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reviewed on: November 20, 2009
For a town the size of Parker, there sure are a lot of restaurants competing for what business there is. And while the town offers a few unique restaurants, most of what you’ll find in Parker has an equivalent right here in the metro area. So, when we heard from listeners to The Restaurant Show that there was a really great Mexican eatery in Parker, we had our doubts. And when we learned it had the inauspicious name Tequila Joe’s Mexican Kitchen, we were even more suspicious. But postings on the internet were intriguing enough that this week we headed south for what turned out to be one of the most delightful evenings of dining we’ve had in a while. An experience worth the trip from anywhere in the area.
Tequila Joe’s is where the old BB’s Bistro was at about Twenty Mile Road and Dransfeldt, but where BB’s used to be easy to find, that area has grown up to the point where you now have to look a bit to find the restaurant. Despite its location, and a small sign that’s easy to miss, it’s obvious the people of Parker have had no trouble discovering it, as the good-sized room was packed on a weekday evening. There were couples and lots of families—always a good sign—and while the room was on the noisy side, it was a good kind of noise—the sound of people really enjoying themselves. Where BB’s had a somewhat formal European atmosphere, Tequila Joe’s is simple and casual, with bare wooden tables, and a variety of Mexican artifacts on the light pastel walls. We got seated and, almost immediately, our waiter appeared with a basket of chips and a cup of salsa. Had they made a mistake I asked myself. Were all those chips really for a party of two? How big a basket of chips was it? Well, normally when we go for Mexican food, the basket of chips is gone before the entrée arrives. On this night, when we left for the evening the basket was still at least half full!
But chips were only the first surprise. Sure there’s the usual assortment of burritos, fajitas and chimichangas on the menu. After all, no restaurateur wants to scare away diners who insist on the familiar. However, for anyone with a spirit of adventure, this menu offers an amazing mix of really intriguing items. Like Crab Rolls with crab and cream cheese combined with spices and tucked inside a deep-fried eggroll skin. Like a grilled thick-cut pork chop marinated in tequila and lime, topped with green chili. Like shrimp sautéed in jalapeno butter, served in a pool of tomatillo-cream sauce.
We started things off with an appetizer of roasted jalapeno peppers that had been stuffed with cream cheese, rolled up inside a strip of jalapeno-infused bacon, then wrapped in an eggroll skin and fried. A word of warning—good as they are, these are hot! Even the sweet roasted red pepper dip which accompanied them did little to knock back the heat. If you like hot, as we do, these are incredible. From there we moved on to the entrees. In addition to the few items I mentioned earlier, there’s a full selection of tacos, enchiladas and even an assortment of pasta dishes. Pasta in a Mexican restaurant? The whole idea was intriguing enough that for one of our entrees we chose the Red Pepper Pasta, which brought a delightful dish of penne pasta topped with a zesty salsa and red-pepper cream along with mushrooms, black olives and a cut-up chicken breast.
Our second choice was the Tomatillo Crab Enchiladas—a large portion of butter-sauteed shredded crab rolled inside of corn tortillas, served with a mild tomatillo-cream sauce. Many of the dishes at Tequila Joe’s, including the enchiladas, come with black beans and coconut rice—both really good, and a nice tradeoff from the usual beans and rice at most Mexican restaurants. Entrée prices range from $8 to $13, making it an affordable evening out as well.
Tequila Joe’s Mexican Kitchen
11280 S. Twenty Mile Rd. (west of Parker Rd. in front of the Super Target. Look for the tiki torches)
303-840-5637
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