Chips, salsa just the start of a good thing at new Tex-Mex place

You can tell the quality of a Mexican restaurant from its chips and salsa. If the chips are stale or the salsa is like ketchup, turn around and leave. But if the chips are warm without being greasy and the salsa is chunky with vegetables and bright with a little heat, you’ve found a winner. Not only does the new Sabor Latino Mexican Restaurant on Riverside Drive have warm chips and spicy salsa, it has fantastic homemade guacamole and perfect cheese dip.

The prices are in line with or a little higher than most of the local Tex-Mex restaurants — a small cheese dip is $3.99, a taco salad is $10.99 and fajitas are $13.99. If it’s a little higher than what you expect, wait until you see the serving sizes, which were enough for us to eat the next day.

My favorite dish was the chicken fajitas, $11.99 for one order or $21.99 for a double. Loaded with chicken, peppers and caramelized onions, with a side of some of the best refried beans and all the usual accoutrements, this is one to try on your first visit. There’s also the La Parrilla Latina with all the meats at $24.49 for a double order.

The burrito and taco dinners range from $8.99 to $10.99 and come with the usual meats but also “Southern-style” chicken, brisket and Ensenada-style fish such as those on the Baja California peninsula. We had the tacos de tinga with shredded chicken and adobo sauce for $10.99 and had plenty for later.

They have a great lunch special that includes two items for $6.95 or three for $7.95, including tamales, enchiladas, chile relleno, tacos, chicken soup or even guacamole salad. The dinner combo special is similar but costs $8.99 for two choices and $10.99 for three, including those great refried beans and rice.

The word doesn’t seem to have gotten out yet, as we were nearly the only customers when we visited on an early Tuesday night, but the management there will do everything to make you happy. Give it a try and if you don’t like it, I’ll eat my sombrero.

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Chips, salsa just the start of a good thing at new Tex-Mex place."