Final projects and papers are being completed frantically. Exams loom large on the horizon. The libraries, full of dead-eyed students attempting to make up for a semester of procrastination, are beginning to look like refugee camps.
We all need something to take the edge off the last weeks of school.
Guadalajara is the best solution that doesn't require catch-up time. It offers good, cheap Mexican food in a relaxed setting. With three locations that serve essentially the same food, it also allows the diner some options.
We visited the Greenbrier Drive location off of 29, but Fontaine and East Market Street also have Guads.
The atmosphere is typical of Mexican restaurants. Happy music plays in the background, pinatas hang from the ceiling and Mexican artwork lines the walls. Guad's understated yet attractive decor reflects the belief that simplicity is a virtue.
The service at Guad is good to begin with and gets better the more times you go. The best parts of any Mexican restaurant are the free chips and salsa, and the servers are not stingy with them. The fresh and delicious salsa is pretty hot, so it's a good thing that the wait staff is prompt with the refills.
The food arrives surprisingly fast -- even during peak times. When it does take a little longer, however, the chips and salsa should tide you over.
Appetizers are unnecessary at this place. The guacamole ($1.90) gives a pleasant alternative to the heat of the salsa, though, so we recommend you try it. It's the best guac we've found in Charlottesville.
Guad offers massive dishes anyway, so don't go nuts on the first course. Like most Mexican restaurants, Guad offers a long series of combination dinners ranging from $6.75 to $7.50 in price. On this menu you can get your favorite arrangement of tacos, enchiladas, chalupas, burritos, etc.
To put it briefly, they're all really good. They keep the recipes simple, allowing the patron to get a lot of food for not much money.
There are plenty of other choices beyond the typical Mexican staples. Our favorite dish is the Enchilada Supreme ($7.25), a plate of four enchiladas, one each of chicken, cheese, beef and bean and all topped with lettuce, tomato and cheese. It offers a nice variety of taste, and we love it.
We're going to warn you about this next entree. The Grande Special ($9.75) only should be ordered if you're being dared, haven't eaten in a few weeks or have tapeworm.
Let's just say it comes on two plates. The Grande basically offers one of everything on the menu. For this price, it's not a bad idea to eat one plate and take the other home for lunch the next day. Don't try to be a hero and finish it because you will pay for it.
The third entree we often get is the Chimichangas ($7.99). These two large tortillas come soft or fried, stuffed with beef or chicken and topped with lettuce, cheese, guacamole and tomatoes. We prefer the soft chimichangas. Either way they are juicy and filling, and you can use the chips on whatever guacamole and cheese is left.
The last entree we'll recommend is the Fajitas Texanas ($10.99) This steaming skillet of beef, chicken, shrimp, peppers, onions and tomatoes comes with tortillas, rice, beans and sour cream.
Once again, you might not be able to finish this dish. Still, we recommend it because it offers a taste different from pretty much everything else on the menu.
If you like one kind of meat in particular, you can order other fajitas that consist of just steak, chicken or shrimp. The vegetables and spices are what make this dish unique, so you'll get similar quality no matter which fajitas you order.
Dessert is excellent at Guad. The fried ice cream ($2.25) is really great and if you haven't tried it, you should. The choco tacos ($1.75) aren't bad either. Think of them as variations of a Nutty Buddy.
Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and Guad is the perfect place to celebrate both Mexican independence and the midpoint of exam week. The menu offers really stiff jumbo margaritas for $6 and smaller ones for $4.50, as well as a variety of Mexican beers for $3.25 and domestic for $2.50.
As if Guad weren't economical enough, you can pick up a free discount card at the Bookstore that offers half off a second entree. You can also check out the menu at www.restaurantdiningmenus.com.
Of all the restaurants we've reviewed this year, Guad really is the only one that we visit on a regular basis. There's higher quality food out there in Charlottesville, but you won't be able to find many places that offer so much good food for reasonable prices.
The service is great, the food is great and the price is right. Throw in free chips and you've got yourself a winner.
So what have we learned from eating at nice restaurants for a year? For such a small city, Charlottesville really has a lot to offer the hungry student. You can find quality food from most countries here, but you need to weed out the losers.
For every home run such as Continental Divide, you'll need to sort through a few Hardware Stores or Baggby's. Atmosphere is nice in theory, but don't fall for gimmicks. Remember that the most important things are the food and the company. Exercise a little discretion.
We'd like to thank Leigh, Mark, Kevin, Mike, Frank and all the others who helped us at one time or another to finish what we couldn't eat ourselves. Thanks also to Chris and Sanjay, the taste buds that were lost along the way.
It's been fun. Good luck finding culinary satisfaction. We'll be at Guad.
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