JOSE'S BLUE SOMBRERO

It’s not quite September, but we needed a spot for dinner last night after chugging about the Preview of the Parade of Kitchens – er– Homes, that is. There ARE some really cool kitchens in these high-end homes in Broken Hill subdivision. The islands in these kitchens are bigger than my entire kitchen. We noticed that the living rooms are pretty small these days. So do people entertain in the kitchen? Or perhaps in the bathroom. Master bathrooms are bigger than our "master" bedroom – and I’m not exaggerating. So are the master walk-in closets. While at the Parade, we met The Neighbors With The Stunning Hibiscus In Their Garden. We decided that four of our neighborhood families could move into one of these mansions. Well, actually, four of us would have to sell our houses to afford to BUY one of these homes. We all agreed that we love our neighborhood way too much to move into a new home, even if it did have (and one Parade house did) an exercise room, a home theater, a gallery, and a flex room – in which there was a pool table. You’d never see your kids again – which I suppose isn’t always a bad thing...

Back to Jose’s Blue Sombrero at the corner of Barker and Bluemound, a location which has been called Goerke’s Corners as far back as when my not-yet-18-year-old brothers would drive from Wauwatosa to buy beer in Waukesha County. But I digress. I must learn to be more professional if I’m to be taken seriously as a restaurant critic.

The Handsome Guy I Was With Who Was Dressed In A Sportcoat and I sat outside at Jose’s to check out the al fresco ambience, even though it was a bit chilly for August in WI. We also chose to sit outside so we could converse. The decibel level throughout the seating area inside was nothing short of astonishing. No wonder people are communicating via text messages these days. Everyone is deaf. Unfortunately, the music playing inside was also blasting outside, where it competed with the roar of the Harley’s starting up from the stop lights at Goerke’s Corners. So much for ambiance.

While The Man Who, I forgot to tell you, Is Fond Of Margaritas, drank a one of those ($4.50), I ordered a glass of Sangiovese wine from Jose’s petit wine list. It was actually very nice and, for $8, the volume of the pour did more than just dampen the bottom of the wine glass.

Jose’s lengthy menu sounds Mexican enough, but the food is only nominally so. I had the seafood burritos ($12.95), which said they came with a chipotle cream sauce, but tasted like nothing but melted butter. The rice and beans were also lacking herbs or spices, or flavor, actually. The Big Beef Man I Was With had a ground beef chimichanga ($8.95), and even The Man Who Is Not Critical Of Food Made With Red Meat So Long As It Contains No Funky Ingredients, said it was "boring". Wow! Since one of my many readers requested that I review desserts, we split an order of flan. Another Neighbor And Her Date Who Is Also From The ‘Hood stopped to visit with us and shared a spoonful of flan. We all agreed it was delicious – rich and smooth, with a light caramel sauce.

May I compare a similar meal we recently had at Ruby Isle’s current Mexican restaurant, Fiesta Garibaldi? This is also a locally owned restaurant, as is Jose’s. Though Garibaldi’s red wine was pretty pathetic, the meal cost less than Jose’s and the food was far superior. They spared no crustaceans in my crab enchilada ($9.95) and The Man commented favorably on his beef burrito, both served with a nicely spiced red sauce.

My advice? Wearing earplugs, go to Jose’s for a glass of Sangiovese wine. Next time I would try Jose’s made-at-your-table guacamole. Then drive to Ruby Isle and have a real Mexican meal at Fiesta Garabaldi. You’ll be too full to have dessert that evening, but another night you might want to go out for flan at Jose’s.