El Rincon de Cortez

8900 Viscount Blvd.
El Paso, TX
(915) 592-9511

El Rincon de Cortez on Viscount

For years I have been going to El Rincon de Cortez on Sun Bowl Drive, but I finally made it to the smaller restaurant in east El Paso on Viscount Boulevard (located near Cielo Vista Mall and behind The Fountains at Farah). As far as I can tell they have the same owner and the same menu, and as far as I know the food is very much the same at both restaurants.

I believe you can look at my review of the Sun Bowl restaurant and assume that the food will be largely the same at the Viscount location as well. I have only tried one dish at the Viscount restaurant and it is somewhat of a benchmark dish for El Rincon de Cortez–the huevos rancheros. I believe breakfast is the restaurant’s most popular meal, and this is the most popular dish, but in any case it is one with which I am familiar.

While I have a small sample size of dishes I have tried here, I do have a friend who eats here regularly and echos my opinion that the huevos rancheros were better in 2018 than in 2019, while the quality of the food remains very constant at the Sun Bowl location (although this is not something I have been able to confirm personally within the last year).

I was initially excited about the possibility of this location having better food than on Sun Bowl, but in the years I have been going to the Sun Bowl restaurant I know that it is at least consistent, and at the moment I think it is better than the Viscount restaurant.

Chips and Salsa

Chips and salsa

The chips and salsa were both excellent, although the heat level of the salsa was so high that I might say many would like the salsa at the Sun Bowl location better (and I think I prefer the other one as well).

The chips here were quite good (not unusual for El Paso but at the same time many places do not have chips as good as these).

Breakfast

Huevos rancheros

The Huevos Rancheros are the only thing I have tried, and the only thing I can compare to the other restaurant. These are rather unique because they are topped with chile con queso (H&H Car Wash also has this type of sauce but I do not think this is the normal style for huevos rancheros). On my latest visit, though, the queso tasted flat and the green chile was barely noticeable, so I would recommend other restaurants over this one. The good thing about the Viscount Rincon de Cortez, though, was the way the egg was cooked, and if anyone is a stickler for the egg being prepared just right this restaurant is a good choice.

The Hash Browns were excellent (as they have been at the Sun Bowl restaurant). I thought the beans were noticeably better here than on Sun Bowl, but it is possible that my memory is not correct and they may be just as good at the other restaurant.

Additional Comments
At the Sun Bowl location I thought the steaks and meat items were good for lunch or dinner, and probably the same is true here. The Sun Bowl restaurant is larger, seems to be busier, and I would say is their flagship restaurant.

At first I thought the food was better here and that I had found a relatively undiscovered gem, but it has now proven to be inconsistent (probably with a change of cooks). On the other hand, I have found the Sun Bowl location to be very consistent.

For huevos rancheros, though, I would also say to try the H&H Car Wash.

RATING: 22

Mexican Food Details

Chile Index:
Cooking Oil:	N/A

 

Special Ratings

	Huevos Rancheros
	Chips
	Salsa
	Beans

Carlos & Mickey’s

12111 Montwood Dr.
El Paso, TX
(915) 307-6886

Carlos & Mickey’s on Montwood just w. of Loop 375

Carlos & Mickey’s is one of the city’s old-time “classic” restaurants serving El Paso style Mexican food (that combines Chihuahua style cooking with local chiles and other border style twists). There are now two Carlos & Mickey’s in El Paso plus one at the airport (usually I discount the airport locations as being an “express” version of the airport that is not as good as the original with the exception of one experience I had at LAX, so this means that you never really know until you try it).

I have eaten at the “other” Carlos & Mickey’s on Magruder for a number of years, and have largely dismissed it as a tourist trap, but my last visit was over ten years ago. Even as touristy as I thought it to be, it still had good food (I think much better than the ultimate tourist attraction of La Posta in Mesilla, New Mexico). I thought, though, that people went to Carlos & Mickey’s more for the drinks and the mariachis than the food.

The actual name of the Magruder restaurant is Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey’s (perhaps the “bandidos” part was a reference to the prices they charged?). In any case, for whatever reason the Montwood location is strictly “Carlos & Mickey’s.” I think this is a good thing because this is what everyone calls both restaurants, and the fact that it is listed on indexes under the “L’s” meant that some people may not have found information about it.

The Montwood restaurant is relatively new and smaller than the original restaurant (so the Magruder restaurant is probably still better for the ambiance because of the hacienda style building and the outdoor patios, etc.). There is a question in my mind about which one has better food, and I have not been to the original restaurant recently to make a comparison.

A second trip to the Montwood location was a little worrisome because the food was not quite up to par compared to the first visit, and they were hosting a large party as is common at the Magruder restaurant but I think this one did not have to staff to really handle it (at least this seemed to be the reason that our service was suffering). At this point I cannot really get excited about the food here although I did have very good food on my first visit.

Chips and Salsa

Chips and salsa

There are a couple of things I like about the Salsa here: it is spicy (not gringo style) and it does not contain cilantro.

The Chips looked like round tortillas that had been toasted, but otherwise seemed traditional and good.

I liked the fact that they paid a lot of attention to some small things that many restaurants do not, such as as the chips and salsa.

Mexican Plate

Chihuahua plate with beans, red enchilada, chile relleno, taco, rice, and guacamole served on the side

Many restaurants offer a “Mexican Plate” with a combination of items so you can try different things. At Carlos & Mickey’s they have several choices, such as the Chihuahua Plate that I have now ordered twice.

The Red Enchilada on this plate had a very good flavored red chile, and was spicy to about the “4 chile” level without being too spicy. The flavor was a little bit different than most, with a somewhat vinegary taste (I don’t know what that is about, but it was good).

The Chile Relleno surprised me by not having sauce on top. although you have a spillover effect of the red sauce from the enchilada. The Mexican cheese inside was very good, as were the green chile inside and the batter around the outside.

I the Taco comes with shredded beef, and I thought it was very good. I really thought the main factor in this being an excellent taco was the Mexican cheese.

Out of the rice and beans, I thought the beans are better (but both were good).

I noticed that there were no green enchiladas on the menu, and I asked the waiter about it. I had remembered that at the Magruder restaurant the green enchiladas were Tex-Mex style and not typical of El Paso food, but I wondered why they were not listed on the menu here. The waiter said they were called chile con queso, and that you could order an enchilada with this as a topping (this would be what I called the “green enchilada” at the other restaurant). This cleared up the mystery, although it is probably not something I will order at either restaurant.

I need to note that almost everything was as good on my second visit as the first, but the red enchiladas were the item that really seemed to suffer when the restaurant was hit by more customers that they seemed to be used to handling.

Other Items
There were not any other favorite items from the other restaurant that I did not try here except the tamales, so I would say this would be something worth trying at some point.

Drinks
When I used to go to the Magruder location they did not serve horchata, and I do not know if they have have now added this to the menu. The iced tea here is good, though, and of course they have alcoholic beverages.

Other Locations
The original and largest restaurant is at 1310 Magruder St. near the airport, and there is one in the terminal of El Paso International Airport.

Closing Comments
The “El Paso” style designation of this and other restaurants means that the chile on top of the enchiladas is spicy but not as much so as most New Mexico restaurants. I think this is a good place to try the local cuisine, particularly because they combine it with very good Mexican cheese, and the chile relleno is not smothered with the spicy chile as many restaurants do.

There is no green chile here, but instead it is called chile con queso. My recommendation would be to get this as an appetizer or side dish rather than on an enchilada, because the red enchilada is the one you would really want if you would like to try El Paso style cuisine. The Chihuahua plate I tried (with enchilada, taco, and relleno) had a very good selection of items, and was also about the right amount of food for me.

Update Nov. 2019: I was able to visit Carlos & Mickey’s in the El Paso International Airport this month, and the red enchiladas were so much better than on my last visit to the Montwood location that I thought I should add some comments about the variability of this restaurant’s food as well as change the rating. The airport restaurant has an abbreviated menu and does not have some of the choices found at the other restaurants (and of course parking can be a killer on your pocketbook if you are going there strictly to eat the food). What it did show me, though, is that the Montwood location seems to be the least consistent of Carlos & Mickey’s three restaurants when it comes to the flavor of the red enchiladas (and I thought everything else was good at the airport location as well–chips, salsa, rice, beans, etc., so this was also a very good sign). I still need to make the comment that I have not been to the Magruder location in a number of years, but I do remember it as being more consistent than what I have found at Montwood.

RATING: 22

Mexican Food Details

Chile Index:
Cooking Oil:	N/A

 

Special Ratings

	Red Enchilada
	Chile Relleno
	Shredded Beef Taco
	Beans
	Rice
	Chips
	Salsa

Katsura Sushi Bar

1920 N. Zaragoza Rd.
El Paso, TX
(915) 857-2222

Katsura

I have never been a big fan of the El Paso sushi restaurants, and spending time in Seattle convinced me that most of it is not really sushi at all (there are some exceptions, though, at a limited number or restaurants). For the most part the “California roll” type of sushi served here, as well as at most other sushi restaurants in the city, simply does not interest me. I do not order it, I do not review it, and I may be missing out on something great (but I really do not think so).

Instead, most of these restaurants have other things on the menu that I think is closer to “real” Japanese food. I give this disclaimer to readers that my rating, at least for this restaurant, is based on this part of the menu. Katsura has a large number of choices by El Paso standards, and it has more breadth to the menu than merely cooking the food on the grill in front of customers (another plus for this restaurant).

Although Katsura is not quite to the level of what I would call authentic Japanese food, it can satisfy my craving for Asian food better than many of the city’s other sushi restaurants.

The Restaurant
Katsura has three locations in El Paso, and one in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. It is one of several local sushi restaurants that appear to have originated in Mexico and then opened locations in El Paso. I know that the major part of their business is the sushi, but all of them offer at least a few of what I would call “standard” Japanese items (Katsura offers more than most of the other restaurants).

I have not had a problem with MSG in any of the restaurants of this genre. This seems to be another plus for the Ciudad Juarez style sushi restaurants.

Unlike many of the Seattle restaurants, the hot tea here (and at most other El Paso restaurants) is not brewed and is not complimentary, but comes from bags and is a significant reason as to why I consider many meals here to be overpriced. I do like the fact, though, that Katsura (and other restaurants) offer jasmine tea in addition to the traditional green tea.

Chicken Yakisoba

Chicken yakisoba

On my initial visit I ordered the Chicken Yakisoba, a noodle dish with chicken and vegetables that was filling and had a good flavor. In my opinion it was better than similar dishes served at some of the competitors, but its main pitfall was the sweetness of the sauce. The flavor had many Asian components (I cannot name them but they probably included soy, ginger, garlic, etc.). Everything was fine except it was too sweet.

Chicken Yakiniku

Chicken yakiniku

The Chicken Yakiniku seems to be an item they have added to the menu recently, and it shows that the non-sushi part of the menu may be popular enough that they are expanding it. Not being a noodle dish, this one comes with rice (so it is equally as fillling as the yakisoba). It also had more chicken than the yakisoba as well as more vegetables, so in the amount of food you get I think it is comparable.

In the all important flavor component it was good. Probably the sauce was not as good as the yakisoba (it was described on the menu as sweet soy sauce), but it had a large amount of sesame seeds and it was not as sweet as the yakisoba. Probably the deciding factor for me was that I preferred the noodles and vegetables of the yakisoba to the large amount of broccoli and chicken in this dish.

Miso

This dish came with a complimentary Miso which I also liked. For any order that includes miso, I think this is a plus.

Other Observations
In El Paso the restaurants calling themselves “Sushi” seem to be less authentic than those calling themselves “Japanese.” This is a wildly generalized statement, but seems to be pretty reliable in my experience.

One disadvantage of the “sushi” restaurants is what they generally do not include on the menu, which is some of more traditional Japanese food. One example is tempura udon which Katsura does not serve, but which is one of my favorites at Riyoma.

Again speaking in generalities, the sauce at Katsura is too sweet (something it shares with most of the “sushi” restaurants). Other aspects of the food are good, though (and I think are better than at some of the other “sushi” restaurants).

Overall I do like the food here, but for the same money I think there are better choices at the city’s Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants.

If I ever get California rolls on my diet I might have a whole other reason to come here, but for now I think the non-sushi menu is not too bad.

RATING: 19

Asian Food Details

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

 

Special Ratings

	Chicken Yakiniku
	Chicken Yakisoba