Address: (Edit Info)
5101 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ, US
Page Views: 167
3 positive - 7 negative = Net Rating (-4)
Positive (3)
Negative (7)
Posted on: 2008-04-26
I went here today with a group of 8 women. We had a lovely lunch. We even pulled out a craft project and it felt totally comfortable. The food was wonderful. The staff was really easy-going and tentative considering the size of our group and our crafty nature. :)
Sure, it's a chain. But I thought it was very good! We were promptly seated, our waiter checked on us several times, and the manager was even on top of things and cleared the plates the minute we were finished.
The food came out within about 10 minutes, and it was really good. I had the shredded beef chimichanga with a side of refried beans. The meat was juicy, slightly spicy and the chimi was fried just right.
They are on the east side of 16th Street just north of Camelback.
They have three pizzas. I had the chicken and it was excellent. I had the beef, which was also excellent, but a sauce on it was excessively salty. I have not had the Mexican pizza yet.
The pizza is a thin crust one, almost like the layers of a fine croisaant. It is very good, well worth going here. mine were take out, but I have eaten here before. The nachos are also very good as are the burritos. I like this place.
Ajo Als rocks, but this location is hit and miss. For some reason their chips are consistently not as good as the other locations - it's like they are soaked in grease. If you can go to either of the Scottsdale locations, you are better off, based on my experiences.
The pollo con queso is great!!! It's the best thing on the menu if you don't care about calories (deep fried chicken burro, smothered in cream cheese and cheddar cheese, mmmmmmm). If I don't want 2,000 calories in one meal, I go for the Salad Carbone with Chicken. It's seriously one of the best salads I have ever had. They marinade the chicken in something wonderful, it's so tender and flavorful, and served with the best jalapeno ranch. !Muy bueno!
Ajo Al's, I don't know why I keep coming back to you. Perhaps it's because I've eaten at the 90th Street location since I was a pre-teen. I've had good experiences and horrible; guess this is a trait at all Al's locations.
This is the second time that I've visited this location, last time being a year ago and the food was ok. This time the food was mas o menos. We ordered Sangria, however, the sangria served was unlike any other I've had. The server told us it consisted of watermelon juice, brandy and he couldn't remember what else. No wine in sangria? Hmm... Anyways, the appetizer of guacamole was great with a lot of garlic and lime to it; the entrees, at least mine, was downright nasty. I ordered the Garden Fajitas light oil, to be served Garden Fajitas swimming in oil. So much oil I think that by consuming my entree it might serve as a laxative as well as a meal. I didn't eat the fajitas, or the rice because I'm sure it contained chicken broth. On the bright side the Mushroom Enchilada I had was good. Now I know why I visit Al's on an annual basis, if that.
Good ambiance, great service, comfortable enough, and the prickly pear margarita was delicious! So what gives with the two stars?
The food was abysmal! I've never had worse mole sauce. I wouldn't even call it mole sauce. It was more like "black bean paste." Another member of my party had the same dish as I, and we both only ate about half and turned down the offer of the box. And I love almost everything! It was just bland, which is really bad in my book. A person orders mole because they like flavor! No one else in my party complained aloud about their food (but neither did I since I was eating for free), but I heard few compliments about anything except the wonderful margaritas. Stick with happy hour at this joint.
While Ajo Al's easily holds the crown for most bearable tex-mex food in town, imho, I still am a far cry from a big fan of here.
One of my best friends LOVES this place. LOVES it. And I could never figure out why, but I have since turned him onto El Molino in Scottsdale and I haven't heard much about Ajo Al's lately, so maybe he just didn't know any better.
Also, I did hear murmurings of trouble with health code violations here a few months back. Those usually don't scare me too much, in all candor, since perfectly good restarants get the whistle blown on them for relatively minor infractions so often that I've grown somewhat callous to their warnings.
Further, I'm sure any problem that once existed is now long gone since there was some press about the incident when it happened.
A good after work place to grab a drink or watch the game with friends, but do yourself a favor and grab some authentic mexican that us Phoenicians are blessed with when it comes time to eat.
The food is good, but my favorite thing about the place is the art. I know I'm weird, but they really do have some great pieces to peruse as you nibble those chips and salsa.
While this isn't my #1 Mexican spot, it's location has a been a great center meeting point with friends. The food is never disappointing and service has always been good. Very good actually. Oh the stories I could tell about our friend doing some super heavy flirting with one of the waiters. Though at that level it's hardly even flirting anymore. More like a direct offer. But anyhow... He handled it smoothly as silk. This would lead me to guess they have a pretty good bar, which my friend was enjoying of course.
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