Juanitos Red Bank, New Jersey

     When I'm craving Mexican food one spot in particular comes to mind, Juanitos in Red Bank. Juanitos is a BYOB establishment that serves authentic Mexican fare at a reasonable price. This past weekend my friends and I decided to grab some Coronas and head on over for a yummy meal. The service at Juanitos is always extremely attentive and right away the waitress brought over a basket of warm home baked tortilla chips and fresh salsa. The chips, so fresh and crunchy with just the right amount of saltiness, accompanied by the freshly pureed spicy salsa...So good! Keeping in mind the generous portion sizes and how filling Mexican food can be, we all decided to skip the appetizers and go straight for the gusto.
      Juanitos offers various kinds of authentic Mexican cuisine from taco salads, sizzling fajitas, cheesy quesadillas, chimichangas, tamales..just to name a few! Most dishes come with the choice of chicken or beef or both if your feeling audacious enough to attempt both. With everything sounding so good and so many delicious choices to pick from I had a hard time deciding so I opted for one of their many combination plates. I chose the chicken taco and chicken burrito as my entree and all dinners are accompanied by re fried beans and rice. The dish came out a bountiful plate of goodness and I knew from the start I would have lunch for the next day. The taco was served in a soft tortilla with tender strips of chicken and topped with cheese and served with lettuce and sour cream. It was juicy, delicious and quite messy but worth the extra napkins. The burrito was chicken, cheese and seasonings encased in a large flour tortilla topped with cheesy goodness and baked to perfection. The rice had great flavor and the beans were creamy but not lacking texture, the sides went well mixed with the burrito and taco. My friends all decided on the Chimicanga which is similar to a burrito only deep fried and topped with melted cheese. I can guarantee you will not leave Juanitos hungry!
     It is not often that we go out for Mexican food so since we were there we knew we could not leave without indulging in there fried ice cream, one vanilla and one chocolate please! YUM! The perfectly rounded mounds of fried ice cream came out resembling a jumbo breaded meatball. Once you break through the thin layer of crackling crust you are welcomed by the already slightly melted creamy ice cream beneath and both go effortlessly when dipped in the chocolate syrup and airy whipped topping. 
   Juanitos is great for any occasion, a rainy Sunday with friends or a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Whichever your pleasure you are guaranteed to leave satisfied, probably with leftovers, and not breaking the bank while doing so. So grab some Coronas and enjoy a Mexican fiesta!