Los Cabos Seafood

Los Cabos is one of several Mexican seafood restaurants in El Paso, and it is one of the more recent ones to open. Although there is only one Los Cabos in El Paso, I do not know if it is an offshoot from a restaurant in Mexico as Villa del Mar and other restaurants are. I do know that the style of the restaurant and the food are authentic Mexican, and remind me of what I find at Villa del Mar.

The name “Los Cabos” made me think that they might have have Baja style tacos and other seafood dishes from Baja California. After asking the staff, though, I do not believe there is anything here that I would call Baja style. The seafood in El Paso seems to all be Mazatlan style, which is the closest seaport to where we are located. I think there is nothing wrong with this style of seafood, but it is just a recognition that all the restaurants in El Paso serve the same style of food, they just try to do it better than everyone else.

When pulling into the restaurant for the first time I saw a tree on the right side of the building. This actually covers an outside patio that was very popular the day I went even though the temperature was quite warm (as it tends to be in El Paso). I do not know if it is an actual outside patio or whether it is temperature controlled because I did not go to the patio to look. The dining room was not completely full (and I went on a busy day). It seems that people use the patio by preference and not because tables become unavailable in the dining room.

My first visit was probably somewhat clouded by what I consider to be flaws in the service, and I am not yet giving a rating to the restaurant (it probably would be a good idea to try some other dishes as well). At this point I do not have anything against the restaurant or a reason not to return, but it is just that I have had better experiences at other places.

Not directly related to the restaurant itself is the fact that it is located in the Colony Cove shopping center. I used to work for the city and saw how they approved parking plans along with other design criteria when approving commercial centers. In the case of Colony Cove, I saw them go through this process and then step by step change things for the worse once the plans were approved and the business spaces were occupied. With the handicapped spaces in particular, Los Cabos has a bad situation where the parking is far away from the door, and people must go on a steep incline to get to the building. The restaurant is accessible according to the regulations, but I feel that someone in charge of the situation could make it a lot better if they desired.

Chips and Salsa

Chips and salsa

Patrons get a free set-up of chips and salsa (and I found out they will give refills at no charge). Along with a red and green salsa, there is a fresh ceviche to load on the very fresh and delicious chips if you wish.

I have noticed very good comments about the chips and salsa, and I agree with them. The green salsa, though, was very notable because it was one of the best I have ever had. The red salsa and the ceviche would be considered quite good compared to what most restaurants serve, but to me the green salsa was so fresh and had such a good flavor that it blew the others away. The green salsa is not fiery hot, but had a good kick that I would rate at about four chiles out of five. The red salsa was also somewhat spicy (at least three chiles). I think the ceviche had a little kick as well, but I noted it more for its good flavor.

Appetizers

Fish soup

Meals come with a free cup-sized serving of Fish Soup that is so loaded with fish and vegetables it was really more like a bowl than a cup. I enjoyed the flavor (it was a traditional flavor like the ones I find in the city’s other seafood restaurants). This one seemed to be spicier than most, which I think would get to the five-chile level if you drank the broth straight. I definitely give thumbs up to the soup (especially since it is free).

Filete Veracruzano

Veracruzano fillet

One section of the menu gives a choice of shrimp or fish fillet with different toppings (by the way, they do have non-fish items but seafood is about 90 percent of the menu). All items on this section are served with a salad OR steamed vegetables AND mashed potatoes OR french fries (as described by the menu). There are fourteen choices of toppings, and many are ones I have not seen at other restaurants (or else I have not noticed). For my first time at the restaurant I chose my favorite, which is Fillet Veracruzano. This has a sauce which is traditional in El Paso, and includes vegetables, olives, and potatoes.

First of all, though, I defy anyone to find the olives in the picture, because I never found any. The potatoes were plentiful but other versions have not had this, and I am not sure if this is really a traditional feature of the dish (they were good, though). The vegetables were quite good. I was not sure whether I gave the sauce a thumbs up or not because it seems that I have had better sauce at other restaurants. I have had enough bad sauce in Oklahoma, though, to still appreciate the ones here even if they do not seem to be the best in town.

Veracruzano side dishes

Because the Veracrucano sauce has a consistency like a soup, the side dishes and salad are served on a separate plate. This is a good feature of the dish, since I am happiest when my food is separated or even in separate dishes rather than all mixed together. The salad was very fresh and good. The mashed potatoes tasted fresh (not instant). To me the rice tasted so-so, like most of the rice in El Paso. There was so much food I could not eat everything, so the rice is mostly what I left on the plate.

The fish tasted like most of the fish in El Paso–fish that had come from several hundred miles away. I am puzzled by reviews I see of many restaurants in El Paso where people describe the fish as good, while to me it is just passable. This is why the sauce has to be extra good at a seafood restaurant for me to really enjoy the fish. To me this dish did not meet these standards, although I realize that I have high standards and possibly unrealistic ones.

Other Dishes
My dining companion had the Breaded Filet (spelled a different way on the check than it is on the menu) and reported that it was good. All of the dinners come with a choice of shrimp or fish fillet. They also have fish tacos, soups, shrimp cocktail, whole fish (at market price), and appetizers such as aguachiles and ceviche.

For non-fish items I only found fajitas, carne asada tacos, and some items on the Kid’s Menu (grilled cheese, cheeseburger, corn dog, etc.).

On the section of the menu labeled “Specialty” there are some items that seem to not have much fish (or maybe none at all) such as Cabos Enchiladas.

Additional Comments
The restaurant adds a surcharge to the bill if you pay by credit card, and my problem is that they did not make it easy for me to discover this fact until it had already been charged.

There were many interesting looking items on the menu that I have not yet tried, so I think it would probably merit an additional visit(s).

RATING: N/R

Mexican Food Details

Chile Index:
Cooking Oil:	N/A

 

Special Ratings

	Filete Veracruzano
	Fish Soup
	Chips
	Salsa

Li’s Cafe

Li’s Cafe opened in 2010 as the “fast food” version of Moon Day, the now closed restaurant which served authentic northern style Chinese food. Lili, the owner of these restaurants, eventually closed Moon Day and sold Li’s Cafe (and for a while opened Coli Wok & Grille at Mesa and Remcon).

I mention this because Lili worked with the current owners of Li’s Cafe (who are not Chinese) to give them many of her cooking techniques and recipes. The food at Li’s Cafe is not the same as it was at Moon Day, but I think the owners are using enough of Lili’s recipes that the food here seems to be much better than I expected from a non-Chinese owned restaurant. This may be a backhanded compliment, but I truly enjoy the food at Li’s Cafe (at the same time I know its limitations when it comes to getting food that is authentic).

The menu here is targeted at people who like the Americanized version of Chinese food (sweet and sour, broccoli beef, etc.). For at least some of the dishes, though, I think the flavor is closer to the food at Moon Day than to the typical Americanized Chinese restaurants throughout the city. I am not going to compare every dish here to the ones at Moon Day, but for the ones that are especially good I am sure that Lili was a big influence in this.

I found out that Li’s Cafe can prepare dishes that are not listed on the menu (I asked for Szechwan pork and they were willing to prepare it even though it is not on the menu). They do have Szechwan beef on the menu but obviously there is some flexibility with what you can order.

Soup

Hot and sour soup

The Hot and Sour Soup is the most obvious example I know of something that tastes like it did at Moon Day. Whether I am remembering this correctly or not, I can definitely say this soup has a very good flavor. I am impressed with the number of mushrooms it has and other “substance” (it is not just a big bowl containing mostly broth).

Egg drop soup

The Egg Drop Soup also has a very good flavor, and this is usually my preference if the meal I order is spicy so that this will provide an offset to it.

The Won Ton Soup also has a very good flavor, but it seemed that the only “substance” to it was floating at the top (so this soup is mostly broth). I think it had one won ton but this is normal for this type of soup.

Dinner Menu
The dinner menu expands quite a bit from the items that are served at lunch, they come in larger portions, and the price is higher. Dinner includes items such as kung pao scallops (this is is not available as a lunch special but you can get kung pao shrimp). I think just about everything that is of interest to me is on the lunch menu, but dinner does have some interesting things I might like to try sometime.

Hunan pork

The owners told me that the sauce on the Hunan Pork was “not sweet,” while the Szechwan sauce is sweet. It did turn out to be a good sauce. My main problem was with the vegetables, since I do not consider broccoli to be a Chinese vegetable or to contribute to the flavor of a Chinese dish in the way it should. (I had a take home order of Hunan chicken and had the same experience with it). There are some Chinese vegetables here such as mushrooms, bamboo shoots, carrots, and baby corn, but these were in relatively small quantities.

The pork was good in this dish, and the chicken was good on my take home dish (these meats are not breaded). Hunan pork is only available on the dinner menu, but Hunan chicken and beef are available for lunch at a very good price.

The dinner portions are an awkward size for me in that they are usually more than satisfies my appetite but there is not enough to split and make two meals out of ii.

As far as I know, dinner comes with the same choice of soups you get at lunch (hot and sour, egg drop, or won ton). It has been some time since I went at dinner time and I am not sure about the soup, but my memory is that I got soup with the meal.

Special Dishes

Szechwan pork

The Szechwan Pork was something I got as a special order, but they only serve it in a dinner portion (the only lunch item with Szechwan sauce is the beef). The meat on this dish was tough (more so than on the Hunan pork I ordered). The Chinese vegetables on this dish, though, were far better than the broccoli and other American vegetables that came with the Hunan style dishes (although the Hunan dishes do have a few Chinese style vegetables).

The sauce on this dish was supposed to be sweeter than the Hunan sauce, but I did not think it was sweet to the point that it had an Americanized taste. Instead, I really liked it, and overall the Szechwan dishes are my preference over Hunan style when the vegetables are factored in. The meat was tough, but I think this was a fluke rather than that they purposely serve a different meat on this dish.

I do not know what other “special” dishes they can prepare. I have tried to ask for some of the some of the dishes that were served at Moon Day, and Li’s either does not have them or they have been morphed into Li’s version of them (which are good but they are not the same as Moon Day’s food).

Lunch Specials

Fragrant chicken on the lunch special

Some reviewers on other web sites complain about the breaded chicken here where you get very little flavor of the chicken. With the Fragrant Chicken, though, the meat is not breaded (although there is a thick sauce on it similar to sweet and sour). The sauce is thick but it does not have the same sweetness as sweet and sour, and I thought it had a very good balance of flavors. The vegetables were excellent, and overall this is probably the best dish I have had at Li’s (for sure it seems to be one of the best items on the lunch menu).

Citrus chicken on the lunch special

Citrus Chicken was disappointing because it was not the same as Moon Day’s version (and I think think this is one of the recipes they got from Lili when they bought the restaurant from her). Li’s also refers to this as orange chicken, although I think it is better than the average orange chicken at other restaurants. The sauce here is not extremely sweet and it contains orange peels. Some reviewers say there is not much chicken flavor because of the breading, and it is true that this might be an issue. Moon Day had a whole chicken breast with a very light breading (it was somewhat like the breading on a German schnitzel). The way Li’s Cafe has changed the chicken has made it a different dish, although I think the sauce is still good.

Conclusion
The lunch specials here are definitely a good deal–it is hard to beat the flavor and quality of food here for the price you pay. My favorite lunch is the fragrant chicken but there are many dishes I have not tried.

For me they have extended the time I can get lunch past the 3:00 p.m. deadline, but I do not know their exact policy on this. I just know that because it is a family run business they are free to do things to help out the customer, and they have been very generous in doing this with me.

The hot jasmine tea is brewed in a large pitcher, and it is so good this has been a deciding factor at times concerning whether I go to Li’s Cafe or another restaurant.

I know they do not try to make the food authentic as it was at Moon Day, but I definitely think Lili has had an influence on the new owners by the sauces being less sweet and having a better flavor than at other restaurants, and by a high quality I find in the food. There is no MSG in the food here, and I can tell that the food and sauces are freshly made. Overall I have enjoyed what I have had here. If possible, though, go at lunch (the dinner prices are fairly close to Sun Garden, and I think Sun Garden has some very good choices that make it more attractive to me).

RATING: 22

Asian Food Details

Tea:	Jasmine (brewed)
MSG:	No
Buffet:	No

 

Special Ratings

	Fragrant Chicken
	Hunan Pork
	Hunan Chicken
	Szechwan Pork
	Citrus Chicken
	Hot and Sour Soup
	Egg Drop Soup
	Won Ton Soup

Kal Bi House

I have two disclosures to make about Kal Bi House. The first is that prior to my visit in 2019, my last visit was in 2004. I made quite a few visits prior to that time, and for a while this was one of the restaurants I visited most frequently. I think the food has not really changed in that time, so my observations then would still be valid now. The facts and opinions written in my previous review will be carried forward to this one, but what will not be included are any statements that would be based on my memory from this time period.

The second disclosure is that despite my many visits, I really have not tried very many items on the menu. I have experimented a little at Han Il, Seoul Restaurant, and Young Vin, but for some reason I have not done as much here. I am writing the review based on what I have tried, but at the same time I may not have given the restaurant much of a chance by only trying a few items. This can be remedied in the future, but right now I think I have not tried enough items at Kal Bi House to give a complete picture of the food or to really give what I consider to be a fair assessment of it. Still, since I have disclosed this fact, I will press on with what I have.

The Brio stop in front of Kal Bi

Kal Bi House is about to become more accessible to many of the city’s residents. A stop for the Dyer Street Brio transit line has been built directly in front of the restaurant, and I believe this line will begin service sometime soon. Brio has limited stops and offers a shorter travel time from downtown to any of the stops than is experienced on the regular bus lines.

Nearby Kal Bi is the Fort Bliss Army Base, a major magnet for the customer base here. Two other Korean restaurants were also located on this stretch of Dyer, although Young Vin has now moved to Montwood on the east side of the city. The fact that I visited Kal Bi multiple times when there were other Korean restaurants nearby is a testament to what I thought of their food, but I have visited the other Korean restaurants multiple times as well.

Lunch Special
Lunch is a very good time to go to Kal Bi because of the price. The meat portion is smaller than on the dinner plate, but customers still get all of the vegetable side dishes they can eat (I think this is a literal statement because I have found in the past that customers can get refills if they do not have enough of anything).

In the “old days” I used to sometimes get Chinese food which was on the lunch special (I do not believe it is on the dinner menu, though). This was an attempt to eat healthy, although I found out over time that the Chinese food here has MSG (the Korean food does not). For a while I had a vegetarian diet and this made sense, but for the great majority of people I would say to order the Korean food (they have fish and other items if you want to get away from eating meat).

Dinner

Vegetable side dishes served with dinner

Ordering dinner here is almost a guarantee that you will have too much food, but they do let you share (and of course you can take items home, including the vegetables). The vegetables I was served are shown in the photo. The only thing I noticed that was different from about twenty years ago is that they no longer have the small fish which you eat in their entirety (at least I did this). I think what they have now is better, though, and I certainly do not really miss the small fish. There were a couple of vegetable items that I did not eat but generally they were excellent, and I think this is probably the main reason to come to Kal Bi House.

Bul gogi

On my most recent visit I tried Bul Gogi, which is probably the restaurant’s most popular dish (and is the first one listed on the menu). This is marinated and had a good flavor, but the meat seemed dry. I think the meat is perfectly fine, but just not the best cut (and I am sure this is the reason they marinate it).

My “Old” Reviews
From 2004 and earlier I had several observations which I think would still apply. At that time I said that the bul gogi was better at Young Vin, but that the entire meal was better at Kal Bi because of the total experience with the vegetables. Today Young Vin is on Montwood and is an “Express” restaurant, so I am not sure how the two would compare.

At that time I also said that the barbecue chicken at Young Vin compared to the one here, and that the one at Han Il was better. I mentioned that the chicken at Kal Bi was gristly (I am not sure if this was the case at Young Vin).

I tried the seafood soup at Kal Bi and found it to have a good mixture of noodles, vegetables, and seafood in a slightly spicy red broth, although I only rated it as four out of five stars.

The kimchee at Kal Bi was my favorite out of any restaurant in El Paso, and this is one of the side dishes served with every meal. I also liked the turnips, cucumbers, and fish cakes (these are items I particularly liked on my recent visit as well).

Drinks

Korean iced tea

I particularly like the Korean Iced Tea here, and use it as the standard by which I judge the others (although some Korean restaurants do not even have it).

Other Observations
The vegetable side dishes and the Korean iced tea are the main items that draw me to Kal Bi House rather than the other restaurants in town. You get the same side dishes whether you go for lunch or dinner.

The lunch menu lasts until 2:00 p.m. I would advise coming at lunch time, although I think the dinner menu has some items that can be explored for a deeper dive into the world of Korean food. I just have not done very much of this, though, so I cannot give advice about what to order.

Some of the other Korean restaurants either admit to using MSG or I suspect they do based on my reaction to the food. Kal Bi House does not, unless you order the Chinese lunches (which I am not even sure are on the menu any more).

My rating is skewed more toward the main dishes with only a little consideration for the vegetable side dishes. The vegetables are excellent, though, and probably better here than anywhere else.

RATING: 20

Asian Food Details

Tea:	Korean Iced Tea
MSG:	No (but is in the Chinese food)
Buffet:	No

 

Special Ratings

Bul Gogi