El Rodeo GRILL - 7420 Six Forks Road, Raleigh

Now don't be confused. This restaurant is not part of the El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant chain. Yes, it is Mexican food and yes it is owned by the same family that owns El Rodeo. But this restaurant is more like a fancy Mexican restaurant and no one calls you "amigo."

I went with some friends and we tried a full spread. So I think we have a pretty good variety to critique the menu. First, the atmosphere though. The restaurant definitely felt classy with frosted glass separating the bar from the rest of the restaurant. There is a stylish ramp that leads from the hostess station to the seating area, too. We went on a Sunday evening which may have contributed to a low clientele. There were only a handful of other tables full.

The standard chips and salsa were brought to the table. The chips weren't that special but the salsa was tastier than most Mexican restaurants. The website says they make their salsa fresh daily. It had large chunks of onion and didn't reek of cilantro so that's a winner for me!

For the meals, the waitress recommended the fajitas, the burritos and the fajita quesadillas. So, here's what we ordered:

The chicken fajita quesadilla ($12.49): The quesadilla was quite tastey. It was loaded with green peppers, onions, mushrooms, chicken and CHEESE. The mushrooms were succulent and the cheese was different from most other quesadillas. Quite tastey. The rice was nothing to write home about and that green lettuce stuff was loaded with cilantro. The guacamole was pretty yummy, too. No idea what the white stuff was on the quesadilla.

Carnitas ($11.99): Quoted as "the pork was trying to seduce my mouth." The pork was very tender and full of flavor. Not to mention that it was a huge hunk of meat. It was served with rice, refried beans, slaw and tomatillo sauce. The slaw was more like cabbage mix with some vinegar dressing. Also, the refried beans had some extra flavor which was a nice surprise.

Fajita Trio ($13.99): The statement made about fajitas was that the vegetables were not cooked long enough. The vegetables were still crunchy and not blackened in any spot. Cheese and guacamole were offered as "extra" and it was not understood that the cheese would be melted on the meat, but that was a great bonus. Also, a great quantity of meat was expected based on other Mexican dining experiences.

One thing unique to El Rodeo Grill is that they offer Charro beans which were pretty freaking good. They taste like pinto beans cooked with chipotle peppers - smokey and with some spice. Yum.

El Rodeo Grill also offers homemade sangria. The sangria tasted a little sour, like it was made mostly with cranberry juice and very little real fruit flavor. Not what I consider authentic sangria.

Final weigh-in: If you're a fan of Dos Taquitos, this place is WAY better, has better hours and atmosphere. If you have a favorite local Mexican restaurant around the corner, it's not really worth the drive past your local Mexican joint for a classy $12-per-plate Mexican restaurant. El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant has a menu with greater variety but definitely not the exact same offerings as El Rodeo Grill.

Website and menu: http://www.elrodeogrill.com/
Speed: Not bad, slower than a regular Mexican restaurant though and it took a long time to get the bill and then send it back to be separated.
Price: $10-$15/plate
Hours: Mon-Thurs: 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm, Sun: 11am-9pm