Back in the fall of 2008 we visited El Parian and raved about their Americanized Mexican fare. It’s been suggested several times in the surveys I run yearly that I should revisit restaurants reviewed in the past to give them an update. While I was generally against that for a variety of reasons in the past, it seemed like a good idea here being that we continually recommend it to others looking for Americanized Mexican (as it’s considered the area’s best) and we hadn’t visited in nearly four years and we needed to make sure we were still recommending a location worthy of our praise. In other words, we didn’t want to have this restaurant to end up like Piccolo’s Pizza in Eagan did.
We arrived around 7:45 and sat down at one of the three tables outside. The menu is still ungodly huge and overwhelming with many items very, very, very similar to the next. Take for example the Texas Fajitas vs some other sort of Fajitas. The only difference is that one has three types of protein and the other has an option for one of the three. I seriously had to read them 5 or 6x before figuring out why one was a few dollars more. As I moved throughout the menu, I stuck to the main pages. It wasn’t until it was time to order that I noticed several menu items down at the bottom that were all in Spanish and had no description. I started to Google what the words meant and found a variety of shrimp dishes and soups as well as tacos and more than were apparently more traditional Mexican items. In the end I wasn’t in the mood for shrimp or soup on a hot day outside so I went with their three fish tacos. The Wife grabbed a quesadilla of some sort and we got another for The Rooster.
While we waited we munched on the usual salsas and chips. I asked for some hot sauce and a separate bowl so I could heat up my own salsa and instead he brought out a freshly made habanero pico de gallo which I then added to the salsa. Everyone knows it’s rare that I find a restaurant which doesn’t know my tolerance for heat that can deliver a product like El Parian did there. The fresh flavors were spot on and the searing heat was just what I needed. My nose was running and I was in heaven. Being that I work close by, I can see this as a great way to warm up on cold winter afternoons during lunch. If you like heat, get their hot salsa. Yum!
The Rooster’s meal was out first and wasn’t anything exciting yet the cheese quesadilla was nice and wasn’t stuffed with flavorless cheese as is so often the case. He ate quite a bit of it and seemed pleased with it all. The Wife’s quesadilla with a guacamole salad wasn’t a quesadilla at all. In fact, it was basically a fully stuffed fajita. Full of peppers, onions, tender and marinated chicken, I have to admit I was impressed. She was only able to get half of the way through it and had to box up the rest to take home. While she at first was clamoring for dessert, there simply wasn’t any room when she was done and she left with a smile on her face.
My fish tacos, pictured above, surpassed even my greatest expectations. I was honestly shocked at how much food appeared on three simple tacos. The avocado was excellent and the pico de gallo was fresh. I loved the fact that they gave me a full half lime to do my squeezing being that I can never have enough lime. However, rightfully so, the fish was the star of the show. Usually when I get fish tacos, say at Sea Salt (a restaurant which should have excellent fish tacos), they are boring and overdone. These, however, were lightly and flavorfully breaded. There was plenty of them, almost too much in fact and for the first time in my life I can actually say I was blown away by fish tacos.
Even with all the surprises we had last night, the biggest came right as we were finishing ordering. There was another page to the menu I missed assuming it was drinks and dessert. Nope, they had an entire page of very traditional Hispanic items including tortas (beef tongue no less!), standard tacos, etc. Oh my god! We had restumbled upon the most perfect Mexican restaurant in town…one which caters to The Wife’s desire for Americanized Mexican and one that provides me with the food items I love too.
We will most definitely be back and soon. While we already raved about El Parian in the past, it gets our double-stamp of approval again times three. If you haven’t already checked it out, seriously get yourselves over there and try it now. It was simply phenomenal.
Have you tried El Parian in Eagan? If so what did you think? What do you think about me revisiting old places and reviewing them again? Which do you prefer: more traditional Hispanic foods or Americanized Mexican? Whatever you have to say go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Address:
El Parian
1960 Cliff Lake Rd
Eagan, MN 55122
Phone:
651-454-3234
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June 8th, 2012 at 9:27 am
You had me at the picture.
June 8th, 2012 at 11:10 am
Been there and enjoyed it. Especially since it is so close to me.
June 8th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
We go here often. The food is consistently good and the service is incredible. Great people. I dont drink much, but people who do assure me that the margaritas are great as well.
June 8th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Good margaritas too? Restaurant margaritas are usually overly sweet limeade with no tequila taste. The only indication that alcohol is present is the slight buzz. Looks like I need to stop in.
June 8th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
OBB, I have no idea but the young couple at the table next to ours seemed to thoroughly enjoy theirs.
June 8th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Sounds like El Parian’s salsa was much better than Guy Fieri’s! ;-)
June 8th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Carrie, rotting vegetables in the bottom of an unplugged refrigerator is better.
June 9th, 2012 at 7:43 am
I love El Parian; if I want Mexican, that’s where I go. And the last time I had a margarita there, it was pretty strong.
June 9th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Tim, was the margarita neon-colored and corn syruped? Or did the mix seem to come from real citrus fruits? That’s the deal-killer for me on margaritas, even more than cheap tequila is!
June 9th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Bill, good call on the menu – it looks like a nice blend of American-y and Mexican. I wonder how their tamales are…..
June 9th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
Hmm, I think I know what I’m doing for dinner tonight!
June 9th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Sandy, if I could remember that, it wouldn’t have been a very good margarita. :)
June 10th, 2012 at 7:53 am
Nice place! I had dinner there last night. Very fast service, good food. I’m no food critic, and wouldn’t know a ‘real’ Mexican restaurant if it bit me in the ass, but I liked what they served. I was waited on by what I assume was the owner, but the rest of the wait staff was very good, too. I swear, any kid thinking about becoming a waiter should watch those guys go about their business. Just young kids, but very well-trained.
I will go back again for sure, thanks for the reviews, Bill!
June 10th, 2012 at 10:52 am
Made it over there on Friday. Step up from the El Loro, Teresa’s, El Patio, etc. Really no debate there. I agree, it was nice to have more authentic options available.
The most significant differentiator was that everything that should have been fresh was. Things like the avocados, the torta roll (I had the lengua torta), etc. They pay attention to all of the small details.
Also a standout was the lengua itself. Nice flavor and just melted. Tongue can be a little chewy. I can’t wait to get back and have it on tacos where it will really shine.
I tasted my wife’s tilapia tacos — also very nice. She enjoyed them. Kids had stuff like quesadillas and shredded chicken burrito — not a very adventurous bunch that night.
I can’t stand tequila, but I tasted the wife’s margarita. It was ridiculously strong. I would guess it was a standard mix.
I still prefer the taquerias around the metro and El Burrito Mercado, but this is a great option for very good food close to home.
June 10th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
It looked to me like they had one of those old fruit punch dispenser machines (the kind that keep the liquid cold & moving around a lot) as well as another slushie-type machine both filled with their margarita mix & frozen margarita mix. They get margaritas out damn fast. The food comes out really fast, too.
June 10th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
The carnitas are very good.
June 16th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
Had the Tacos Parian today and loved them. And seriously, the Carnitas dinner is very good.
June 18th, 2012 at 9:59 am
Chad,
How are the carnitas?
lefty
June 18th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
We tried to eat here on Saturday right around 5:30pm. The place was full and with 2 little ones, we didnt want to wait in the tiny entry until a table opened up. We will definitely try again another night, but I was really looking forward to trying their margarita. We ended up going to the Burnsville El Loro, where you can always get a table . . . .
June 18th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Have you been to try them? If not, then I have not told you enough times how good they are.
Dick
June 18th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
June 19th, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Sorry, I was not using a signature. It was directed at you. Too subtle?
You should really quit typing and go try the carnitas.
For any who may have missed it, the carnitas are great. Also the Tacos Parian and the fish tacos are different. the Tacos Parian are the more mexican version (corn tortillas, pico, avocado). The fish tacos are the more american version (flour tortillas, lettuce, cheese).
Have a nice day lefty.
June 19th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Chad,
What you lack in proper formatting you completely make up for that with your lack of subtlety.
I think I am going to go there for some carnitas. I hear they are very good.
You have a nice day too buddy!
lefty
June 19th, 2012 at 5:43 pm
We’ve now eaten there twice, thanks to Bill’s review. The second trip was with another couple. They want to go back… we obviously will be back. The carnitas is excellant! It’s now our go-to restaurant for Mexican cuisine.
June 19th, 2012 at 6:52 pm
C&V, thank you for affirming my belief that the carnitas are quite good.
June 19th, 2012 at 7:15 pm
Having had the carnitas at El Parian a while back, I can confirm this as well.
June 22nd, 2012 at 8:35 pm
We ate there this evening, and despite the service being wonderful, the food just wasn’t very good.
June 25th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
sandy,
Did you get the carnitas?
June 25th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
Carnitas? Huh? Dang, why didn’t someone mention that…..
September 21st, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Try the Enchiladas Guadalahara, it’s a beautiful plate with some cheese enchiladas smothered with their carnitas. I just had some a few minutes ago and they’re great =)
December 26th, 2012 at 7:32 am
[...] Copper River Fish & Chop House (second review) 2. Technique 3. Tawakal 4. Spice Thai Cafe 5. El Parian 6. Nha Sang 7. The Buckboard 8. Burnsville Ale House 9. Panini Grill 10. The Rack Bar and Grill 11. [...]
May 15th, 2013 at 10:36 am
There is a Groupon running for El Parian right now and continuing for a few days. I love their food, and hope that some other folks who have been sitting on the fence might try them. I am not sure what Bill’s rules are for external links so I am not going to put one in, I assume folks can find it on their own =)
Try the Enchiladas Guadalahara!
May 15th, 2013 at 10:53 am
Uh Oh. Groupon Kiss Of Death. The last thing you should do if you want to support a restaurant like Kirk S. is pretending to do is use a freaking Groupon to go there.
May 15th, 2013 at 11:06 am
My wife and I eat there about once a week myself. Where the groupon would cause them to lose money is if folks buy it, try them, and never come back. But at least they tried the food. Or if you bought twenty groupons or something ridiculous like that, but I think there is a one coupon limit.
May 16th, 2013 at 9:51 am
I have a tendency to agree with lefty as I am not a fan of Groupon’s business model.
But have wanted to go to El Parian for a while, its just that we live in Burnsville and when I get an urge for Mexican I can qualm it at Hacienda for tacos.
May 16th, 2013 at 10:55 am
Just wondering as to why the Groupon hate? I’ve used one a few times, but unfortunately didn’t make repeat visits as it was for experiences where once you do it, you really don’t need to go back a second time.
May 16th, 2013 at 1:53 pm
ks,
If you google Groupon Scam or things along that line you can get a good feel as to how Groupon (and their competitors) prey on small business owners to offer discounts they can’t afford. Many companies have suffered not repairable impact to their profits, etc. Many have gone under, though Groupon was likely the killer blow to an already bad business model.
Read the Andiamo Restaurant thread here if you want to know how I really feel. Poor Sparksals.
lefty
May 16th, 2013 at 6:19 pm
Yikes. And here I thought I was helping small businesses. I’ll look into this. Thanks for the info.
May 17th, 2013 at 7:39 am
ks,
I think the concept of paying a fair price for a decent product or service is the best way to support small business. Simply put, if you are getting an 80% discount, the only way for it to be good for business is if other customers are paying way more than they need to. Marketing is marketing, but the extreme stuff is stupid all the way around.
May 17th, 2013 at 9:09 am
I agree, and I’m the kind of person that will forgo HD for the smaller Ace hardware, etc. even though it will cost more cash. I had always viewed Groupon as something businesses voluntarily tried out to bring a little more new business in..people like me who might want to try something like a sequeway trip but might not have the cash to pay full price. I had figured that the business getting, say $50 out of me, granted, not their full price of $100, was still $50 more than they would have had, had I not tried them out.
I have seen Groupon backfire when a place underestimates demand and runs out. Not good. I was also treated very poorly at a salon a few months ago when they found out I had a Groupon, though I had mentioned that when calling to make the appt. To make a long story short, I ended walking out. I didn’t get online and leave a scathing review as many would do (not my style), but I did talk to the manager and gave her my thoughts politely, explaining why I would not be coming again and could not recommend them.
May 20th, 2013 at 8:47 am
My understanding of Groupon…
Restaurant offers $40 worth of food for $20.
Groupon gets $10 of that $20.
Restaurant is now providing $40 of food for $10.
May 20th, 2013 at 10:23 am
Dave, that is correct, but here is how the restaurant gets $10.
Day One: $3.33
Six Months later (or 3 depending on when the Groupon expires)- $3.33
One year later- the final $3.34 or whatever.
This is how Groupon was cooking the books to investors early when they went public by making it look like they had way more cash than they really did since much of it was in Accounts Payable.
It’s little more than a Ponzi scheme that is crashing around them as they run out of new businesses to work with while paying the former ones as they become due.
May 21st, 2013 at 3:13 pm
I think I need an El Parian meal soon…
May 21st, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Their food is good, I like it a lot. The favorites from my wife and I are the Burritos Parian and the Enchiladas Guadalahara. Their Parriada is great too for a couple to share, it’s an incredibly huge plate of fajitas with a variety of proteins.
May 29th, 2013 at 7:56 am
Groupon, from a post on the internet today, and one which I hope does not make a prediction for El Parian;
Here’s Twitter wisdom from legendary Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings on the struggling daily deals site Groupon: “I subscribe to Groupon because it’s good to know which nearby restaurants have mediocre food & will probably be out of business soon.” Ouch. It’s been a tough year for Groupon, who continued offering deals to restaurants that were shuttered by Hurricane Sandy, saw stock drop down 80% , and fired their CEO.
May 29th, 2013 at 10:33 am
I love the fact that Groupon, in their lobby has a bunch of magazines hanging up with the glowing reviews for the leaders of Netscape, Napster etc. that was put up there by the original CEO about what Groupon might turn into if they didn’t do the job right.
Perfect.
May 30th, 2013 at 8:29 pm
I’m surprised El Parian felt the need to do this, since it always appears to be busy when I go past it. Don’t business owners see what a lousy deal Groupon is for a restaurant?
For things that aren’t restaurants, I can maybe understand it depending on the circumstances. If you’re doing it for something where the operating costs are fixed or at least much less dependent on customer traffic, then I can see where there would be less downside. An example would be the three-day train/bus pass I bought for a trip to Chicago — those trains and buses are going to be running no matter how many passengers are on them, so while the CTA is possibly losing out on some fares, they may also pick up some revenue from people who otherwise wouldn’t ride them as often. The marginal cost of adding another passenger is very slim, but it’s not like that when you’re talking about patrons in a restaurant.