as i've mentioned before, i grew up in what was a very rural part of st. charles county in missouri. we had to drive pretty far (by today's standards) to get to anything. the time i decided to eat a whole bottle of aspirin (at about age 3) my mom had to drive about 25 minutes into st. charles proper to get the ipecac syrup at the closest drug store. the closest grocery store was about 15 minutes away. we also didn't have the biggest selection of restaurants. we didn't eat out much in the first place, but i do remember one chinese restaurant that we went to fairly often. the only mexican restaurant i remember going to was the taco bell on droste road in st. charles and it wasn't there until i was probably in junior high.

to me, mexican food was burritos or tacos at home. mom would get those kits with the shells & packet of spices for ground beef. toppings were generally refried beans, lettuce, cheese & tomatoes and that's it. around '98 or so a restaurant called el maguey opened in st. charles county & it's probably the first authentic mexican restaurant i'd ever been to. my basis for calling it authentic is that someone from mexico recommended it to me and nothing but spanish is heard coming from the kitchen. so, i am not a mexican food expert. i don't know what mexican food is "supposed" to look or taste like and have no idea which are the truly traditional dishes. but i do like mexican food a lot.

john started a new job fairly recently and next door is a really cool little mexican restaurant. the sign says "tienda casa paloma" and, after looking it up online, i learned that "tienda" means store. they have a small selection of fresh produce, canned goods & a refrigerated section. they also have a counter where they serve food. their menu is so detailed that you could almost make each dish just from the description. the dining area is large and filled with fifties looking formica tables & metal chairs with brightly colored cushions along with booths on two walls. the decor makes me think of a very tidy border town store (blankets, ornaments, pictures of mexico, a few pictures of our lady of gaudalupe). it is cute and comfortable and inviting.

selection: the menu on the wall behind the counter is hand written on about 8 large pieces of poster board. there is a large selection of breakfast burritos and platters. they also have several types of burritos & tacos, quesadillas, sandwiches and desserts (and more that i can’t remember right now). i love that they have what looks like a teeny salad bar where you can spruce up your food. you have a choice of 3 different salsas, pico de gallo, lettuce, onions & lime slices. the coolest thing is a section full of cilantro. how cool is it to be able to add as much freshly chopped cilantro as you want to your food? i'll tell you... it's awesome. along with the usual choice of soft drinks, they also have a bunch of mexican sodas & beverages.

taste: i don't know where to start. everything we've had has just been incredible. the food is spicy but not too much so, fresh as the day is long and just plain delicious. i'd never had chorizo until i had their breakfast burrito & now i'm totally in love with it. john had a gigantic burrito for lunch one day that was amazing. among all the other ingredients, there was a pretty green chunk of avocado right in the center. Today we shared a monster chicken taco salad in a fried tortilla bowl.  the bowl was so light, crunch & buttery, i couldn’t stop eating it while john stirred up the chicken, cheese, lettuce, beans, salsa, sour cream & avocado inside.  their homemade horchata is perfectly cool, refreshing & cinnamon-ey.  i want to drink it every day.  go to your thesaurus & look up "delicious" and every word will apply to casa paloma.

service: twyla, the girl who's been at the counter both times we went is super nice & very informative. she definitely knows a lot about everything they serve, which was a tiny bit surprising since she's the only non-hispanic person i've seen there so far. it took less than 5 minutes for us to get our hot & fresh food.

value: the first time i went, i had a breakfast burrito packed full of eggs, cheese and chorizo. for under $6 i had way more food than i could eat for breakfast. the second time we went, i had a soft taco for $2. the meat was marinated with yummy spices & so juicy that i had a small problem with the bottom of my tortilla getting a soggy hole in it. the taco salad was too much for john to finish by himself (which is really saying something) and the perfect size for us to share & be full for about $6.  definitely a good value for the amount of food you get.

again, reheatability wasn't an issue because we scarfed it all down. of course, ranch doesn't apply because who would put ranch on mexican food? i also haven't checked out the bathrooms yet. even if john didn't work right next door, i would want to go back to casa paloma again & again. the food is amazing, plentiful and affordably priced. the atmosphere is fun, casual & comfortable. the staff is nice & knowledgeable. if you are ever in kansas city & have even the slightest inclination to have some mexican food, go straight to casa paloma. you'll thank me later.

 grade: A+