Los Mariachis, Morgantown's most beloved Mexican restaurant, has opened a second location at the University Town Centre.

I'll be honest, it has taken me quite a long time to come around to Tex-Mex food. After having the real deal in Texas and Phoenix, I gave the local places more of a chance and spent some time to figure out what I really like.

And, apparently, what I really like is anything drenched in queso.

This Los Mariachis location is large, sparkling new and has a pretty similar menu, if I recall.

What caught my eye were these "best choice" burritos, and I opted for the one ... wait for it ... covered in queso: Burrito Cancun - large flour tortilla stuffed with Mexican rice, grilled chicken or beef, melted cheese, pinto beans, grilled fresh mushrooms and white creamy sauce.

First, chips and salsa (and look at these cute glasses!).

You really can't go wrong with this combo, right? It has a few of my favorite things: mushrooms, cheese...
           

What's your favorite item here?

Ripley has a couple Mexican restaurants, and Las Trancas seems to be just slightly more popular.

The menu features house specials, as well as standard items like quesadillas, burritos, fajitas, etc.

I was just here for a snack, so I ent with the fajita nachos which said they had chicken and cheese.

But first, MORE tortilla chips with salsa - which had a bit of a kick!

Considering it's me, I also had to get queso.

I wasn't expecting the nachos to come with actual fajita toppings for some reason. But I also wasn't disappointed. So many goodies - and that extra queso went to good use!

Gringos & Botanas is a "quirky" Mexican join in Barboursville.

When a Former Marine from Clearwater, Florida, A horse rescuing and dairy goat farming gal and Mexican Restaurateur from Guanajuato meet up. . . you get Gringo and Botanas: A Quirky Mexican Joint

Chips & salsa were immediately brought to the table, which was mild and refreshing.

The interior here was pretty - bright, beautiful colors and lovely art.

The menu had many standard items, but others with more creative takes. I went for a nachos appetizer to snack on while getting some work done.


Please imagine me lifting up each nacho in an effort to maximize the queso on each chip. Because that's what happened until this massive pile was gone. Yum.

Condado Tacos is a stop that came up time and time again when I was asking for restaurant suggestions in the area.



This build-your-own taco shop allows for tons of customization, but they also have some pre-built tacos.



I was excited to try my hand at my own creation, but I soon learned that maybe I should leave it up to the professionals



Look at Dawn's cute margarita flight!



And while my mash-up of queso fresco, lettuce, tomato, pickled onion was tasty- it was a tad tooo sweet. But not bad!

If you're looking for good tacos in the Eastern Panhandle, look no further than Ortega's Taco Shop.



This small shop serves up a few different kinds of tasty tacos.



They have burritos, tacos, nachos, quesadillas, taco salads and sides.



I got a chicken taco on a crispy shell with lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream. And I got a street taco with carne asada, cilantro and onion.



Have you been? What's your favorite taco?

I'm slowly making my way through the Mexican restaurants in Charleston, and Las Trancas was next on the list.



This Mexican restaurant, located on Corridor G, is a bit newer and more modern than some others in the area.



The menu has the standard options, and I always try to find something that is essentially a burrito covered in queso because mmm.



Las Trancas, I believe, has a few other restaurants in the state.



First, queso and salsa.



I swear, I could just live on the queso.



Enchiladas Mar y Tierra - one potato, shrimp & crab, and shredded beef enchilada covered in cheese sauce!

We decided to make a day trip to Toronto because we're crazy.



One of my requirements was that we find a restaurant so I can document my Toronto adventure.



We found pretty good reviews of Seven Lives, so we made our way to the area. It was complicated to find parking since many of the roads were shut down in this area so it's pedestrian friendly on Sundays. Cool concept, tough for visitors. After circling around many times, we actually found a parking spot pretty close!



Seven Lives had a line wrapped around the building, and they were outside turning tacos like crazy.



I ordered a baja fish taco, and they wrote it down and moved me along the line.



Look at all those name!



You can add your preferred salsa and lime.



Baja taco! This was fresh and tasty. A bit tough to eat with all the toppings, but not bad!

On my venture to figure out which Mexican restaurant in the Kanawha Valley is my favorite, I tried out Casa Garcia with Dawn on Cinco de Mayo.

Located in the Riverwalk Plaza, the parking lot is busy. But I feel like that's a good sign.

After a few moments, we were seated. First order of business? Margs.

Second? Queso.

These two things alone are typically enough to brighten up any day. But, I didn't stop there, of course.

For my main meal, I ordered the Special Burrito, which had chicken, peppers, onions and topped with queso and ranchero sauce.

And dessert? Fried ice cream, always.




What's your favorite dish?