Don Chuy Latin Cuisine

Major, MAJOR props to Don Chuy for being the ONLY restaurant in the North-End to participate in Dining Out for Life 2008. Dining Out for Life is a yearly event to raise money for the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. I go to this event every year (meaning, I eat out at a participating restaurant on a certain night... donating money really can't get much easier than that). I usually have to drive into Seattle late on a weeknight, deal with parking, yadda yadda, or go out into Bellevue or Redmond. FINALLY this year a restaurant near my house was participating in this noble event, and that restaurant was Don Chuy. You know, like I already told you above.

This was smart on their part too, otherwise I probably never would have even noticed this restaurant. It's tucked back among a bunch of useless places that I don't ever have a reason to go to, so you kind of have to know where you're going.

The food was great. Even my daughter, who is attempting to win the Pickiest Child on the Planet award, loved her food. I think she ate it all, which is basically unheard of. The salsa had a unique flavor that I rather enjoyed. The food was neither cheap nor expensive. Pretty reasonable, I suppose.

The place itself was... awkward. There are three tables next to the kitchen (separated by a window) and that's it. By tables, I mean a small square with two or three stools around it. I wouldn't recommend coming here with the whole family. You might all be able to fit if you're the only ones in the place. And that's a big maybe.

But don't you dare go to Azteca over coming here (yeah yeah yeah, I know it's technically a different cuisine, but you probably won't notice). That is of course unless you enjoy getting the shits. That reminds me, this place passed the Kayla P. stomach upsetability test. I have a sensitive tum, in case you wanted to know. Don Chuy food went down happy, and stayed that way. Yay!

Oh yeah, and they deliver, so give 'em a call.

After a long commute home from work, I was tired and starving, and there happened to be a flier for this restaurant on my door. What caught my eye was "Free Delivery!".

I ordered the two enchiladas meal with chicken, a side of pico de gallo, and sopapillas for desert.

They delivered quickly (about 30 minutes).

The enchiladas had too little, if any, enchilada sauce. The refried beans lacked flavor, like they came from a can. The rice was practically tasteless and somewhat dry.
The pico de gallo was nice and fresh and looked pretty, but it didn't seem to have any spices or juiciness like I'm used to.

Overall, this dinner was bland and needed a pinch of salt and a fist full of garlic.

The sopapillas, however, were awesome!

This was a pretty good little place, but I think they've gone out of bidness!

Big "for lease" sign in the window.

The restaurant is quite small since they are known for ordering take-out. There are only about 4 tables that can fit 2-3 people each and they're all situated next to the kitchen area, so not an ideal place for large groups of people. I ordered the Rope Vieja which consists of shredded beef cooked in a garlic-tomato base sauce served with rice, black beans and plantains. We were given this strong garlic-y sauce to dip our plantains in, and it was not bad. The plantains may have tasted better if it were a little sweeter, but that's just a thought. The black beans needed a little salt, but everything else tasted pretty good. The waitress was very nice and helpful by giving us a few recommendations. I wouldn't say the food was extremely flavorful, but it was reasonably priced. Not a bad place to try some Latin cuisine.