Restaurants

Mamacita's guacamole

A stranger named Jimmy is my new best friend.

Back in June, when I wrote about Cancun Mexican Grill in Hollywood, Florida, Jimmy suggested I also try Mamacita’s Mexican Bar & Grill on the Broadwalk. I agreed to stop in the next time I was in town.

I’m not a gal who takes such written commitments lightly, so finding this place was on my first night’s agenda. And since I had my husband along on this trip, he enthusiastically endorsed the idea after he heard the words “Mexican food” — even if I did have to talk him through how to drive a mile straight down Ocean Drive, turn right on Johnson Street and find a parking space with a meter. Duh.

I was excited to see the location: all tables at Mamacita’s have a wonderful view of the Atlantic Ocean, and we were ahead of the crowd so we could take our pick. Chips, salsa and the sea are really all it takes to make my soul content. My husband, however, contained his excitement until they handed him a menu, and then his eyes bugged out of his head.

He started out with a strawberry margarita — the better to help him focus on his meal decision, I assume — took one sip and gave me an evil grin. “Want some?” he asked, which after 26 years of marriage I know means “Hey, this stuff is very potent and I’d like to get you drunk and take you back to the hotel to have my way with you in an hour.” I had plans of walking (not crawling) along the beach that night, so I wisely declined.

Burrito for two

The real challenge was figuring out what to order. Let’s be honest: A description that reads “large tortilla stuffed with beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese and your choice of meat” isn’t especially original, is it? Same with “two tostadas (flat crispy tortilla) topped with beans, lettuce, cheese and your choice of meat.” And then there was “steak fajitas broiled and marinated strips of steak with a compliment of sauteed onions, tomatoes, and green peppers served with rice and beans.” But there’s something about the view and the salt air that makes ordinary words irresistible. While you are nodding off, we were in a veritable frenzy trying to make a good decision here.

We finally settled on splitting an order of guacamole that turned out to be a bit on the bland side until I dumped a half a shaker of salt over it and a burrito suizo. In Spanish that translates literally to Swiss burrito (?); in English it means “most worthy of paying an extra $1 to split, because you would never, ever eat a burrito this large by yourself, although you could probably see your way clear to pick out all the marvelous steak pieces because no one lets them go to waste.”

Back home again in Indiana, we have an independent Mexican fast-food joint that advertises its entrees as burritos as big as your head. After seeing this plate set in front of us, I’d say their heads are the ones on pins in Joann Fabric’s sewing section, and Mamacita’s has been modeling Mt. Rushmore. His share was certainly enough to offset my husband’s alcohol-indulgent margarita, because he managed to figure out how to exit the parking space and drive back to the hotel afterwards.

He even joined me on that walk along the beach. Talk about a classy aphrodisiac … thanks, Jimmy, for a perfect evening!

Mamacita’s Mexican Bar & Grill

591 N. Broadwalk

Hollywood, FL 33019

(954) 921-7988

Photography: Julie Sturgeon