The Los Amigos chimichanga is drenched in queso when it comes to your table. (Photo by Jackson Hyde)Jackson Hyde - Features Editorfeatures@insideuab.com
Los Amigos is a short drive away from campus serving Mexican food from burritos to quesadillas. Most of their fare is under $10, and the stuff that isn’t barely breaks that mark.
When you enter Los Amigos, you will find the employee in charge behind a wall to the left. He’s kind of stony and he’s not very talkative, but he or a waiter will lead you to your table after a short wait. Even on busy nights you can expect to be seated within a few minutes.
After you’re seated by a waiter who is significantly more chipper than the man at the front desk, you’ll order your drink and take in your surroundings. There are a few TVs mounted from the walls that demand your attention, playing soccer under the Spanish music that’s basically required for any Mexican restaurant. The interior of the building is decidedly orange, the air almost looks like it’s some kind of dim, watered down Sunny D. That said, their booths are nice and efficiently separate you from other customers.
Before you’ve fully catalogued all that’s around you, your waiter will bring you your drinks and you can finally get what you came for: cheap Mexican food. I ordered the chimichanga dish, a fried, Americanized chicken burrito served with rice and beans for $7.75. You also get a side of guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream to do with as you please. I just smothered my chimichanga in sour cream, but if you’re not a heathenous guac-hater like me then you should utilize that was well.
The chimichanga itself was juicy and topped with loads of cheese, both features that I admire in all foods. When I broke the chimichanga’s fried tortilla shell, it flaked away like the top of a good pot pie. The chicken inside was tender and hot, and accompanied by the beans and sour cream it tasted like I was eating a whole taco salad in every bite. The rice was kind of tasteless, but mixing it with the beans made it easier to eat and better to taste.
Overall, I was surprised with how flavorful the dish was; meals of similar price from different Mexican restaurants taste bland in comparison. The establishment’s staff was alright, their speed in preparing food was impressive, but their customer service skills could be improved. Los Amigos is a restaurant that I wouldn’t take anyone on a first date, but the atmosphere is good for groups of friends to get together and talk loudly about life and food.
Los Amigos is located at 3324 Clairmont Ave South. They are open every day with varying hours, but you can always count on them being open from 11 a.m. to at least 9 p.m.
