North Manchester is a great community with a lot to offer, but when it comes to making dining decisions my friends and I often find ourselves complaining that there isn’t more of a variety to choose from. It was not that long ago, during a debate of this matter, that someone suggested El Mezquite; although we had all eaten there before on several occasions, hearing that option seemed like a revelation to all of us.

El Mezquite is one of the newer restaurants in the community and its authentic Mexican cuisine, combined with a similarly authentic atmosphere, offers customers an unique dining experience. The restaurant is a smaller division of the popular Mi Pueblo restaurants and is one of six owned by the same individual.

The restaurant is decorated to reflect popular designs in Mexican culture. Authentic pieces of Mexican art hang from the brightly-colored walls throughout the restaurant, and in the bar section the individual chairs at the bar itself were actually brought in from Mexico. The bar section also offers televisions which are generally set on a channel playing ethnic music.

Each time that we eat at El Mezquite there is always a variety of food ordered because the menu offers so many different items to choose from. The first page of the menu lists a few of the more common food items offered then provides a guide to pronouncing the items as well as a short description of what the item is, which is very helpful for those of us with little knowledge of the ethnic cuisine. From there the menu breaks down into appetizers, side orders, desserts, salads, fajitas, steaks, vegetarian plates, and a “little amigos” section for children 12 and under.

One of the employees explained that the most popular items ordered were the chimichangas (a stuffed flour tortilla with chunks of beef or spicy chicken, deep-fried, topped with cheese, and served with lettuce, Pico de Gallo sauce, sour cream and guacamole), the fajitas (your choice of flour or corn tortillas filled with strips of chicken, beef skirt steak, or shrimp, cooked with sauteed onions, bell peppers and tomatoes, served with refried beans, Mexican rice, lettuce, guacamole, Pico de Gallo sauce and sour cream), and the arroz con pollo (grilled, seasoned chicken served over Mexican rice and topped with cheese).

There are more sections containing specialties of the house, traditional favorites, sample platters, a la carte orders, and a luncheon menu which is available on weekdays from 11 a.m. to  3 p.m. and is served with chips and salsa, Mexican rice and refried beans. One section includes 26 different combination dinners that are each $6.95. My personal favorite is dinner 23, one taco and one burrito served on a large plate of rice and beans. The serving size of most of these items is so large that at times I have to stop myself from getting too full on the free chips and salsa that are placed on your table before you even make your order.

El Mezquite also offers a large selection of beverages, with non-alcoholic items including Coca-Cola products, lemonade, unsweetened or raspberry iced tea, milk, and coffee. It has five different kinds of wine, six domestic beer choices, seven Mexican beers, and oh yeah, they serve five flavors of margaritas, lime, strawberry, raspberry, peach and pina colada, in four different sizes ranging from regular to pitchers.

The El Mezquite staff is very accommodating, offering friendly dine-in service or preparing your order to-go, available by calling 260-982-8490. The restaurant is located at 402 Wabash Road, which is south of Huck’s gas station just over the railroad tracks. It is open Sunday - Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

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