After a hiatus, I am back and happy to be posting. Lunch at Cafe Ole

It's been a while since I have written for a number of reasons, but am happy to be back and looking forward to spring.

Yesterday I had lunch in Carytown and tried the new location of Cafe Ole. Upon arriving my first impression was "Man, it's cold in here". Not sure if they had turned off the heat overnight, but it was downright chilly in there. It was also bright and clean and I was immediately greeted by the staff and quickly forgot about the chill in the air.

I have not been to the downtown location, so took a couple of minutes to review the menu and noticed soft corn tacos, which is always a good sign. I do not understand why more places don't offer soft tacos with corn rather than flour tortillas. One of my many pet peeves in life.

In the interest of research, I ordered one vegetarian soft taco (pinto beans, guacamole, lettuce, cheese and salsa), one beef soft taco (beef, salsa, cheese and lettuce) and one chicken soft taco (chicken, salsa, cheese and lettuce), and a Diet Coke. Got my soda and headed to the table and promptly my tacos along with complimentary chips and salsa were brought to me. Each taco was individually wrapped which I liked and the chips consisted of fried corn tortillas along with some fried flour tortilla chips with a nice size cup of fresh salsa. The chips were fresh with the right amount of salt and the medium spiced salsa was fresh and hit the spot. I started with the veggie taco and the beans were cooked perfectly. The taco was prepared with mild cheddar, with the beans on top, salsa, guacamole topped with shredded Romaine lettuce. I like the cheese on the bottom as it has a chance to melt and also keeps the tortilla from getting soggy. Next was the beef taco made with shredded beef. It was very good also as was the shredded chicken in third taco.

I was impressed. The freshness and quality of ingredients, the shredding (rather than dicing) of the meat and a good balance seasoning made for some very good tacos (the soft corn tortillas didn't hurt either). The addition of the flour tortilla chips in the chip basket were a welcomed twist on an old standard.

Another great lunch place in Carytown is always a good thing.