Matador Meets the Eastside

Eastsiders, get excited! A Westside favorite, the Matador, has crossed the lake and landed at none other than my former place of high scool employment (Bigtime Pizza) on the corner of Learly Way in downtown lilttle ol' Redmond!

Whew, that was a mouthful! And a Mexican mouthful in deed... is what I enjoyed a few weeks ago at the newly renovated restaurant.

Traveling to Ballard isnt that bad, but kind of a trek when you live in Kirkland. So, needless to say, avoiding a bridge and some homeless people to get to a fabulous Mexican joint, excited me greatly!

The Matador has a really cool bar with many a-cocktail-selection, and just a great atomosphere in general. They have TV's for game watching, a great fireplace to cozy around, and dim, orangy lighting that creates a sort of lair, posh, cave-like feel. I mean that in a good way. You get a seat in there and you never want to leave because you feel comfortable right when you walk in.

As I noted previously, I do not mess around with Margaritas. The Matador is a tequila bar, so they have a tantelizing selection of Mexico's gold (or white/silver if you like Patron). I generally like mine gold. So, I decided to start off my fiesta with a Cadillac Maragrita, which included my fav, Sauza Gold, a splash of triple sec, fresh lime juice and a float of Grand Marnier to top it all off. I get mine with salt of course. I had 3... I think.

After a few of these, you definitely need to soak them up with something crunchy, so on to the Tex Mex Spring Rolls. This wasnt my first choice, but after trying them, I was pleased with the group decision to order them - a bit of shredded chicken, corn, and a secret blend of herbs and spices, fried in spring roll wrappers. Served with sweet chile-sesame and avocado-sour cream sauces (I could have lapped up the remaing sauce - so good).

We also enjoyed chips and salsa - I am VERY picky when it comes to salsa. This salsa has more of a tomato puree type base, with what looked/tasted like different chili peppers and some garlic and onion. It isnt chunky, just the perfect texture to coat your chip - it doesnt drip nor tumble off the chip, which is so much easier to eat when drinking numerous Cadillac Margaritas.

For the main course, I typically stick with what I know... so I did in this case as well! Chicken tacos are always a winner in my book and every place does them slightly different. I would however, suggest trying one of their more fancy creations (http://www.matadorseattle.com/kitchen.html) but I was in the mood for tacos and they were fabulous.

As you can tell from my rave reviews, this place is hoppin' and I will definitely go back in very near future. After living in SoCal and frequently enjoying awesome Mexican food, it is hard to come by in the Northwest, but the Matador meets the criteria. I also recommend Cactus Restaurant in Kirkland and/or Madison Park.

Rating: 4 Stars I HEART this place!

*See below for rating system.