Bonjour amigos simpaticos, bienvenidos a Tequila Authentic Mexican Food & Cantina. Let me start by saying that Ames certainly has its fair share of Mexican restaurants and it may be tempting to stick to one or two. (Well, three if you count Taco Johns.)

But I invite you to broaden your horizons and your taste buds by trying Tequila. It’s kinda new — it just opened last May; it’s kinda far away — (OK, it’s in B.F.E) out by K-Mart at 320 S. 16th St.; and it’s kinda difficult to decide what to order — their menu has more choices and combinations than Dennis Rodman has tattoos and body piercing.

OK, about Tequila’s menu: let’s just say I was impressed. (Which doesn’t take much, but still.) We’ll start with the drinks: Tequila doesn’t serve straight shots of tequila but for those of us fortunate enough to be of the legal age, you can choose from a selection of four margaritas, 13 domestic beers, 9 imported beers and five different wines.

Personally, I went with a free refill, 95-cent Wild Cherry Pepsi.

Did I mention Tequila had an impressive menu? Yep, and one of the greatest things is that it gives a nice description of the food. Even though all Mexican food tastes and looks the same on your plate (to me anyway), it’s still nice to know what you’re really eating.

Nachos (Na-choz) for example, are chips topped with melted cheese and jalapeno peppers.

Enchiladas (En-chie-lah-dahs) are described as corn tortillas rolled with beef filling and topped with cheese and sauce.

This is so much fun, how about one more? Tamales (Tam-mah-lays) are savory chicken filling steamed in corn meal casing with sauce.

OK — you know when you’re waiting to be seated at a restaurant and they ask if you want smoking or non, but it doesn’t really matter ’cause it’s all one big room anyway so you say “non” just so you can go and sit down already?

Well, another one of the great things about Tequila is that they actually have a wall separating the two sections. This is very much appreciated by me, hence the lengthy explanation. Too bad Tequila doesn’t have a non-inebriated section….

I had to stop cramming; the time of reckoning was here. I ordered Combination #8: one enchilada, one tamale, rice & fried beans for $5.75.

Fifteen minutes later I was served a completely filled plate of food. Everything on the plate was touching, but that’s to be expected from Mexican food, right?

The color and texture of the tamale and enchilada sauce was analogous to Spaghetti-O’s, but luckily it didn’t taste that way. In fact, it tasted great and more than filled my hungry appetite.

After dinner I was tired. That’s OK though, because had I been more daring I could have grabbed an authentic sombrero and blanket off the wall and taken a siesta.

The end of the meal was awkward; I knew not what to do. After sitting around in embarrassed silence for awhile, I went to the front and asked for the check.

The cashier was extremely friendly. He insisted I tell all my friends about the place. “You bet,” I told him.

Muchas gracias por su vista. Por favor regrese. Need I say more?

5 starsout of five.

---

Kim Zangger is a senior in advertising from Mt. Vernon.