Baja Sol - Fresh Mexican

The CityPages restaurant reviewers say, "A cheapskate's hall of famer, the Baja Sol is that rare place where you can consume fresh, vibrant, lively food and walk out the door having spent less than $6." The food is fabulous and they have a very large menu, but it is slightly expensive. Along the lines of Chipotle and Qdoba, it's a Fresh Mexican restaurant, so don't expect "authentic" Mexican food. However, as far as fast food is concerned, it is the closest to authentic of any of the new fresh-Mex places.

I had a chicken enchilada. The menu describes it as two corn tortillas smothered in Roja Enchilada sauce & melted cheese with lettuce, sour cream & pico de gallo. Served with Baja rice and black beans. Includes Baja Sol’s Free Chips & Salsa Bar! That's right, a free chips and salsa bar. This is my favorite part of the dinning at Baja Sol. They have fresh, warm tortilla chips and nine fresh homemade salsas - all you can eat! I love their famous peach-mango salsa.

The enchilada was very good, but definitely tasted fast food-ish. The chicken was extremely tender, but the tortilla was a little tough. It still tasted very good, though. I enjoyed the Mexican flavored rice, but didn't care too much for the black beans.

When I got home, I researched the Baja Sol franchise and was excited to see that is locally owned (Inver Grove Heights, MN). There were a lot of fun features online, including online orders and Baja Radio - a mini media player with beach themed music. There are fifteen Baja Sol Restaurants in the Twin Cities, four in Wisconsin, three in Ohio and one Illinois. They have plans to open one in Chula Vista, CA in the near future (funny, since I was just there).

Baja Sol is definitely my favorite quick restaurant in the Twin Cities Metro Area. Allegedly, they offer award winning Baja Margaritas, too. Go just for all the award winning hot chips and salsa you can handle. Free! That's worth it.

Musics: Good Size - The Pineapple Song (Turn Around and Let Me See)
Weather: 35-degrees