El Paisano Restaurante - San Angelo

There's been a rash of new restaurants in San Angelo recently and El Paisano is one of the newbies on the block that I've had my sights set on. EPR has set up shop in the same location that has brought you Las Dos Hermanas, and Chilangos right on South Chadbourne in the heart of San Angelo's Barrio. The name sounds kind of "eye tal yin" like a lot of our friends around here but sure enough it's definitely a Mexican eatery.


We were greeted quickly and seated the same way. The ambience here has changed from the quirky and silly (Chilangos) to a more home style approach.
Our waitress got our drinks out quickly and was really attentive to all of our needs. She giggled a bit when she saw Jonah dancing around when some Banda music came on. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that we got a couple of free appetizers with before our lunch came out. Of course Jared asked for: __________ Fill in the blank. Didn't know you were getting a test huh? Hint we are from San Angelo and Jared asked for his usual San Angelo staple appetizer. Anyway, our waitress brought out a couple of bean dips that were simply out of this world. One of them had a lower layer of beans with a warm chile sauce on top that was very tasty and packed in some good heat. Here it is:
It's companion appetizer was also beans with a little picadillo and cheese on top. I think this was our waitresses nice way of getting something for our kids that they could eat. Looks good huh?
I ordered some Menudo and everyone pretty much knows what it looks like so I won't post it here but I do have to say it had a thick, dark orange broth that was very tasty. Only one issue with it was that I didn't get enough hominy. OH and the good thing was that on the weekends it's all you can eat for $6.50. It was served with the traditional accompaniments of lemon, jalapeno, and onions with some very warm and toasty corn tortillas. MMM MMM MMM Menudo Menudo Menudo. Jonah had a plate called the "El Nino" plate and I was sure hoping that it wasn't going to cause any warm, southern wind to come blowing out of him! It consisted of an enchilada, beans and rice. He seemed to like it very much.








My wife had an enchilada plate which looked very nice and the enchiladas were great. Yes I had a taste. She was impressed with it.








Kandra had chicken strips. Kandra said, "Wow, these are juicy!"
Jared had the usual, "Cheeseburger with everything: mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and no jalapenos."
The fries are fresh and not frozen and tasted home made.


Prices are all very reasonable and are great for trying to save a bit of money.

Service, food, prices, and atmosphere make this a place that could be on your list for at least a visit every two weeks. We enjoyed it very much!