Augusta Eats: New downtown Mexican place is where the familiar meets the authentic

Identifying a downtown Augusta restaurant only as "Mexican" often doesn't tell the whole story. There are niches.

Fans of a more typical presentation visit places such as El Presidente at the river end of Eighth Street. Nacho Mama's epic burritos on the 900 block of Broad Street help define the restaurant's music-heavy, college-town vibe. Tacocat's menu cleaves to a Latin American flavor palette as the jumping-off point for its original creations on 10th Street.

So with the recent opening of El Paso Tacos and Tequilas, it's gratifying that what you see is what you get from the robust menu mixing the conventional and the original to the prompt service.

El Paso opened in May at 1167 Broad St., a corner spot that formerly housed the Mellow Mushroom pizza place. It's reminiscent of the restaurant's first location that the Chavez family opened in 2020 in an empty historical storefront on North Ashley Street in downtown Valdosta.

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Want to sample a bit of everything? The Plato El Paso on the Tex-Mex corner of the menu includes a chile relleno, tostada, enchilada, taco, burrito and flauta.

The signature dishes shine, too. El Paso's carne asada is tender and flavorful, but the carne guisada ? sauteed steak, onions, tomatoes and grilled jalapenos ? makes a superb taco filling for the tortillas that accompany it.

The beef arrachera grills skirt steak to a turn with cebollitas, a side dish of grilled chives, and a jalapeno toreado, a pepper that's a roasted and garnished with sea salt.

El Paso's seafood enchiladas are a tempting lure for return customers, with its shrimp, crawfish and spinach sautéed in a subtle, creamy sauce.

If margaritas are your go-to libation at Mexican restaurants, don't leave without trying El Paso's house margarita topped with champagne. If a Bloody Mary is more your speed, sample a michelada, a refreshing drink with beer, lime juice, sauces, spices, and chili peppers.

El Paso is open Mondays through Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta Eats: New Mexican restaurant cooks delicious grill's night out