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View the
El Zarape Grill, Monrovia Menu
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Restaurants:
El Zarape Grill
Where: 1601 S. Mountain Ave.,
Monrovia
Phone: (626) 599-8680
Reservations: Not required
Cocktails: Beer and Wine
Service: Full table service
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: No
Credit Cards: MC, AMEX, Visa,
Diners Club, Debit Cards (with Visa or MC logo only)
Kid’s Menu: Yes
Senior Discount: No
Hours: 8am to 9pm daily
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: Yes
Price Range: $1.50 - $9.95, avg.
$7.50 |
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El
Zarape Grill is in the Home Depot Shopping Center off the Mountain exit of
the 210 fwy. |
A
little atmosphere painted onto the walls |
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More
atmosphere |
Ditto |
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Chips
come with two types of salsa |
Carnitas and chile rellenos combo |
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Filet
mignon and shrimp |
Flan
for dessert |
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DOT COM DINING
A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
El Zarape Grill – All You Can Eat in Monrovia
By Bill Coburn
El Zarape
Grill is located in a high traffic area of Monrovia, yet its location seems to
be just out of the way enough that it’s one of those “best kept secrets” kind of
places. Situated about halfway between WalMart and Home Depot at the Mountain
avenue offramp in Monrovia, this area generates more traffic than any other
single intersection in Monrovia, and probably
nearby Duarte, too, I’m guessing, though I’ve not done the research to back that
statement up. Not sure anybody would have done that research, so I didn’t check
into it, but those two stores do one heck of a lot of business, and I feel
pretty confident in making that statement. Especially as the holidays approach.
But El Zarape Grill is kind of out of the way, in
the Home Depot center, but to the far east, in a separate building by David’s
Bridal (another high traffic merchant). And when I’ve been there, it appears
that most of that traffic passes them by. They don’t know what they’re missing,
and since you now know about this restaurant, I’m guessing you can be the first
one on most blocks to tell others about it.
One of the things I like about El Zarape Grill is
their all you can eat special. For just $7.50 ($6.95 if you download a coupon),
you can eat till you’re full. Your choices on the special are carnitas, chile
relleno, enchiladas, tamales, chicken taco, beef taco, pork burrito, beef
burrito, tostada (beef or chicken, chile verde, chile colorado, and taquitos.
You order the first two or three items, and then your server says what would you
like next? And you order the next round of food. It’s a dine in only item,
which comes with soup or salad. Where else can you find that kind of deal at
just $7.50?
I ordered the Filet Mignon and Shrimp dinner, which
came with salad, fried potatoes and rice and beans. What do you think that
costs? Well, if you’ve already looked at the info box, you know it wasn’t more
than $9.95, but if you hadn’t, you were probably thinking $20 or more. Don’t
think that way. It was just $9.95. Now I have to say, even though each filet
is cut individually by the chef, if you’re thinking you’re going to get a nice
thick, tender, juicy filet like you get when you pay the usual price for a
filet, you’re not being realistic. If I had been thinking that going in, I’d
surely have been disappointed. But my thought was, for $9.95, and all that I’m
getting, I probably shouldn’t expect that thick $20 filet cut. And I wasn’t
disappointed. Frankly, I’d order it again. The shrimp was really good (I
ordered it grilled, the other choice was fried), and the filet was actually
quite tasty. It was a thin cut, but ample, tougher than I’m used to with a
filet, but I’m also used to paying more than twice as much, and getting just the
filet at that price, without the shrimp, salad, beans and rice. But what was
important was, that even though I wasn’t get what I usually expect to get when
ordering a filet, I got a piece of steak that tasted good.. I would probably
recommend ordering the salad on the side, as some of the warm food was served on
top of the salad, and I like my salad cold and crisp, which it wasn’t after
having grilled shrimp on it. As I said, I’d order it again, but if you’re a
filet purist, you might want to order something else.
I’ve been told that they are really emphasizing
their seafood, and I wish I’d eaten there enough to tell you about more than
just the shrimp. But I can say, the shrimp was really good, and if it’s any
indication, you might want to try the seafood.
Katie really enjoyed the chile relleno, said it was
very light, and delicious. She also said the carnitas was well seasoned, and we
both enjoyed the rice and beans. And another thing I like about El Zarape
Grill. They give you choices on hot sauces. Some places offer only their own
home made salsa. Our chips came with home made pico de gallo and a homemade hot
salsa. The homemade hot salsa was really good, and different than others that
I’ve had, in that it was hot, but not dominated by pepper seeds. I had several
hot sauces in a row that I really enjoyed during one recent stretch of reviews,
but the sauces were so similar, I wondered if I was eating the same salsa, just
a different location. Not so at El Zarape. But they also offered the option of
bottled hot sauces, includint Tapatio, and two different Jabanera hot sauces,
one red, one green. Last week, I went to one of the major chains for brunch,
and told the manager afterward that I understand going to a Marie Callender’s,
for instance, and ordering a Mexican food item and finding Tabasco as my only
option, but not at a big Mexican restaurant chain like this, which specializes
in that cuisine. No such worries at El Zarape Grill.
I’ll be going back to El Zarape Grill soon, and
checking out their breakfast and more of the seafoods. It was definitely worth
a second look, and I’ll give you some updates as I know more about them. In the
meantime, I’d recommend giving them a try, especially the All You Can Eat deal.
It’s hard to beat. And they are now serving beer and wine, a recent addition,
and they have catering available as well. You can see their menu, and download
coupons (including a buy one get one coupon) from
www.elzarapegrill.com.
Wildflour
Baking Company in Sierra Madre (355-9000) will be offering a baking class to
show you how to prepare a meal of Roasted Garlic and Brie Soup, Peat Scented
Roast Goose, Madeira Shallots, Bulgar Pilaf with Leeks and Cranberries, and
Raspberry and Marsala Truffle on Saturday, December 4th from 2 – 5
pm. Cost is $70. Surprise your family, by creating this delicious 5-course
meal this year, with a little help from your friends at WBC.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a
restaurant website featuring dozens of restaurant’s menus, as well as
downloadable coupons. He has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant
business, and has been eating for much longer than that. |
