Carmen y Juan

Geoff and I went on quite the trek for a good Mexican place we hadn’t tried. (Speaking of Mexican in Charleston, I’m pretty sure Juanita Greenbergs food-poisoned us.)  We found this place based on reviews, and it is really far into Mount Pleasant.  It took us half an hour to get there from DT Charleston.  Worth it?  Yep.

It is called Carmen y Juan but was apparently formerly known as Los Compadres – so different sites list it by different names.  It is in a little strip mall in a neighborhood.  We got a bit lost. Call it Carmen y Juan or Los Campadres, it is run by the most friendly people!!  Really makes you want to support local businesses and small businesses.  One of the owners (I’m not sure which one – apparently it is run by two friends) was working the kitchen.  The owner’s son, a pre-teen (? I’m not good at guessing kids’ ages), was our waiter.  Um, he was super cute and a good little waiter! He eagerly told us his favorite things on the menu and was very attentive.

First, the salsa served was great! If you like spicy food, make sure to ask for the spicier salsa.  So good.  They also make their own spicy hot sauce to put on your meal!  When the owner saw how much we liked spice, he said, “Please tell me next time before you order your food. I can make it spicy!”  Love that. The margaritas were obviously freshly made with good ingredients.  They really hit the spot.  Per our waiter’s suggestion, we ordered the Chicken Chimichangas.  They were very good! Really more of what you think of as a flauta or taquito, but delicious either way

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We also shared the Steak Fajitas, which were excellent. Image

(Excuse the poor photos.)

Plenty of food for two! Probably too much – we planned on going to a movie after, but I wanted to lie in bed in sweatpants instead.  Maybe next time. This is the kind of place you really root for.  It was obvious that the owner knew his regular customers.  And the food is delicious!!

Carmen y Juan's Homestyle Mexican Food on Urbanspoon

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