One of a dying, but not yet dead, breed, El Gordo’s predates Bangkok’s new wave of Mexican restaurants by two decades. Unfortunately, it looks like it. The décor is tired, the menu features items they don’t serve and the place is understandably often empty in the evening. We suspect it survives only because it doubles as a noodle shop. Seriously: day and night, you can order a bowl with your taco or burrito. Just don’t try to order one with a taco or burrito containing pork, or with a bowl of guacamole, because chances are they won’t have these items, as we discovered on a recent visit. And we’d advise you to order a standard margarita instead of a supposedly premium “Cadillac”—the pitchers are generous in size and the drinks are freshly made, but they taste mostly of overly bitter Thai limes and not top-shelf alcohol as they should. The atmosphere at El Gordo’s is surreal, with its aging, kitschy sombreros and other clichéd wall hangings and live music performed by a singer-guitarist who snuck in and started playing Latin hits and “oldies” favorites while we were looking through the menu. The food, like the setting, is so old school it’s almost funny. The “Tex-Mex” appetizer plate is a medley in shades of brown. It contains two kinds of nachos, one with thick but slightly stale corn chips and one made with flour tortillas, and a soggy quesadilla that tasted like bland spring roll wrappers. For mains, there are also several combination platters, the biggest of which is “El Gordo’s Supremo: The Mount Everest of Food,” which is thankfully more horizontal than vertical. You get a choice of chicken, beef or pork (if they have it); they do a better job with minced meat than shredded, but in general the fillings are salty but not seasoned in any distinctive way. If we had to recommend one of the items it would be the deep-fried chimichanga, but don’t bother with the accompanying rice and beans, which are reheated and tasteless. The saving grace is their house salsa; though we were only served one kind instead of the two promised on the menu, it was so delicious—with a freshness that balanced the spicy hotness—we even asked for refills. Finally, in addition to the free salsa, we can say that our meal at El Gordo’s reminded us of our trips to Mexico in another way—or at least it did the next morning. Ever heard of Montezuma’s revenge?
