Mexican in Bay View

Saturday night, with our friends Ann and Craig, Nate and I checked out a restaurant we had never been to before--Guanajuato in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood. It's not much to look at from the outside, but it's a cute, very small restaurant that serves up a lot of good stuff with a very nice waitstaff.

We, of course, started with guacamole and drinks--I opted to try something I've never had before, a micheleada drink. It's a beverage made with beer (I had Bohemia), lime juice, spices and tomato juice or, in my case, clamato juice, served in a salt-rimmed glass. It tasted like a fizzy bloody Mary. I didn't think it was too bad, but I'm not sure I would order it again.

I also opted to order food I've never had before--sopes. The base of it is made from fried, ground maize, and is topped with beans, meat (I had one with chicken and one with pork), cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and guacamole. I also added some of their smokey, hot sauce on top. It was super tasty, and something I would definitely try again. It seems like you don't see it very often on Mexican restaurant menus.

Nate had the bistec ranchero, strips of steak smothered in hot ranchero sauce, peppers, tomatoes and onions, and served with corn tortillas. I had a bite--it was also very good!

Ann got a chicken enchilada and Craig got a shredded beef muy grande, as the waiter said, burrito. Both were very good, they said.

Best of all, the place was really pretty inexpensive for everything we got and the size of the dishes. From our window seats, we even saw a guy walking down the street with a ferret on his shoulder! I'd definitely go back.