REVIEW: Mexican Connection, Saratoga [PHOTOS]

One of my favorite kinds of food that my boyfriend and I eat together is Mexican. We love tacos & burritos and sure, we may find ourselves at Taco Bell once in a while but we know where good Mexican food comes from and eat at those restaurants when possible. Most recently, we went to dinner at Mexican Connection (41 Nelson Ave, Saratoga Springs). I’ve been here once before a few years ago but never featured it on my blog, until now.

According to their website, Mexican Connection Restaurante y Tequilera has been open for 30 years.  Marilyn Farrell bought a pizza place on Court Street in downtown Saratoga and started selling tacos out of it. She ended up being the first to bring Mexican cuisine to the Capital region in 1979 and later moved to the Nelson Avenue location. After a few owner changes, the current owner Joe Parisi purchased the restaurant in 2014. The food is all made fresh to order and they offer over 150 tequilas!

To start, they brought us chips and two salsas with various heat levels to the table and we ordered guacamole on the side ($9). The price may seem a little steep for guacamole but it’s probably some of the best I’ve had. There were the right amount of avocado chunks and there was enough where I took some home to finish the next day. With that, I ordered the cocktail special of the day: a fresh blueberry margarita with a chili lime salt rim ($9). The margarita was delicious! I didn’t necessarily need the salt on the rim, I drank it from a straw which kept getting plugged with blueberries. I really enjoyed the drink and it paired really well with my meal.

The menu was a tad overwhelming. Not because there were too many things but because everything sounded delicious and I’m horribly indecisive. I loved the ideas of the combination platter, it gave me a chance to try a few different options with one plate. I decided on the Conquistador which was a chimichanga, Mexican rice, and a taco ($18). A chimichanga is refried beans and cheese inside a deep-fried flour tortilla. Since everything is made to order, you can decide on which meat you want with your meal: spicy ground beef, shredded beef, shredded chicken, shredded pork or chorizo. I picked chorizo for everything. The chimichanga is what they’re famous for and I could see why. There was no way I was finishing that in one sitting but it was really delicious. I liked that it was crispy on the outside and full of melty goodness on the inside. The taco was good too but I should’ve saved stomach space and just went all in with that chimichanga.

For dessert, we ordered a buñuelo with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A buñuelo is a fried tortilla covered in sugar, cinnamon and honey. They are different in different countries and styles and though we were extremely full, we finished it pretty quickly, it was great! Overall, we had a fantastic time. The waitstaff was incredible, very helpful and attentive. The food was really delicious and the atmosphere was really great, we can’t wait to go back again soon!

NOTE: Though I was not paid for my review, my meal was comped by the restaurant in order to give me the opportunity to write about them. 

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