When my mom and I pulled up into the parking lot at Carolina's Mexican Food I was a little skeptical. After all, there are bars on the windows, and security screen doors. But I've had these tortillas before -- mom's gotten them to take out. What I haven't had is the pleasure of a real-life trip to Carolina's. On this Phoenix visit I made sure to go for lunch. And I'm so glad I did. My green chile burro with refried beans and beef was all wrapped up in one of Carolina's terrifically chewy flour tortillas. Mom had a cheese tortilla (I called this a cheese crisp when I was a kid in AZ, and a quesadilla when I moved to New York and no one knew what a cheese crisp was). It came wrapped in foil and paper, and folded up into fourths. You could really appreciate the tortilla with this simple preparation. It was thin, stretchy and a little smoky from the char marks. Dip it into Carolina's hot sauce and it's just perfection. When my sister finally arrived she got a green chile burro too, but with a twist. She likes hers enchilada style, with red sauce and shredded iceberg lettuce on top and a side of sour cream. I ordered another tortilla, this time topped with nothing but butter. On my next trip I might get bold and order menudo. Carolina's serves the soup on Saturdays only, by the pint and by the quart. You can even bring your own pot and they'll fill it up for you.
A side note: Carolina's is a favorite with the local law enforcement. (You can see a couple squad cars in the picture above.) Fire fighters like it too. When we were there a crew from the Chandler Fire Department chowed down next to us. This says a lot. For those of you who don't know Phoenix let's just say that there are tons of good Mexican food places in the valley, and that Carolina's is not even close to Chandler. It's that good.
Carolina's Mexican Food
1202 East Mohave
Phoenix, AZ
(602) 252-1503
Photo credit: abrunete
1 comments:
i love carolinas...i used to work close by. and the rancho market on 16th and roosevelt is even better than the one you went to..it's newer and has a really yummy restaurant. ive only been out east since september and feel like crying every time we try to eat mexican food out here! it's just not right!
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