But recently whle in Tonalá, Jalisco, we had to come to terms with live musical entertainment.
It was at a recommended restaurant not far from our hotel, El Rincón del Sol. Their website advised us that we would be blessed with live music with our meals. So, we entered the small, attractive restaurant hesitatingly. We scoped out the scene from just inside the doorway. This young man was seated with a guitar and a rhythm machine and performing rather nicely. Easy going voice and a deft touch with the guitar.
He seemed harmless enough, the amplifiers were well adjusted, and his repertoire was easy listening; so we seated ourselves, then ordered.
(Now, for the food.)
Doña Cuevas had a well chilled Cerveza Bohemia, and I had a coctel Margarita, served on the rocks. We looked over the menu and nibbled totopos (tortilla chips). There were little boat shaped dishes with tasty house-made salsas. One was a tomatillo based salsa with something like chile pasilla for the heat component; another was thick, crushed red tomato, with more kick; and the third was a classic Salsa Mexicana or Salsa Cruda.
We decided to forego appetizers, as I ordered a Molcajete de Pollo for a main course and la Sra., a Filete de Res in a garlic and sweet pepper sauce.
The cooking took more than a little while, but we were enjoying the drinks, and especially the music. I was pleased that the entertainer knew a Spanish version of "Cottonfields Back Home").
Eventually, the platos fuertes arrived. The Molcajete was a molten lake of fire in its volcanic stone bowl. The chicken strips, zucchini slices, onions and nopalitos were tender and succulent.
Doña Cuevas' Filete de Res, smothered in a garlic and sweet pepper sauce was tender beyond belief. Even the frijoles alongside were good.
This was a very enjoyable meal, and the entertainer made it even more so. I have to conclude that it's not live musical entertainment I dislike with my restaurant meals, it's bad music, especially when it's forced upon us.
We liked it so much, we lingered over some flan (perfectly ordinary) and a not too bad cup of coffee.
RATINGS:
Food: ****
Service: ****
Price: $-$$ Our bill, for 2 mains, 1 Margarita and 3 beers was in the mid to higher $300 peso range.
Ambience: Relaxing
Restrooms: adequate
Open Monday to Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
16 de Septiembre No.61 Down Town
Phone. +52 (33) 3683 1989 / 3683 1940
Tonala, Jalisco, Mexico.
NOTE: Musical artists may vary.