Chow Down Phoenix!

Rating:

This is a restaurant that has always interested me.  The sign says “La Parilla Suiza: Mexico City Food.”  First of all, I don’t know of many Mexican restaurants in Phoenix that serve cuisine from the capital city; you typically find either Sonoran, Tex-Mex, or Baja Mex. Secondly, and more interesting, “La Parilla Suiza” means “The Swiss Grill” in Spanish.  Every time I drive past the sign, I wonder to myself what the heck The Swiss Grill has to do with Mexican food.  For some reason, this mystery wasn’t enough to motivate me to try the restaurant.  But then one day a friend of mine, who is from Mexico City, mentioned that he and his wife eat at La Parilla Suiza from time to time.  This was surprising, because he doesn’t think too highly of the Mexican restaurants in Phoenix.  That was the final straw; I had to finally give this place a try.

They served three types of salsa with our tortilla chips–pico de gallo, tomatillo, and a spicier red chile salsa.  I always like it when Mexican restaurants offer a variety of salsas.  None of the salsas were sweetened, which I believe is a sign of authenticity.  I’ve only been to Mexico a couple times, but on both occasions, I recall the salsas being more salty and less sweet than the gringo versions that are typically served here in the states.  My personal preference is for the sweeter salsas, but that’s what you’d expect from a gringo.

My wife wanted a sangria, so I ordered her a glass ($4).  It looked refreshing with the lime wedges and cherry floating on top of the ice.

I don’t know what I was thinking, but I ordered a Chicken Chimichanga Combo ($8.50).  I was supposed to go to this restaurant to sample the cuisine of Mexico City, and I ended up ordering more gringo food.  I couldn’t help it though; I have some kind of fever and the only cure is more chimichangas.  I can’t stop eating the things.

It was an average chimi, but I can’t really fault them for it, because this isn’t their specialty.  The beans and rice, on the other hand, were pretty good.

My wife ordered the Parillada de Pollo ($11), which is chicken breast sauteed with bacon, onions, and bell peppers, served with charro beans and flour tortillas.  It was a huge dish, but it was the perfect size to split with her mom.

My dad ordered the Beef Tamale and Cheese Enchilada Combo ($9).  He wasn’t too keen on the dish or the experience in general.  We had some issues with slow service, and there was a fly buzzing around our table most of the evening.  I’m guessing and hoping that was a bit of bad luck rather than poor management.  The restaurant otherwise appeared clean and well-run.

We all split an order of Sopapillas ($4) for dessert.  They weren’t the type of sopapillas we were hoping for.  They were served plain with a couple packets of Kraft honey and butter.  Sopapillas should be drenched in honey, butter, and cinnamon, like the scrumptious ones we had at Santiago’s in Bisbee.

Overall, our experience was a bit of a let down.  It was partly my fault; I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more if I had ordered a more authentic dish, rather than the gringo food.  I think I’ll go back sometime and give it another try.

Note: La Parilla Suiza has six locations in Arizona (see website for details)

La Parilla Suiza Mexico City Food
1622 S. Stapley Dr. (Map)
Mesa, AZ 85204
phone: (480) 633-1300
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