🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <170420041039483448%222ggg@spam.really.sucks>, Gerry
<222ggg@spam.really.sucks> wrote:

> But then there are what we call "Big Plate Mexican", primarily marketed
> to anglos I assume. The rationale is that they want to get $9-$12
> dollars out of any patron for an entree.  As such they have to load it
> up with one dinner and two lunches so you won't feel cheated.  Who the
> hell can eat one of these jumbo jets at El Torito, Acapulco, The Chili
> Pepper or Juana Maria (Orange)?  Especially after they force-feed you
> the guacamole.  Starters?!?  Starters?!?  Somebody needs to prep an
> appetite for a four pound burrito?


Actually, eating at the Acapulco next to the sea lane in San Pedro was
one of my memorable eating experiences. My brother and I had just been
out on Catalina and had walked all over town, so we were in the mood
for a "feed bag" when we got off the ferry. 

I remember getting one of the truly large platters, with camarones and
fajitas and all sorts of other stuff. A vast amount of food.

And I ate it all. Yes, I was bloated. But it satisfied what I think is
a primal urge to occasionally "pig out," to feast like there's no
tomorrow. 

I still have fond memories of this, and when I was last visiting him at
his place in Manhattan Beach, I suggested we try the Acapulco in MB. It
was not as good as my memories of the San Pedro location, though much
more crowded (and with more annoying mariachi music). 

(For some reason, the San Pedro location was nearly empty when we were
there, and the walls were glass windows, looking out over the shipping
lane, which makes sense. The Manhattan Beach location was much more
crowded, fully packed in fact, and the walls were the usual motif of
faux adobe with murals, hanging baskets of stuff, etc.)

But both Acapulcos were better than any of my last several experiences
at El Torito, many years ago (that chain seems to have down-sized, as
many of the Bay Area locations are now gone).

We have some Acapulcos in the Bay Area, which I expect are part of the
same chain, but the only one I have tried (Sunnyvale) was for a "make
it yourself" buffet, so this is not a good test.

I'll have to give them another shot, as I sure do remember that huge
plate of shrimp and fajitas!

--Tim May