Panchero's
Where: 4250 Minton Road, Palm Bay
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Call: 321-327-5913
Other: The menu includes burritos, salads, quesadillas, tacos and sides.
Tijuana Flats I’m not big into reviewing chain restaurants, since there are so many worthy local joints. Still, it’s hard to avoid chains, and my visit to Panchero’s Mexican Grill in Palm Bay was pleasant enough. It also begs the question, just how many fresh-Mex eateries can the market support?
Where: 76 E. Merritt Island Causeway, No. 104, Merritt Island; 1270 Wickham Road, Melbourne
Hours for both: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
Call: 321-453-1881 (Merritt Island); 321-751-7144 (Melbourne)
Other: Don't miss the hot-sauce bar. You can also buy hot sauces and gift packs to go.
Lots, apparently. The chains that leap to mind, besides Panchero’s, are Tijuana Flats (with locations in Merritt Island and on Wickham Road in Melbourne) and Moe’s Southwest Grill (in Indian Harbour Beach and at The Avenue in Viera).
The Panchero’s gimmick, which is fun to watch as you wait in line to fulfill your order, is that your tortillas are cooked on the spot. An employee drops a ball of dough on a tortilla machine that flattens it flatter than a pancake, and then it might be thrown on the grill.
As you move down the line, you get to pick your fillings, from cheese and your choice of beans to corn relish and a variety of toppings. The result — I got a burrito — is a fat, tasty lunch. My friend ordered a quesadilla, and we added queso (it comes with a bag of blue corn chips), along with two drinks. Total: $17.44. Not bad.
I’ve been to Moe’s once, a while ago, and I don’t remember enough about it to say much more than that.
The truth is, my favorite of these three restaurants is Tijuana Flats. There’s more choice, more flavor and a lot more atmosphere. The Merritt Island location has funky murals that reflect local culture, and, of course, there’s the hot sauce bar. It’s fun to pour several small cups and taste the sauces with chips or your meal, creeping up to the point at which smoke starts pouring out of your ears.
I also appreciate its sense of humor. The Tijuana Flats web site states of its food: "No microwaves. No lard. No plutonium. No antimatter. No dragon meat. No stinking badges. No dirt. No plastic parts. No running with scissors."
At Panchero’s, where the atmosphere is more minimal and more fast-foodie, "It’s all about the tortilla!"
So the restaurants have different goals, bringing up the question, just how do you decide how many palms one gets, anyway? The real question is, how well does the restaurant achieve what it’s attempting to achieve? So Panchero’s gets three palms for meeting its goal of fresh, fast food. And Tijuana Flats gets three palms for meeting its goal of fresh, fast food with a lot more fun.
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