By now I’m sure you’ve all seen the huge crowds outside the new Tex-Mex restaurant, No Way Jose. If you haven’t, it’s located right next to Casa Bravo and a stone’s throw from La Terazza. Since I’m the resident foodie for The Reflector, of course I had to check it out.
Though there was a line snaking out the door, my boyfriend and I were seated quickly. We went on Monday and it was packed with families, college students, and professionals—something you don’t often see together at once. It looked like everyone in the county was there to check this place out.
The inside of the restaurant still looks similar to how it did when it was a Chili’s. That probably won’t be surprising for anyone who saw how quickly this restaurant was up and running. The food took a little less than an hour to arrive. This gave us plenty of time to eat the chips and salsa—heavily tomato based with a sweet and spicy kick. It might be my favorite salsa out of the Mexican restaurants in the area, due to the lack of cilantro—a herb that most Mexican places drown their salsa in.
When the food arrived, mine was extremely hot. I recommend the ‘No Way Jose’ Fajitas. My meal was $15 and could have fed both of us. It comes with chicken, steak, shrimp, and chorizo as well as rice, beans, guacamole, sour cream and your choice of flour or corn tortillas. I really liked that I had my choice of flour or corn, because I am a serious flour lover—and I’m not usually offered a choice.
The way No Way Jose cooks bell peppers, they still have this delicious crunch to them. You can still taste the freshness as opposed to some other restaurants that char them to death. My food was great but you have to remember that this is Tex-Mex, not Mexican.
Don’t go into this Tex-Mex experience with the idea that this will taste like the Mexican food you know and love. Tex-Mex is Mexican food’s younger but just as lovely cousin. The flavors are different and they use more tomato-based flavorings in Tex-Mex, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
My boyfriend’s a la carte chicken quesadilla was fairly greasy and barely warm. There was a bit of moisture from the dishwasher still on his plate, as well. The service was friendly, but this restaurant was so packed that they could not handle all the business at one time.
The alcoholic drinks have fair prices and get ready to drink because the fishbowls are huge. No Way Jose has a different drink menu than the rest of our Mexican restaurants, with a lot of new drinks, as well.
Thus far, No Way Jose has a five-star rating on Facebook, with only one review less than five stars and almost 500 likes. They don’t currently have a website, other than the Facebook page, but can be reached by phone.
Currently, there is also no posting of their menu or hours open online. I think that this restaurant will be a great addition to the Starkville area, once the newness of everything calms down. If you’re looking for something new this is a nice option.
