Andale-jandro's

Nicole's parents came to visit over Labor Day weekend and it was the first time they'd been to Roanoke. I had this grand idea of planning the weekend with unique activities in the area and trying to act like the perfect local tour guide. As a way to kick off the weekend, I thought everyone would enjoy going to Catawba Mountain for a Saturday morning hike up McAfee Knob. The weather was nice, the views are amazing, and I thought it would only take a couple hours and have us ready to enjoy lunch somewhere in downtown Roanoke. Five hours later, when were exhausted and still hiking down the mountain, I realized it didn't work out the way I was hoping. Starving for food and wanting something cold to drink, we found the closest parking spot we could find to the restaurant and limped our way to Alejandro's.

From what I've read and the people I've talked to, Alejandro's seems to be the most popular Mexican restaurant in Roanoke. We had been one time before for lunch and remembered it being good - and it's always crowded - so we decided it would be a good place to take Nicole's parents, who love Mexican food. The restaurant was about half full when we arrived, but I was surprised they were even half full since it was around 4:00. We loaded up on chips and all the different types of salsa from the salsa bar and attempted to re-hydrate after our trek on the Trail while we looked over the menu.

I'll admit that I'm a weakling when it comes to handling levels of spice/heat, but I had a hard time with most of the different types of salsa. I can normally handle medium and mild salsas from most restaurants, but I was struggling with every flavor from Alejandro's except for the creamy salsa (almost dressing) that reminded me of El Rodeo. Even the Pico de Gallo tasted like it was loaded with jalapenos. I'm not sure if it depends on who makes the salsa on a given day but someone was a fan of adding extra heat.

Photo courtesy of The Roanoke Times.

For an entree, I decided to order the California style burrito. The burrito was filled grilled chicken, black beans, rice, pico de gallo, chipotle taco sauce, cheese, and guacamole. It was good and very filling - but again with the spice! The pico and the chipotle sauce had me pounding water during the entire meal. For $7.25 for a burrito and bottomless chips and salsa, it's not a bad deal. However, I'd say the flavors and ingredients of the burrito from Alejandro's can't hold a candle to a burrito from Chipotle.

Nicole's parents loved everything about Alejandro's. They were excited about being able to enjoy some cold beer, chips and salsa, along with tacos and nachos. Nicole's dad was a big fan of the chili lime tacos and her mom really liked the nachos. And since they like spicy food, they thought everything had great flavor.

In all, Alejandro's accomplished the goal I was hoping for. It was a local restaurant in downtown Roanoke with reasonable prices and good food. Nicole's parents enjoyed their dishes, the atmosphere, and that we were able to relax after the brutal hike. Personally, I think I'll need to return again and order something else to get a more definitive opinion. For now, I'd consider myself 'undecided.'