a font of knowledge as well as a marketing expert!

Pot, kettle, black.

Quick question... how many of CG's post were FREE advice on how to do things with Telmex and computers etc? S'okay... you can get back to me in a few days...

And congratulations for taking your own thread off topic.

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One thing I find is they are like all the other places that serve fish. An extensive query as to what kind of fish is "The Catch Of The Day" or in the fish tacos etc, the answer is Basa. Most restaurants say it is from the sea like Sea Bass. What they are serving is an Asian catfish raised in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

Unless a dish describes exactly what is being served like salmon, trout, or such I will no longer even bother to ask.

basa_fish729.jpg

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2 hours ago, gringohombre said:

First, let me congratulate you on winning the Gold Cup for the Most Prolific Poster here. You have been on this board since May, 2013 and posted 11,267 times since then. If my arithmetic is correct you post on average almost 5 times a day. Also, as an old marketing and advertising guy, a tip of my hat for winning the Blue Ribbon as well for the most BUSINESS  IMPRESSIONS here since your user name is your business. WOW...such a font of knowledge as well as a marketing expert!

Oh, sorry if my record beats yours. Must feel terrible.

11,267 times? Then I guess I've helped 11,266 people without financial recompense. More or less.

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As I've said before, sometimes when we stray off the thread, I find the material quite interesting.  Just like the movie, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.  I like to read all the reviews so I can learn what to expect.  So far this restaurant is a 50/50 proposition of whether I will eat there or not.    

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