La Morena – Great Horchata!
Two Locations. Visited EAST – 11250 Montwood Dr El Paso, Texas, TX 79936
WEST: 6516 N. Mesa El Paso, Texas, TX 79912
Overall:
Value: Decent overall price. Had the Build Your Own Plate of 3 Gorditas for $10. Partner had the Tampiquena steak for about $15. What you would find at other similar restaurants.
Taste: We’ll talk about this later.
Presentation: The plating of the food was good. Our plates, and those of other customers, looked very appetizing.
Vibe: The restaurant was busy! Every time I’ve driven by the East side location the parking lot has been packed. You’ll definitely find the locals here!
Accessibility: I have yet to go to the West side location but the one on the East side is super easy to find. La Morena’s sign is high in the air so you should be able to see if from a distance.
We decided to try La Morena after church on a Sunday. When we arrived the parking lot was packed as usual. We arrived at 2:10pm only to find that the buffet lasts until 2. Even though they were busy it only took about 5 minutes to be seated.
The restaurant itself had two different style seats with different colored seat cushions giving it a distinct charm. There were flat screens throughout the seating area which were tuned to sports stations. La Morena is not necessarily what you would consider a sports bar even though they had a full service one. On one end you can see the tortilla making machine running which was a nice touch.
The chips and salsa are complimentary. The Salsa is red and very tasty. Enough spice to let you know it’s there and yet tasty enough to keep you dipping in for more. The chips were lightly salted and were crisp enough.
My partner had the Horchata which was sweet & delicious. It tasted like fresh made arroz con leche. It’s been one of the better ones I’ve tasted and would visit again based on the Horchata alone.
After the initial order was taken we finished the chips and drinks but weren’t checked on for refills or additional chips. It wasn’t until after our food was delivered that they offered. The food was served on a cart which takes up more space but making it less prone to dropping items. There have been a few restaurants I’ve noticed that do this and I think maybe I’m just having a hard time with it. If it prevents plates/food from being dropped and if they keep the carts out of the customer’s eyesight then it’s probably ok.
I had the build your own Gorditas – chicken, shredded beef, and ground beef. My partner had the Tampiquena steak which looked amazing. The first Gordita was shredded beef which wasn’t seasoned very well. The same with the chicken one. The ground beef was a different story. It was salted well and it left you wanting more. The masa used for the Gorditas was a bit different. If you love the thickness of Tamales, and the taste, then you’ll like these Gorditas. I prefer a little more crispy Gordita and not so much the taste of the Tamale when I’m eating one. The Tampiquena steak was ordered medium rare but since the steak wasn’t very thick it was cooked all the way through. The steak, and the toppings (onions, green chile, cheese), lacked a little bit of salt and pepper. Once you took a bite the steak was tender and the meal as a whole was filling. The rice wasn’t anything to write about but the beans were very well done.
La Morena does a few things right and could use improvement on some others. I give La Morena 3.5 Bites. Their buffet attracts quite a few people, even though we missed it, and the staff is incredibly friendly. The Horchata was some of the best I’ve tasted. The portions were good and the food looked appetizing. They could do a little better with their seasoning and with the overall thickness of their Gorditas.
Check them out for yourself and let us know what you think. You can also check out their great looking Webpage, look them up on Facebook, and on Instagram.