el nuevo vs. el mariachi

i've recently become addicted to mexican food. i can't get enough tacos, black beans, rice and pico de gallo. i have a favorite mexican joint in my hood called el mariachi (http://www.elmariachitequilabar.com/). my old roommate and i got take out from there once and now i can't get enough. the bf and i go there all the time. one of my old coworkers told me that el nuevo (http://www.elnuevomexicano.net/) beat the pants off el mariachi so i had to try it. the bf and i went over the weekend and compared and contrasted every little aspect of our meals.


atmosphere
el mariachi has two locations - one is further north from me and fairly large but we go to the one around the corner from my apartment that has about 6 tables, twinkle lights and large open windows in the summer. i love how teeny tiny this place is and it's pretty romantic.


el nuevo is larger than our el mariachi and had cool chairs and a nice vibe. they had a tv with a soccer game on which kind of made it less romantic.


service
both places have good, efficient service and the meal goes by quickly at both spots.

chips & salsa
el mariachi has the most delicious homemade chips that come out with 2 different types of homemade salsa. the salsa is always a little different which is fun and they are they are never stingy with bringing out as many chips as we'd like.


el nuevo does not have homemade chips but they have a fun seasoning on theirs that adds a little kick. they brought out one type of salsa that was just ok. they brought out some more chips with our meal too.


entrees
at el mariachi i always get the chicken tacos with beans and rice. they're soft shell tacos are insanely greasy, they shred the chicken themselves and toss it in some amazing sauce and put just the right amount of lettuce and cheese on the tacos. i'm obsessed with their beans and rice and love to dip their chips in both. i always leave the meal feeling like i'm going to fall over because i can't help but clean my plate!


at el nuevo i decided to get a combo platter with one beef taco, one beef tostada and one cheese enchilada with beans and rice. it was plated beautifully and it looked way fancier than el mariachi. i started with the cheese enchilada in mole sauce. i usually don't like mole but this was really good. then i went to the taco. unfortunately it had been lying in mole sauce and the shell was totally destroyed so it made it impossible to eat! the part that did get to my mouth was good though. then i had a bit of the tostada. i've never known how to eat these properly so i just cut up some pieces. their rice and beans were fine but it didn't wow me.

overall, el nuevo was good and fine but el mariachi has my heart. i'm glad i checked out a decent contender but el mariachi will always be my favorite!