Arcos
129 S. Broadway
Upper Fells Point, Baltimore
410-522-4777
Mexican
www.restaurantearcos.com
Cost: $$
Reservations: Not Needed
Date of meal: Saturday, August 18, 2007 (5pm)
National Price-Quality Frontier: Inside It
Baltimore Price-Quality Frontier: Extends It
Arcos has an amazing back patio. If the weather is nice, this is a real draw. In general, the decor is both pleasing and authentic. You feel like you are in Mexico. While we arrived early, there were very few people there even when we left. It is hard to imagine that getting a table would be a problem.
Alcoholic beverages were good and reasonably priced. I had the house margarita ($5), with Mexican beers (Sol and Bohemia, not just Corona) for $3.75. They have more expensive tequilas with more expensive margaritas to match, but I didn't try these.
Chips were the yummy high-fat ones and salsa was good.
The menu is divided into appetizers, lighter fare, and entrees. We ordered two items from the lighter fare despite being quite hungry. This proved to be plenty. The "Tacos al Pastor" ($9.xx, only available Friday and Saturday nights!) were the real standout. These are small soft tortillas served with barbecued pork, onions, guacamole, etc. The pork had a great tangy flavor to it, and the tacos were served with an outstanding cilantro sauce. We also ordered the tamales (also about $9), which were good but not as exciting. Entrees were in the $13-$17 range, though again we didn't order any. For dessert, we split the fried ice cream which was pretty good but not amazing. This put us quickly into a food coma.
I would highly recommend this place. It would be a great place for a date, or a group of friends. The reasonable prices and nice atmosphere are a great combination.
