Metro Pulse/Restaruant Rover/El Camino

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El Camino's Tex-Mex Cafe
116 S. Central St.
673-6373

by Ally Carte

While the name of new Old City eatery El Camino could be literally translated from Spanish as "the street," the image it most frequently calls to mind is that strange half-car/half-truck hybrid that first muscled down the streets a few decades back. Today the El Camino seems a little silly, except to enthusiasts, of which, I'm sure, there are plenty. (And, please, don't feel compelled to write and tell me how dumb I am for being confused by them. I'm happy you're happy.) How useful is a car with no backseat or interior storage? What good is a pick-up truck with a very short bed? It's one of those hybrids that, while incredibly neat at the time, fails to withstand later scrutiny.

Hybrids don't always work out as well as one might hope. Sometimes, the success is huge and deserved—like the marriage of PCs and CD burners. Other times, the flameout is quick and welcomed—like an amalgam of roller skates and sneakers. Most fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

Like El Camino (the restaurant, not the vehicle), a hybrid of standard Mexican-influenced offerings and Texas-inspired smoked meats. For the most part, the combo is a pleasant one but, given that this is a fairly new restaurant, there are some kinks that are still in the process of straightening.

The interior of the place speaks to both cultural worlds. The walls of this former acoustic music club, which was another Mexican place prior to that, are hung with cow skins and South-of-the-Border tapestries. In the non-smoking section, the ceiling is sky blue, painted with clouds, and hung with big, multi-colored Christmas lights. A big screen TV takes up the back of the former stage and an old wooden bar anchors the smoking half. Atmosphere-wise, El Camino the restaurant, like the car, has got it going on; it's comfortable and fun.

That festive spirit is captured in the dips, which should always be a high point in any Tex-Mex joint simply because they are perfect to snack on with a beer or margarita. The house salsa (free with a meal, $2.99 otherwise) is a mild concoction that expertly balances the sweet, chopped tomatoes with the bite of onion. Scooped onto a thin, freshly fried corn tortilla wedge, you have a tapas to die for. The smooth guacamole ($2.29 little bowl/$5.99 big bowl) actually tastes of avocados—an obvious statement at first glance but a rarity in some other Mexican eateries whose guac tastes like almost anything but the stone fruit that should be the main ingredient. And the queso blanco ($4.99) delicately mixes creamy cheese with tasty chile and tomato chunks.

This great beginning stalls a bit with the entrees. Having lived in South Central Texas for a few years, my experience of Tex-Mex is rather deep. Admittedly, I can be a harsh critic of purveyors of meat, cheese, and tortillas and the following should be read with a grain of ('rita) salt. El Camino's can smoke a piece of meat on par with the medium-sized guns in Texas, which is a great compliment, but the Mexican dishes still need some work.

Tender bits of pork, smoked to sweet, juicy perfection were the standout in the half-slab and chicken ($14.99) entree. The chicken, while tasty, couldn't quite match the unctuousness of the ribs. The beef brisket—a 'cued meat rarely seen in this region of the country, which is a pity—that filled my taco was heady with the taste of hickory and delish on its own.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Texas Trio ($10.99) pointed out where El Camino can still stand to improve. The taco, enchilada, and chalupa that took up the plate all tasted virtually identical, despite the fact that they each contained a different sort of meat (veggie options are available). While each of the items does rely on some standard Mexican tropes, like tortillas, meat, tomatoes, and lettuce, each one should have a unique flavor. Especially the enchilada—traditionally dressed in a red pepper-based sauce, it lost its identity under the coating of salsa that topped it. Admittedly, the El Camino cooks might be trying to reinvent the standard enchilada idea; they haven't quite achieved greatness yet.

What could spice things up a bit would be the judicious use of heat, the one component most missing in the restaurant's offerings. Not to say that every dish needs to be fiery hot, just that a little hot pepper sauce, jalapenos, or a touch of habanero would be completely justified in this context and go a long way toward upping the interest level on the Mexican offerings.

Any discontentments left by the meal, however, were soothed by the Apple Funnel Cake ($4.99), topped with cinnamon apples and a big scoop of H�agen-Dazs vanilla ice cream. Hopefully, El Camino's future will be as sweet.