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REVIEW: El Dorado delivers on its promise

By Anne Ylvisaker

I’d been putting off visiting El Dorado Mexican restaurant in Iowa City for some time, though a friend had praised its consistency and good prices. I am a regular at Fiesta Del Sol in Cedar Rapids (4801 First Ave. SE) and heading off to review El Dorado (1634 Sycamore St. in Iowa City’s Sycamore Mall) when I hadn’t thought to write about Fiesta, I felt as though I was stepping out on a good friend or getting my hair cut by a different stylist while mine is on vacation.

So I was both momentarily confused and relieved when I opened the menu at El Dorado to find it page for page, item for item, identical to the menu at Fiesta. Turns out both restaurants are part of the Amigo Foods group, which also includes Iowa restaurants Los Tres Amigos and El Ranchero. The Amigo Foods motto is Good Food, Fast Service, Affordable Prices and that could well be the condensed version of this review.

Good Food. The food at El Dorado, as at Fiesta, is consistently good. My favorite dishes are those with the pork, especially the Carnitas — big, fork-tender hunks of slow cooked pork served with hot tortillas, rice and beans, and a small green salad topped with guacamole and crisp green peppers.

When my family ribbed me about being stuck in an ordering rut, I branched out to the chile verde, a plate of shredded pork in a satisfyingly spicy chunky green sauce.

One of the strengths of the menu is its variety. The standard tacos, burritos and fajitas are there, but so are Choripollo – a dish that combines chicken and spicy chorizo sausage;  and Pollo Con Garlic -- two flat pounded chicken breasts covered in flavorful cheesy garlic cream sauce.

The salsa comes in a glass jar and is poured into a small bowl at the table as needed. It’s moderately spicy and the chips taste fresh though we often add a little salt.

Fast Service. To be honest, sometimes faster than we’d like, if that’s possible. We’ve usually got more conversation in us than time at the table, though we’ve never been made to feel like we are being hurried out. The food simply comes very promptly. Chips and salsa are delivered nearly at the moment of being seated and a server is close behind to take orders.

I’d add friendly to this part of the motto. The pleasantness of the staff is as consistent as the quality of the meals. I like to eat at restaurants in which employees appear to enjoy their work environment. At El Dorado on a recent visit, fun south-of-the border music was playing and I spotted a couple of servers spin in an impromptu dance. When my husband’s margarita arrived looking and tasting watery, our server cheerfully and quickly replaced it.

Affordable Prices. Most dinner entrees are between eight and ten dollars, five to seven at lunch, with fajitas a couple of dollars more. A house margarita is under $5, though the price can quickly double when ordered “golden” and with a premium tequila such as Don Julio (definitely worth it in my opinion.)

Our server at El Dorado told us that it is a VIP location, and that the chef looks for a higher standard of quality in everything, often sampling ingredients to make sure they are up to his standard. This was consistent with our experience. The portions were a bit more generous than at Fiesta, the tomatoes slices were thicker and there were a few small additions, such as a nice heap of jalepenos with my carnitas and a thick melt of queso fresco on the refried beans.

You do get what you pay for. This is not gourmet dining. The guacamole isn’t memorable. There are no exotic ingredients. But for consistently decent fare in a friendly atmosphere, this family of restaurants fits the bill.