Catherine Muccigrosso/Lake Wylie Pilot
| The chimichanga at El Maguey Mexican Restaurant at Tega Cay Village Shopping Center in Fort Mill is served with refried beans and is covered in nacho cheese. |
Dining Out: A weekly look at eating locally
EL MAGUEY
By Catherine Muccigrosso Lake Wylie Pilot
(Published December 11‚ 2007)
This column offers a sampling of dining experiences in the area. It is not intended as a review of the restaurant
other than to provide the reader with one diner's experience. It also appears in The Herald's Friday
entertainment section, "Ticket."
EL MAGUEY
By Catherine Muccigrosso Lake Wylie Pilot
(Published December 11‚ 2007)
This column offers a sampling of dining experiences in the area. It is not intended as a review of the restaurant
other than to provide the reader with one diner's experience. It also appears in The Herald's Friday
entertainment section, "Ticket."
What a shocker! I'd passed by El Maguey Mexican Restaurant for years at Crossroads Plaza, at the intersection of
Gold Hill Road and S.C. 160, near Tega Cay. But I never stopped in. I'd heard rave reviews. But still, this restaurant
seemed to miss my "I'm hungry" radar. That won't happen again.
Pulling into the plaza last week for lunch, I figured it'd be a small place, like other restaurants in similar plaza locations. I
was wrong. This place is huge, and high, open ceilings help with the spacious feeling.
We sat at a booth in the front room among several diners. There are tables, too. There's more space to the left after
entering the restaurant, just past the bar. Note: The restaurant allows smoking in the back room from Monday through
Thursday, but there is no smoking anywhere on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Our waiter was quick, and came back with our drink order -- huge, I'm talking the Big Gulp of drinks for $1.75. Nice; I
hate running out of a cool drink at Mexican restaurants to wash down the heat in my wimpy mouth from the
complementary salsa served with chips. This salsa packed some heat, along with flavor. Note: refills are offered for
coffee and tea only.
The five-page menu is packed with typical Mexican fare, with a few new or just differently named items, like gringo dip
(for the Americans, I guess?) for $3.15 and spinach quesadillas for $5.50 off the appetizer menu. There's a children's
menu including taco, hamburger, burrito, quesadilla and enchilada for $3.50 to $3.75.
There are 22 combination dinners for $8 or $8.25 and 19 lunch specials available from 11 a.m. To 3 p.m. Monday
through Saturday. Prices range from $5 for burritos and tacos, and interesting to me, chicken soup, to $8.25 for fajitas.
There's also a fajitas section from $7.25 for vegetarian to $13.75 for shrimp, and chef specialties, like taquitos,
enchiladas, flautas, burritos, quesadilla, chimichanga and the like for $7.25 to $10.
That's where I go to order. I'm a chicken chimichanga fan, plus it's fun to say. In fact, I mark if I'll be back by how good
the chimichanga is, and I always get chicken.
Our waiter was humorous, setting my plate in front of me saying beef and recanting with a chuckle. Served with refried
beans and guacamole salad, the two deep fried delectables were covered in nacho cheese, and dare I say, my favorite
ever thus far.
I like the crisp of the tortilla and there was plenty of chicken for $7.25. The guacamole was good, but I'm only now
beginning to really enjoy the stuff.
My friend had the steak ranchero for $10, a ribeye steak cooked in El Maguey's "special ranchera sauce" and served
with rice, beans, tortillas and a salad. He recommended this place, and I'm thankful, because there's take-out, too. And,
from 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays there's live music.
Another thing I like about this place is the descriptions listed in the front of the menu, explaining some of the terms, like
Frijoles Refritos, "fried beans," and Tamal, "shredded meat with spices, red sauce, steamed in corn meal." There's also a
definition for Maguey, "commonly known as the century plant, because of the long time it takes to flower" and common
to Mexico.
Well, El Maguey Mexican Restaurant in Fort Mill only opened in 2000, and it's already sprouting new fans.
Gold Hill Road and S.C. 160, near Tega Cay. But I never stopped in. I'd heard rave reviews. But still, this restaurant
seemed to miss my "I'm hungry" radar. That won't happen again.
Pulling into the plaza last week for lunch, I figured it'd be a small place, like other restaurants in similar plaza locations. I
was wrong. This place is huge, and high, open ceilings help with the spacious feeling.
We sat at a booth in the front room among several diners. There are tables, too. There's more space to the left after
entering the restaurant, just past the bar. Note: The restaurant allows smoking in the back room from Monday through
Thursday, but there is no smoking anywhere on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Our waiter was quick, and came back with our drink order -- huge, I'm talking the Big Gulp of drinks for $1.75. Nice; I
hate running out of a cool drink at Mexican restaurants to wash down the heat in my wimpy mouth from the
complementary salsa served with chips. This salsa packed some heat, along with flavor. Note: refills are offered for
coffee and tea only.
The five-page menu is packed with typical Mexican fare, with a few new or just differently named items, like gringo dip
(for the Americans, I guess?) for $3.15 and spinach quesadillas for $5.50 off the appetizer menu. There's a children's
menu including taco, hamburger, burrito, quesadilla and enchilada for $3.50 to $3.75.
There are 22 combination dinners for $8 or $8.25 and 19 lunch specials available from 11 a.m. To 3 p.m. Monday
through Saturday. Prices range from $5 for burritos and tacos, and interesting to me, chicken soup, to $8.25 for fajitas.
There's also a fajitas section from $7.25 for vegetarian to $13.75 for shrimp, and chef specialties, like taquitos,
enchiladas, flautas, burritos, quesadilla, chimichanga and the like for $7.25 to $10.
That's where I go to order. I'm a chicken chimichanga fan, plus it's fun to say. In fact, I mark if I'll be back by how good
the chimichanga is, and I always get chicken.
Our waiter was humorous, setting my plate in front of me saying beef and recanting with a chuckle. Served with refried
beans and guacamole salad, the two deep fried delectables were covered in nacho cheese, and dare I say, my favorite
ever thus far.
I like the crisp of the tortilla and there was plenty of chicken for $7.25. The guacamole was good, but I'm only now
beginning to really enjoy the stuff.
My friend had the steak ranchero for $10, a ribeye steak cooked in El Maguey's "special ranchera sauce" and served
with rice, beans, tortillas and a salad. He recommended this place, and I'm thankful, because there's take-out, too. And,
from 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays there's live music.
Another thing I like about this place is the descriptions listed in the front of the menu, explaining some of the terms, like
Frijoles Refritos, "fried beans," and Tamal, "shredded meat with spices, red sauce, steamed in corn meal." There's also a
definition for Maguey, "commonly known as the century plant, because of the long time it takes to flower" and common
to Mexico.
Well, El Maguey Mexican Restaurant in Fort Mill only opened in 2000, and it's already sprouting new fans.