It's a friendly and warm
place, with dark yellow walls and colorful wall hangings, casual
table settings of plastic and paper, and wonderful smells coming from
the semi-open kitchen. On both occasions I was embraced by the aroma
of roasting pork as soon as I walked through the door, and couldn't
resist ordering it on the first occasion. More on that in a minute.
Complimentary nachos and
two salsas were brought to our table as soon as we were seated. The
nachos were still warm, having just been fried, and the salsas could
not have tasted cleaner. The red was the typical tomato, jalapeño,
onion, cilantro and lime juice variety, but it was well above average
as a result of its freshness, probably made only hours before. The
green chile salsa was a little spicier and pureed, and it was
terrific. Our server was young and very enthusiastic, and remained
attentive to our needs throughout our meal.
Over the course of my
many visits to Ay! Caramba, I've probably sampled everything on the
menu. For this review, I've chosen the last two visits, and will
tell you they are representative of every preceding one in quality,
quantity and value. The flautas are two flour tortillas filled with
fresh roasted chicken, rolled tightly and deep-fried, served with a
wonderful avocado sauce. The chicken was very flavorful and the
tortillas had become crisp in the frying, so the texture contrast
felt good in the mouth. The avocado sauce, like everything else
we've ever eaten there, had a clean and fresh flavor line and went
very well with the chicken. The flautas were accompanied by rice and
refried beans, making for a very full plate of generous portions.
The pork burrito was a
large flour tortilla layered with pinto beans, lettuce, tomato and
cheese, and topped with sour cream. This was a huge burrito, and I
knew it would be a challenge to finish it, but I was up for a
challenge that night. The pork was slow roasted, I was told, well
seasoned and oh, so flavorful, and that flavor came through loud and
clear even with all of its competition inside the burrito. I'd order
any roasted pork dish at Ay! Caramba without hesitation, it's that
good. Although I began with the best of intentions, I must admit I
only finished half of the dish, but did enjoy the leftovers for
breakfast the next morning.
All of this food was
washed down with some excellent limeade, and you really shouldn't
drink anything else there with your meal, unless, of course, you
want to choose from a couple of excellent Mexican beers, Dos Equis or
Corona, or move up the shelf to one of their excellent margaritas.
There are many versions of margaritas to choose from, including
hibiscus and strawberry, with thirty (30) different tequilas
to choose from, also. You can't go wrong with the limeade, though,
made fresh, and refilled often during our meal.
Our luncheon on the next
visit was an adventure, also. There were five of us, and we chose
from all over the menu. Our beginning was the nachos grande,
tortilla chips topped with cheese, ground beef, beans, jalapeños,
olives and sour cream. It was a generous plate, but with five of us
it did not last long, and it was good right down to the last sliced
olive. Going around the table, we enjoyed a pork burrito, chile
verde burrito (sauteed pork in a green chile sauce, with pinto beans,
lettuce, tomato and cheese), two fish tacos (white fish lightly
battered and fried, then drizzled with Ay! Caramba's special sauce,
with minced onion and cilantro), the flautas, and chicken enchiladas
(baked in homemade guajillo chile sauce). In other words, we ate up,
and took home what we couldn't finish at the table.
Portions are generous,
and the entrees come with a choice of two among rice, beans and
sauteed vegetables. As mentioned above, the plates and utensils are
plastic and the napkins are paper. In other words, this is a very
casual place. It's also very reasonably priced, with the most
expensive entree at $13.95. My burrito was $7.95, and I got two
meals out of it. In fact, all of the burritos are $7.95 except for
the bean burrito at $6.95. The tacos are either $2.50 or 2.75 each,
and two or three make a meal, whether it's the marinated char-grilled
beef, or the marinated char-grilled chicken, or the roast pork, fish
or tuna. Side dishes include the beans, rice and vegetables, as well
as an excellent, house-made guacamole, and I'd recommend you try this
at least once.
Sweet endings are worth a
try here, too. We enjoyed a coconut flan and a three milk cake on
our last visit, and if they are available on your visit, get one of
each. The flan was smoothly textured and nicely flavored, with the
coconut accompanying the flan rather than overwhelming it. The cake
was moist and rich, their three milk cake . . . . tres leches, as
you'd refer to it in Mexico, and the three milks: condensed,
evaporated and whole or skim. If I were you, I'd bring some of my
burrito home so I would be sure to have room for either one of these
desserts - - oh, wait a minute, that's what I did.
Well, you should, too.
I should mention that I
love mole. The sign of a good Mexican restaurant is the quality of
its mole sauce. Don't know what it is? The short explanation is a
chocolate chile peanut sauce. But it's a lot more than that, so much
more, and deserving of its own column. I shall write that column
some day soon, but in the meantime, you should order the chicken mole
on one of your visits to Ay! Caramba. It's a little spicy, as it
should be, but don't be shy. The flavors of a good mole sauce are
quite heavenly and everyone should experience it once in their lives.
Fortunately, I live just down the road from Ay! Caramba, so I'm not
limited to that once.
You probably know where
this review is going by now. Ay! Caramba fits neatly into the family
friendly category of Cape Dining Out. Our dinner for two was under
$25 inclusive, and lunch for five was under $60 just for the food.
The food was terrific on each occasion, and the service was friendly
and thorough. Background music was at a pleasant volume and fit the
ambiance of the rooms. The food is offered for take-out as well as
eat-in, and every time I've been there the take-out business has been
brisk. In fact, it was voted Best Take-Out in a Reader's Choice
Award last year.
Cape Dining Out likes
Ay! Caramba very much, and recommends it to you very highly. It's as
good a value as there is in the mid-Cape for excellent food made with
fresh and high quality ingredients, served in a friendly and warm
atmosphere at incredibly reasonable prices. What else do you need to
find in a restaurant? And, what else would you expect for a rating
other than our highest, 4-Cods?
Ira Mendoza, the
chef/owner, does a wonderful job in presenting her cuisine. Her
brother, Ralph Mendoza, runs a good dining room. He was my first
server at Ay! Caramba several years ago when the restaurant first
opened. They make a good team, turn out a terrific product, and
serve it in a way that makes you feel welcome in their place. I
heartily recommend them and their place to you.
703 Main Street
Harwich Center (junction rt. 124 & 39)
508-432-9800
Serving Lunch and Dinner Seven Days
Casual Dress
No portion of this article may be reprinted or republished without the express written permission of the copyright holder.