Thursday, January 8, 2015

La Caretta, Timberlake Road, Lynchburg, VA: Love Their New Restaurant on Timberlake Road

La Caretta has been around for quite a while and has several outlets in town. The newest location is in the refurbished Chop House location on Timberlake Road. I never liked the old Timberlake location because it was always so packed you could hardly turn around and was so noisy you couldn't hear yourself think. To be honest, the new location is still packed and sometimes very noisy, but it seems that the food is so much better. The highlight is the table-side guacamole prepared fresh to your specifications. It is incredible. I first encountered table-side guacamole at the Azteca in Charlottesville, VA. My new diet allows lots of avocados and this stuff is addicting. The chips seem heartier, warmer and more inviting. The salsa is good and not too hot for me and my American taste buds. You can ask for hotter, hot sauce. They don't have the incredible Margarita specials that Mi Patron has every Thursday and Saturday. Every time I have been at the new La Carretta, I have asked the server if they have any drink specials and they have said, sorry, NO. Our server last night got a mark off for leaving the salt on our "REGULAR MARGARITA ON THE ROCKS, NO SALT" order for our drinks. We say this so much here and at various other Mexican restaurants that we are a bit spoiled. The big chunks of salt are annoying and bad for your blood pressure too. The paltry 12 (?) ounces had too much ice and not enough Margarita especially compared with the amazing 22 ounce Margaritas at Mi Patron. The food was excellent. I ordered the Quesadillas Texicanas which are like "Mexican with everything." You get a big plate full of Pico de Gallo, guacamole, sour cream and shredded lettuce. You also get beans and rice, then the highlight which is the quesadilla stuffed to the top with tender chicken, shrimp and beef, onions, peppers, cheese and more in a really good sauce. There was a bit too much water in the sauce this time, but it was absolutely delicious. I took over half of it home and just finished lunch. YUM! My husband had a burrito in their cheese sauce which he loves. And then the rice on the side which is more cheese over rice and he loves that too. The only thing that would make this place better would be, once again, much more room; bigger Margaritas and drink specials; and, perhaps a little more spark in the wait staff which seem to speak as little as possible.

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