Javier's Cantina & Grill

Yesterday we made a pilgrimage to Laguna Beach to eat at Javier's Cantina & Grill. I know it seems funny to drive over a half an hour to get to a Mexican restaurant in SoCal, especially Huntington Beach, where there is a Mexican restaurant on every corner. But we have to do it. Sometimes we don't even use the excuse that we are going to walk around Laguna or go to the beach (which, by the way, we have done twice out of about 25 times). We just drive all the way down there for margies and grub.

The atmosphere is excellent. Located along the Pacific Coast Highway, Javier's boasts a covered open air bar and a bustling dining room. Music fades into the background. Service is spectacular. Prompt, friendly and fun servers take care of your every need with a smile. Make sure to tip them well so that when you come back they remember you!

Here's how to do it: Order one of their great margaritas - get the Cadillac, rocks, salt. Eat some chips. And then order pretty much anything on the menu. Enjoy.

There are some suggestions I would like to make, though. The guacamole is fabulous. Big green chunks of avocado, not slimy green goop, greet you and tempt you to dig in with another chip again and again. The queso fundido - a blend of jack cheese, mushrooms, onions and chorizo - makes you want to cry and that's before you realize how many grams of fat you are consuming in the steaming corn tortilla. The real specialty here is seafood. Dungeness crab enchiladas, smothered in a creamy tomatillo sauce beg you to lick the plate after devouring the entire meal. The camarones rancheros - shrimp drowning in a sauce of tomato, garlic, onion and pasilla chiles - are delightful. And it's not only the seafood. Even something as simple as carnitas or carne asada is perfection here.

And that it why I love Javier's. I'll even go to their other location in Irvine if I absolutely have to. But I prefer to sit close to the ocean, watch the people wander down PCH and sip on my margie while thinking of nothing more than my next meal at the best Mexican in OC.