La Tolteca Mexican Restaurant in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

La Tolteca Mexican Restaurant has only been open for a short time, but in that time, it has twice earned honors for being the best Mexican restaurant in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Recently, I was able to visit La Tolteca for the first time with my sister and stepfather.

Since we went on a Saturday night, it was obviously very crowded and difficult to find a parking space. We went inside and got a pager to wait for our table, along with three other groups. Even as we were waiting, other groups continued to pour in. While waiting, I noticed the Mexican themed paintings that adorned the restaurant even on first entry. There is also Mexican music playing over the speakers all the time.

After a short wait, our pager went off and we were led to our table. The booths are wooden carved and decorated with Mexican décor such as chili peppers. Almost immediately after we sat down, a waitress came over to our table with a complementary basket of tortilla chips and salsa. Then another waiter to take our drink order while we looked over the menu.

My sister and I decided on the chimichangas dinner, which came with two chicken or beef chimichangas and rice or beans on the side. We both chose chicken chimichangas with a side of rice. My stepfather chose an order of enchiladas. Other menu selections included traditional Mexican fare such as tacos, fajitas, and quesadillas. The alcoholic beverage menu consisted of regular and Texas sized (jumbo) margaritas and daquiris.

When our food came out, it was so hot that our waiter had to serve it with oven mitts. The chimichanga tortillas were softly fried and covered with a cheese sauce. The chicken was inside and I had to cut the shell into pieces to be able to eat it. The fixings (lettuce, tomato, guacamole, and sour cream) were served on the side if you wanted to open the tortilla and stick it inside. However, I did not opt to do this. I felt the chimichangas were fine without the fixings.

My sister and I considered the dessert menu which included a chocolate covered taco, a flan (a traditional Mexican custard covered in vanilla syrup), and fried ice cream. After consideration, we decided our dinners had filled us up enough. I could not even clear my plate and I was still full. If you're looking to control your portions, don't discount La Tolteca. Even if you don't eat your whole plate, you will still feel satisfied after your meal.

As we were leaving the restaurant, I noticed the line for a table was longer than it had been when we came in. At this point, people were sitting outside with their pagers waiting for seating. You probably won't be waiting long here, though. When customers depart, they tend to depart a few groups at a time rather than having a staggered departure. Almost immediately after one group departs, another one is paged for seating. La Tolteca has seating both inside at the bar and dining area; then even more on an outside patio.

After my first time dining here, I have no complaints. I was originally surprised that I could find something to eat because I have never been a big fan of Mexican food. Although the staff was a little hard to understand (they're all Mexican or otherwise foreign), they were still quick in tending to your needs and the wait for dinner did not feel long at all. The menu is also pretty reasonably priced; the prices are on par with other casual dining restaurants. The wait you may have to be paged for a table will be well worth it.