Feeding a growing young man who is also a vegetarian can be a challenge. I spent the better part of an hour recently researching the cuisines that cater to this diet. There are several, but the one that resonated the most with the two teenagers I was feeding was Mexican.
I then shifted my research to Mexican restaurants at the beach. The one that kept coming up as the best was Mariachi. They take reservations and had one available for the three of us at the time we wanted. Done.
As is so often the case in Rehoboth, parking was tricky. Although the restaurant does have a parking area, it is very small and it was very full the night that we went. We finally found a spot that was, surprisingly, not a million miles away from the restaurant.
I was not too impressed when I first walked into the restaurant. Our table was ready for us, which was a surprise, but the ambiance was a bit dated and the noise level was excessive. People at tables around us were doing shots of tequila which I am sure added to the noise level, but I had to keep asking the kids to repeat what they said. As the meal progressed (and our shot drinking friends moved on), the noise abated to a tolerable level, but it was still very loud.
The second problem was our server. Although she was very nice, her grasp of English was weak. We wanted to ask several questions about the menu, but it was clear that she did not understand what we were asking. We decided it was, finally, not that important and we moved on with our meal. As the evening progressed, however, and our server had more than one table, she became flustered and confused. Finally, one of her colleagues stepped in to assist and everything settled down.
All of these issues, however, were trumped by the food. It was outstanding.
My nephew, the vegetarian, was very pleased by the amount of items he had from which to chose. He settled on a combo plate that consisted of cheese enchiladas and a guacamole taco. He devoured the entire plate declaring that everything was perfectly made.
My niece, who sometimes struggles to try new things, ordered a chicken dish with a butter sauce and onions. It came with rice and vegetables and my niece loved it. She ate most of it and when I asked her if she was going to bother to take the rest home, she looked at me like I was crazy and announced that she couldn't wait to eat the rest tomorrow. Well, OK then.
I had the sizzling shrimp which were simply among the best I have had in a long time. They arrive at the table on a VERY hot plate sizzling away madly. They are served with some amazing yellow rice and black beans accompanied by tortillas which were obviously homemade and very good. I ate the entire dish of food, something I haven't done in a long time.
As we finished our meal, I asked if the kids wanted to stay here for dessert or go somewhere else. They announced that they would need to review the desserts and then decide. As soon as my nephew saw the first thing on the dessert menu, he decided that we were going to stay. My niece happily complied.
One of my family's favorite desserts is flan, a Spanish caramel custard. My mom has perfected her recipe over the years and my brother asks for one as his birthday dessert every year. Being his father's son, my nephew loves it just as much. He adored this one, even going so far as to ask our server for a spoon to get every last drop of the caramel sauce. My niece got the the sopapillas, a pastry topped with honey and powdered sugar. She said they were the perfect dessert because they were not too heavy.
So, although we had some struggles at the beginning of the evening, the food more than made up for them. All three of us agreed that we can't wait to eat here again.
Mariachi Restaurant
14 Wilmington Avenue, Rehoboth
302-227-0115
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