When a night of unadulterated fun, lots of margaritas, TexMex, and drunken debauchery is what you're looking for, head on over to Greenbelt 2 and seek out Chihuahua Mexican Grill & Margarita Bar! I had the pleasure of enjoying a nightlong dinner there with my equally crazy (and loud!) foodie friends.
The restaurant is located on the other side of Greenbelt 2, away from most of the foot traffic. Don't let the quiet strip fool you - I personally think they made it this way specifically so people inside can be a little more rowdy if they wanted to. The inside of the restaurant is an organized chaos of photos, a collection of hot sauce, maracas, Mexican sombreros, cowboy hats, and the traditional colorful sarapes. The manager, Bryan Gallinger, suggests you don the Tex or Mex attire to really get into the spirit of things, which was exactly what happened! Kind of. You'll see.
For appetizers, we started off with Chips and Queso "Special" (P195.00)! A huge basket of crisp nachos is served alongside a bowl of Chili con Queso - a mix of melted cheese, tomatoes, bell peppers, spicy ground beef, and pickled jalapeños. I kept fishing out the jalapeños in the dip - I just cannot get enough of these spicy little morsels of heat.
I wasn't drinking that night, and opted to try their new non-alcoholic beverage, Aguas Frescas. Spanish for "fresh water", this usually has a combination of fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water to make light non-alcoholic beverages popular in Mexico. Right now, Chihuahua has three flavors to choose from: Watermelon, Melon, and Pear. My favorite is the Watermelon. It's sweet and refreshing, and I could probably down a whole bottle if they'd let me.
Our resident luchador, La Azotar (The Spank) was taking a break from wrestling with a glass of Michelada (P95) - a Mexican cerveza preparada made with beer, lime juice, and assorted sauces, spices, and peppers. As you can see, he was in character that night and ready to face his small, dark, insignificant foe - La Cucaracha. Sing with me, I know you want to! La cucaracha, la cucaracha, ya no puede caminar. Porque le falta, porque no tiene marihuana pa' fumar. Olé!
After we all got settled, we were served a huge bowl of Chicken Nachos (P345) that was muy delicioso! Freshly diced red onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, refried beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and diced grilled chicken breasts. I went a bit overboard and had one too many mouthfuls of this mouthwatering monstrosity.
Jericho, on the other hand, took a shine to the Steak Nachos (P385). I found this way to heavy for my taste (albeit really, really good) or maybe I had stuffed myself too much with the chicken version to fully appreciate the medium rare steak that was diced into manageable pieces to be scooped up with a nacho and stuffed in your face hole.
We took a break from all the eating to drink some more and laugh our butts off our chairs at El Picanto, Richie, and his attempt to use his, erm, sex pistol. Note that they come complete with a pair of pretty hefty maracas. Although I'm not so sure that's how you're supposed to use them...
New on the menu was the Carnitas Quesadilla (P485), a stewed pulled pork, Chicano style. This was pretty heavy in itself, with the rich, succulent meat and all its savory, saucy goodness. They will also be coming out with a few other quesadillas like the Steak Quesadilla (P545.00), Picadillo Quesadilla (P465.00), and Veggie Quesadilla (P385.00).
For those who like it hot
Moving on to the next dish, I had a few bites of Chihuahua's Two Bean Burrito (P135.00) made with refried beans. This looks like a great options for vegetarians, but I'll pass on the double dose of gas, especially if you plan on shaking your booty salsa dancing all night.
For those of you who can't hack the 12-inch burritos, there's the Mini Me (P225) 10-inch version that's still heavily laden with beef, beans, salsa, and Mexican rice. I found this too salty for my taste. It could've also done with a few jalapeños in the mix.
What we had for dessert was the bomb! A huge Banana Nutella Quesadilla (Small - P195, Large P345) was set in front of us, with banana slices lying atop a bed of thick Nutella, before being covered with a tortilla layer, topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, and drizzled with a rich caramel sauce. I can have this again, and again, and again.
I guess I can speak for myself and the rest of my foodie fambam when I say we all had an amazing time! Thank you to the manager, Bryan Gallinger, as well as the owners, Elian Habayeb and Ines Cabarrus, for having us over! If it wasn't obvious, we really had such a crazy, wonderful time!
When mucking around Makati and looking for a watering hole to chill or a TexMex joint that you and the whole family can enjoy, check out Chihuahua Mexican Grill & Margarita Bar! They'll be having game night, quiz night, and a whole lot of other fun theme nights in the works, so check them out when you can!
Just mucking around Manila,
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Images taken by Jericho San Miguel of Tasty Pixel Photography
Chihuahua Mexican Grill & Margarita Bar
+63 2 625 0106
G/F Greenbelt 2, Esperanza St
Legazpi Village, Makati
Open Daily: 11am - 3am
