Madame La Bouffe and I were looking for a good lunch spot on Black Friday in Oklahoma, which was a little hard, because some of the good spots were closed. We were originally planning to eat lunch at a Lebanese restaurant that is called (get this!) La Roma Pizzeria, but, being a family-run business, it too was closed. So as we drove about, we stumbled upon a Mexican eatery called El Maguey. Madame La Bouffe and I both love Mexican food, and we were too hungry to go to even further lengths to find a good restaurant. So we parked and went inside.
We were led to a clean table by a nice waiter, and we chose our drinks and food. We were first served hot tortilla chips that came with really tasty salsa and guacamole. The salsa was a step away from most salsas, which are chunky. This one was smooth and deep red, and had a seriously spicy flavor. The guacamole was very good, but not spectacular. It was, to me, pretty much just average but still delectable when perched atop a crispy chip. As I sat, contentedly slurping my beverage, munching my chips, and debating what to order, my eyes fell upon a certain component of the menu. It was a rather plain dish, to be sure, but still looked so yummy that I felt I had to get it. This "wonderful food" was really just a cheese quesadilla and Mexican rice, but I have such a large fondness for each of these two dishes that I couldn't resist. Madame La Bouffe chose the Tacos El Maguey (you get a choice of meat), and after we ordered, we sat and talked and looked around. The atmosphere was very average for a restaurant, with lots of people talking, waiters bustling around, and the smell of food in the air. It wasn't overly loud, and the plants and antique clay pots sitting around added a nice touch. There were lots of colorful pictures on the walls, and the feel was of nice, cheery chatter.
When our food arrived, we whiffed the fragrance for literally a second, then dove right in. I, of course, had to put habanero hot sauce and a big dollop of guacamole on top of my quesadilla, and after I had finished topping it, I cut off a big bite and began to eat. The tortilla, a plain flour one, was very average for a quesadilla but was nicely crisp and chewy. The cheese was creamy and melty, and tasted rather like American cheese. In a nutshell, my quesadilla was normal and good, just not remarkable. The rice I liked. It was fluffy and toothsome, and I really enjoyed eating it. My meal, a plate of classic Mexican staples, was good, but nothing to write home about.
Our waiter was nice and was always calling us us "amigas," which means "friends" in Spanish. Specifically, it means friends that are girls ("amigos" means friends that are boys), but I don't need to give you a language lesson. All I'm trying to say is that the service was very good indeed, and that you can be sure that if you ever dine at El Maguey, you will always be treated with respect.
So if you happen to be in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, pop into El Maguey, and I surely hope you'll eat good and feel good after you eat good!
