Patron's Mexican Grill
 Wadsworth, Ohio        Date of Visit  01/12/13         No Known Website 

We’re cheating on our favorite local Mexican purveyors. Patron’s seemed to have opened under another name a short bit ago and quickly closed only to reopen recently as Patron’s. Actually I can’t remember if the name was different before the coming soon sign was returned to the window. Doesn’t matter they are open now and we are going to the big box Mecca of Walmart and Patron’s is in the strip mall to the side of the parking lot.
 

Not A Bad Feel To The Place Inside
 

From the outside it looks very strip mall, inside it features a pretty kitschy Mexican-feeling decor. Now, I know, Mexican food in suburban Ohio has come a long way but still isn’t a shadow of the real enchilada. A fond nod to a prep cook of the past in Arizona who only worked a few months in this country every year before returning home and would turn scraps into simple magic…Hola Maria!

Sorry.

Our local joint is busy without exception and more than one competitor has failed to survive for long. When we walked in to sit down, Steph asked the bus boy if we could sit where ever and he had no idea what she was saying…good sign. The service was friendly but couldn't compare to classic Casa...which has been slipping some in this department over the years anyways.

 

The mandatory chips and salsa followed us quickly to the table and in what would be a theme, they were different. Other local Mexican startups to this point have had sloppy and bland food and service. Patron’s does much better. Everything has a slightly different taste and texture than Casa, but it is different not bad. The salsa is thinner and has a little less jalapeno and cilantro but still tastes pretty good. The margarita different but tasty and I drove Steph’s car home.
 

We ordered two lunch specials, the #12 enchiladas and choripollo. The enchilada’s were cheese and chicken and quickly disappeared from Steph’s plate. She reported they were good. The choripollo is the same chicken/chorizo combo I would typically order at Casa and have tried under several names at other places. Patron’s wasn’t my favorite but it wasn’t bad at all. The sausage was more lightly seasoned than I would prefer but still added a nice bite to the chicken. I don’t think Casa is in any trouble but for folks running in to WallyWorld or standing outside in the cold at Casa they may have a viable second option in town.