On Monday I was in OKC, and once again restaurant.com came to my rescue for a lunch spot. Chiltepes Latin Cuisine & Bar. They don't list prices on their online menu, and honestly I'm not a fan of that. To me the prices should always be prominently listed. If not, you never know if they're just making up a price or increasing it randomly. But, I decided not to let that completely cloud my judgment. There's both a $5 and a $10 certificate so I had to get both, just in case. Good thing is you can exchange certificates super easily and with no penalty. So no harm, no foul.
Chiltepes is on the corner, and the sign is pretty small so it can be very easy to miss. I figured it out by the look of the building before I actually saw the sign. I was having a very late lunch, so it was almost 2:30 by the time I got there. I don't like eating that late, especially since I hadn't eaten since breakfast. But my appointment to give blood lasted a lot longer than normal so I didn't have time to eat before my appointment with a donor.
I'm not familiar with the area where its located, but I kind of felt like I was in the hood. I had definitely driven through the hood to get there. They have seating for about 100, with a good sized bar as soon as you walk in. There's one big screen TV across from the bar, along with a bunch of smaller TV's throughout. I'm thinking this is the place to hang out during soccer games. Its a family owned restaurant, featuring Guatemalan cuisine.
Chips and 2 kinds of salsa arrived at my table right after the water. I had taken picks, but accidentally deleted them. The chips were delicious, probably homemade. Served warm, and they had great crunch. The tomato salsa is one of the best I've ever had. The tomatoes had a roasted flavor, and it was well seasoned, with a much deeper flavor than most salsas.. The green sauce had jalapeños and avocado. I asked the server if it was spicy. Her answer: just a little. Clearly we have VERY different ideas of spicy, because my mouth was on fire after one bite. But it was really good, and so I kept eating it. I just made sure to just dip the chip instead of scooping.
They also delivered a little bowl of consomme, which is chicken broth without the chicken. I had to ask, because I've never had anything like that delivered to my table
It was just okay. Maybe if it was hot I would have liked it better, but it was just lukewarm. I gave it several chances, but just not a fan.
Also got a side of guacamole
Your basic guacamole, but definitely homemade. And recently made, not sitting around all day. Chunky, just like I like it. I knew I didn't need to continue to eat chips, but I had to finish the guacamole. Most restaurants if you ask for a side of guac you don't get much. I was very pleasantly surprised with the portion.
The server recommended pollo guisado
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| Spanish chicken stew with tomato sauce & potatoes, served with rice, black beans, avocado, vegetables & fresh handmade tortillas |
Wow, this dish was amazing. The black beans were really good. I try not to eat the rice because its always too much, and usually just average at best. Very glad I did not tell her to leave it off. This rice was heat-hot (another rarity at a Hispanic restaurant) and had excellent flavor. The veggies were okay and cooked well, but served cold. Never seen that before. Not really a big fan. I tried a bite of the potato It was okay, but just a boiled potato with no extra flavor. I had more than enough other carbs to make up for it. The chicken was fantastic. Super tender. I don't usually like cooked tomatoes, but this was delicious and added great flavor to the chicken.
The dish comes with homemade tortillas. Since I couldn't decide between flour and corn, she brought both.
Honestly, the only reason I even tried them was because they're homemade. To me, that dish doesn't need them. The chicken is bone-in. But, both kinds were delicious and came out scorching hot. I had to wait about 5 minutes before I could even handle them for more than 10 seconds.
Honestly, the only reason I even tried them was because they're homemade. To me, that dish doesn't need them. The chicken is bone-in. But, both kinds were delicious and came out scorching hot. I had to wait about 5 minutes before I could even handle them for more than 10 seconds.
Will I go back? No question. It might be fun to go during a big soccer game, but then again, it might be a madhouse. But that might be fun too. Oh, and the server had given me 4 recommendations and they all sounded really good. So I need to go back and try more.
