La Fiesta

Tex-Mex restaurant in Maumee appeals to our love of bacon

Enchiladas Supremas at La Fiesta restaurant.

Fajitas are so common these days, even fast-food restaurants offer versions of grilled steak and chicken, along with veggies and cheese, wrapped in a flour tortilla. So serving a unique spin on the Mexican food staple is worth noting. La Fiesta in Maumee does just that -- with bacon no less.

The alambre fajitas ($10.99) are sizzling chicken and beef strips with mild grilled poblano peppers and gooey-melted Mexican white cheese on top. Sublimely mixed into this standard omnivorous concoction are generous slices of thick bacon strips (perhaps trying to cash in on our national bacon fixation?). The fried pork addition to the traditional fajita is small-scale evolutionary, and is ample evidence that almost everything goes better with bacon.

Note that the alambre fajitas are a specialty item (don't look for it on the menu because it's not listed) and came highly recommend by our waiter.

RELATED CONTENT: La Fiesta restaurant menu

Other worthy entrees for this evening visit to La Fiesta included delicately battered chile rellenos ($9.50) (poblano peppers stuffed with white cheese, dipped in egg white and fried, topped with red sauce) and shredded beef and chicken flautas ($8.25). The chicken was juicy and tender, but the beef was better.

With such an impressive introduction, a return lunch visit proved to be mildly disappointing: not because of a lack of quality or taste in the food, rather nothing we ordered could topple our fondness for the alambre fajitas.

The chicken chimichangas ($8.95) -- shredded chicken in two large-sized, slightly fried flour tortillas and generously covered in red sauce and nacho cheese -- were pleasant enough, and slightly more agreeable than the middling enchiladas supremas ($8.95), a plate of five enchilada varieties: chicken, cheese, bean, ground beef, and shredded beef, and covered in red sauce and sour cream. As an a la carte, we tried a pork tamale ($2.25), featuring shredded pork housed in an extra-thick masa (a corn meal dough) and slathered in chili sauce that was a great complement.

For appetizers, a large plate of nachos supremos ($7.50) -- beef, lettuce, tomato, and melted white cheese, with large dollops of creamy guacamole and sour cream -- might be worth the trip alone if you're craving such a thing, or if that's too much of a meal pre-entree, try the chicken quesadilla gigante ($7.95). Make sure to pile high the wedge-shaped servings with the refreshingly different guacamole, sour cream, and spicy pico de gallo served with it. The quesadilla gigante can be also served with steak instead of chicken.

A regular margarita ($4.50) -- with ice and salt on rim -- was a nice relaxant after a long day, but La Fiesta is probably not the best option for those looking for more than a casual drink with their meal.

If you somehow manage to save room for dessert (or, as we did, make the bulk of the entrees the next day's lunch), fried ice cream ($3.99) is a novel sweet treat. Vanilla ice cream is lightly breaded and fried, and served with drizzles of chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry. Another option is the more traditional sopapilla ($1.95), triangle strips of fried and crunchy flour tortillas, dusted with sugar and cinnamon, more drizzles of chocolate syrup, and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. The fried ice cream was the better choice.

La Fiesta is indeed a festive outing, with airy dark-wood ceilings, contrasted with flower-yellow dining rooms. Given the ubiquity of Tex-Mex restaurants even in northwest Ohio, La Fiesta -- the alambre fajitas in particular -- is worth celebrating.

LA FIESTA

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Address: 1406 S. Reynolds Rd., Maumee

Phone: 419-897 9222.

Category: Casual.

Menu: Mexican.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Wheelchair access: Yes.

Average Price: $$

Credit Cards: AE, Dis, MC, V.

Web site: lafiestarestaurante.com/maumee.htm

Contact Bill of Fare at fare@theblade.com.