Fiesta Jalisco is a place that CaJohn turned us on to after the Fiery Foods Festival last month. We all went as a group after the show and had a blast. Aside from the good company, this place was an amazing find. The atmosphere is great. The food is great. The people are great. And we have been back several times since.

Let’s start with the menu.

They have your typical Mexican food fare here, but they also have some things that you won’t normally see. But sometimes it’s what’s NOT on the menu. I’ll get to that in a second. First, check out this salsa. This is their mild salsa. They also have a spicy version which is good, but honestly, we prefer the mild. I think this might be a first for us. The reason the mild is so great is the fresh tomato and cilantro. It’s served cool and is more than tasty…it’s fantastic! I’m not putting down the spicy salsa. If you like it spicy, definitely give it a try. It has a heartier and smokier flavor, but still equally yummy.

Now for what’s NOT on the menu. We found out about these because we were with CaJohn, and thank God because it’s one of the best finds we’ve ever made. The picture below is fried jalapeños. They split them along the pepper and then deep fry them. No batter. No additional spices. Nothing but the pepper and, man, are they great! We order at least 2 plates of them when we’re there. We have done everything from eating them straight from the plate to cutting them up and putting them in our food. Last night we took an order home too. They are great additions to home made food here in the house. I’m serious here…if we could take a case of them home, we would. They’re THAT good! If you want these, all you have to do is ask for fried jalapeños or chiles fritos. They are $0.75 an order. Not too shabby.

We were talking last night about the potential for them to do other stuff off the menu. We might try next time. We’re pretty sure that they would at least make moderate accommodations. Like I said, we might try that next time.

Joe and I usually like similar dishes when we go out for dinner. Usually, if I pick something he had in mind he will choose something else just to be different. This time he didn’t. We were both jonesing for this dish called Steak Mexicano (pictured below). Like everything else we’ve tried there, this was amazing. It was best spooned into a tortilla with a little of every item on the plate and one of the fried jalapeños right on top. We both highly recommend it.

Joe didn’t take a picture of my margarita, but I actually love one type of margarita they have there. It’s called the Green Iguana. It’s pretty amazing and packs a little punch. I promise that’s not what makes the food so good, though. We went there for an early lunch a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t have it at 11am.

We actually go out of our way to dine at this particular restaurant. Also, it has ruined us for our previous favorite Mexican restaurant that so pales in comparison it can’t even be mentioned here. So, a big thanks to John for introducing us to one terrific place. If you’re in Columbus, it’s definitely worth your time. Oh, and don’t forget to call us and John…we’ll meet you there!