Apetitos – The Little Restaurant That Could

02/09/2009 from Wenter Blair

Perhaps the third time is the charm when it comes to Apetitos and the ladies who dined with me last week. You see, on the corner of Teel and Main is a little Mexican Restaurant with big dreams. It wanted to play with the big engines of food service and provide scrumptious Mexican food to all who wished to dine there, but no matter how many laid tracks to the little restaurant, it just wasn't ready to carry a big load of diners. Families in far north Frisco wanted to enjoy Apetitos and would roll in only to find that the food was late to the table, not available or simply not desirable. Apetitos has been persistent and its owners just knew that given a chance they could be the little Mexican Restaurant that could...and they have!

With some amount of trepidation, I agreed to review Apetitos because my mama always said, "If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all." I was fearful that this would be one of those instances. At first glance, the table was dressed out with bowls of lightly salted, airy chips and an entirely desirable salsa that was a hint pecante sauce and chunky with pico de gallo. I actually spoke aloud to my friend that this was already a nice improvement. Our waiter came straight to the table to take our drink orders and even had suggestions for us. I took his advice and thoroughly enjoyed the Raspberry Ice Tea. Apetitos does have a full bar but this was lunch and we had business on the table and a full agenda. Wait, that hasn't stopped me before! Oh well, there's next week!

One of our guests arrived with a hungry and fussy two year old. This child wasn't about to wait for the grownups to decide on which platter they would feast and our waiter made immediate note of that. He suggested that he could bring the little one's vittles as soon as possible. Like a shot, the order arrived to sooth the bitty beast at the end of the table. Of course, it also helped to have a quick thinking mama to manage things but nonetheless the gesture was greatly appreciated.

The nuances of the little restaurant were that of a big Mexican chain with ample but quiet festive music dancing in the background, notes of flavors wafting from the kitchen and never ending drinks that seemed to refill themselves before you had to ask. Our meals were classics that anyone can find in any Mexican restaurant but we took particular delight in the fact that the owner highlights that on select plates, they use genuine Velveeta. Who the heck doesn't love Velveeta! On most other meals they use real cheese and a sweet tomato sauce that is distinctive to Apetitos. We scarfed down Enchiladas, Chicken Flautas with the afore mentioned sauce, and Beef and Chicken Tacos Al Carbon grilled to a tender, tasty perfection. Often beans and rice are merely plate fillers you may or not eat. At Apetitos, the beans have a chuck wagon flavor that I enjoyed so much I actually cleaned my plate of legumes. For those of you not interested in the musical fruit, a side salad is easily substituted. While salt seems to be the all time favorite spice of the chef, the food was far better than we had anticipated and we rejoiced that Apetitos had realized that they knew they could do better and they actually did it. This little Mexican Restaurant that could, has, and we invite everyone to return to Apetitos. I sincerely hope that your experience is as good as ours was, and that families in far North West Frisco will be all aboard with Apetitos.

Apetitos Mexican Grill is located at:

3245 W. Main - Frisco, TX 75034

(214) 705-1010

www.ApetitoGrill.com