by Dale F. Bentson, Palo Alto Weekly (August 14, 2009) This is a tale of two Mexican eateries, both in Mountain View, both named Los Charros, both owned by brothers: Carlos and Javier Sepulveda. While the menu is nearly the same at both locations, there is a world of difference in ambiance, food preparation and service. The original Los Charros, now in its 12th year, is the taqueria on Dana Street just off Castro. Los Charros, the restaurant on El Camino, opened two-and-a-half years ago on the site of Ken's House of Pancakes, long gone but for the memories. The Sepulvedas learned the restaurant business working for their uncle, Pilar Contreras, who owns Tres Amigos in Half Moon Bay and San Mateo. The name Los Charros, loosely defined, refers to cowboys from Jalisco, according to Carlos Sepulveda. Outside Jalisco, a cowboy is a "vaquero." The los charros of Jalisco dress colorfully and ornately, participate in a type of rodeo they developed, and are master horsemen. The horseshoe and spur is the logo deployed in Los Charros locales. On recent visits to both locations, I preferred just about everything at the taqueria. The El Camino restaurant has a liquor license, though, and is large enough that a cantina operates evenings in an area separate from the main dining room. Live mariachi musicians serenade the habitues of the cantina on Friday nights. Aesthetically, the cantina was the only part of the restaurant I found attractive. It was narrow with a long bar, and well stocked with liquors and tequilas, arched doorways, cool brown tile floor and subdued lighting. The main dining area, though, struck me as a Mexican-themed oasis I might find off Interstate 80 in Nebraska. It lacked the intimacy of authenticity. The taqueria, on the other hand, had personality galore. It was small and cramped with the menu on a wall chalkboard. The tables and chairs were simple and well worn but not in disrepair. One wall had a Mexican mural flanked by sombreros; an undersized TV was mounted on a back wall. The floor was tiled for function, not form, with extra chairs and boosters stacked in a corner. It seemed that most patrons at the taqueria ordered at the counter, paid for their orders, and had their food brought to them, although table service and printed menus were available. The wait staff artfully dodged and weaved its way through the clogged space to deliver hot, fresh food. Back on El Camino, I was taken aback at my first visit to the restaurant. As a solo noontime diner, I was seated at a table for six (I might have looked like I had an entourage of imaginary friends). Not only was the table ridiculously big for my needs, the receptionist placed the menu so that I faced the wall. There were few other patrons. Fact is, on that particular noon hour, staff outnumbered customers 9:7. Despite that, I had to flag my server for the check and ask again to have the check taken to make change. On subsequent visits, the place was busier but the service was hit-or-miss: sometimes prompt, other times lacking. The taqueria, on the other hand, was a madhouse at midday. Not only were groups of people awaiting tables, but many others were there to pick up call-ahead orders. I suppose one must be a regular to call in an order to the taqueria; the company website promotes the El Camino restaurant and the taqueria had no printed take-home menus. I love chili rellenos ($9.50), and tried versions at both locales. The taqueria's were golden-brown and crispy, and oozed hot melting cheese when cut. The restaurant's version ($8.25) were soggy, as if the chili rellenos sat too long before being served. Disappointing, to say the least. Most orders at both locations came with refried beans topped with melted cheese, rice, warm tortillas, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. The staff at both locales brought fresh crisp tortilla chips and two salsas to the table soon after I was seated. I loved the super burrito ($5.75) at the taqueria. I ordered pork (chicken, beef and vegetarian options are also available). The meat was tender and not too dry, and was rolled full of rice, beans, spices and cheese. Successful too were the super tacos ($3.50 each) at the taqueria. I opted for chicken and pork tacos. Both had a kiss of piquancy to them, lots of meat and gooey, elastic cheese. Physically, they were easy to handle and eat without the filling falling out or the taco shell disintegrating. Also from the taqueria, the carne asada ($9.50) of grilled steak, beans, rice, guacamole, sour cream was delightfully filling. The meat was tender, with just enough fat to give it flavor but not enough to give me concern. At the El Camino restaurant, the chili verde ($10.95) came with beans and rice. Cubes of tender pork sat in a pool of lifeless, unappealing green sauce with raw onions submerged like hostile denizens in an algae-covered lagoon. I barely managed two bites. It seemed the ingredients were thrown together at the last minute. There was no melding of flavors, no careful construction of a flavor profile that distinguishes Mexican cookery. The chicken tamales ($8.95) and the chicken enchiladas ($8.25) with red sauce passed muster but without much interest. One dinner at the El Camino restaurant, I ordered the camarones al mojo de ajo ($13.75), prawns in a garlic sauce. The prawns were plump and juicy but the garlic sauce so overwhelmed everything on the plate that it made the rice taste metallic. It was an unhappy flavor that lingered with me far into the night. The Los Charros taqueria and Los Charros restaurant are related in name, by ownership and by cuisine ethnicity, but other similarities appear to be merely coincidental.