FINALLY! AN AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Feasters, we’re venturing into new territory. For the first time in Feast With Felicity history, I’m reviewing Mexican cuisine!

I love Mexican food, so I’m honestly shocked that I haven’t reviewed a Mexican restaurant before. However, with the current status of our country and the ongoing prejudice against people of color, it’s been hard for new Mexican restaurants to be established without being raided by I.C.E only a few months in. This was the case for the restaurant I visited today, as it used to be called Tacos and Tequila, but the owners changed the name to Huapanguero after I.C.E shut them down for a few months. 

Huapanguero is an authentic Mexican restaurant in Rochester. Seriously, I can picture this restaurant in a small town in Mexico. Because the building was originally a Pizza Hut, the outside looks like a black, cardboard box with occasional hints of green. On the inside, though, there are traditional Mexican decorations, such as papel picado (colorful strands of paper with different shapes cut into it). They’ve also recently added a tiny Mexican candy stand at the front counter where you can buy different candies from the country.

The seating is typical with your standard booths and a few tables. Their menu, however, is outstanding: four pages front and back covered in different drinks, lunch options, dinner options, dessert, etc. Even the pickiest of eaters will find something they love! The friendly staff made us feel more than welcome and bring every table a free basket of tortilla chips with their homemade salsa. I love their tortilla chips. They have just the right amount of salt and are crunchy without being too hard to chew. The salsa wasn’t my favorite, as the vegetables they used in it were a bit too strong. The spice was mild, though, which I appreciated. It wasn’t long after that our meals came out.

For my main course, I ordered the Jumbo Burrito, which included rice, beans (I requested to be taken off), and your choice of chicken or beef (I chose chicken.) On the side was lettuce, cheese, tomato, and sour cream. This was one of the best burritos I’ve ever tasted. Not only was it huge, but it was covered in taco sauce and melted cheese. The inside was filled to the brim with fresh, pulled chicken and Mexican fried rice. It was so soft that I could cut into it with a fork, which is really the only way to eat it considering how messy it is. I have no notes for this burrito except that it was literal perfection.

For dessert, my friend and I split the Mexican Fried Ice Cream, which looks small but is more than enough for two people. The vanilla ice cream, which is fried in cornflakes for a crunchy coating, is served in a fried flour tortilla bowl. This delicious creation is topped with a mountain of whipped cream, hot fudge, sprinkles, and a cherry. There’s also a hint of cinnamon from the deep fryer. I highly recommend this dessert, even though it’s humongous and will push you way past your stomach’s limit.

Finally, my friends ordered churros, which were pretty good but weren’t my favorite. They were your typical churros covered in cinnamon sugar, but we tasted a strange filling that was a bit overwhelming. The restaurant doesn’t mention it in the dessert’s description, but there was a richness in the middle that was good but too much. In any good food, there needs to be a balance between all the flavors, and this one struggled to do that. There was chocolate syrup artistically drizzled on top, though, which made up for this imbalance partially.

As a whole, Huapanguero is an amazing restaurant if you’re looking for authentic Mexican food rather than your typical Tex-Mex chain. For their wonderful staff, variety of options, and outstanding food quality, Huapanguero gets an 8.5/10 from me. Comment down below if you have any other places for me to visit or if you visited Huapanguero and what you thought!