El Mante Mexican Grill & Cantina

Have you ever been to Onalaska, Texas? Neither have I.
I was in the area camping at Lake Livingston State Park and Onalaska is not far from there, so we decided to go to Onalaska. On the way I convinced myself that they might have a football stadium for me to photograph, even though I could not remember if Onalaska high school even had a football team. Just as we entered the outskirts of Onalaska, I spotted El Mante Mexican Grill & Cantina and made a mental note to check it out. It was not long before we spotted a sign directing us to Onalaska High School. It was a relatively new High School complex and had a athletic field in the back. It did not take much time to figure out this was one of the few non-football high schools in Texas.

Then I thought about the Mexican Restaurant we would pass on the way back to Lake Livingston State Park.

When we arrived, there were only a few cars in the parking lot, but these were Covid-19 days. We entered and were served chips and salsa. The chips and salsa are the first test of a good Tex-Mex restaurant. Are the chip stale or fried in old oil or both? The chips were good. The salsa? Did have a good flavor? Did it taste like spaghetti sauce? (the worst). The Salsa was very good.

I ordered an enchilada plate with refried beans and Spanish rice. It also included a side of guacamole. Clara ordered enchiladas with refried beans, Spanish rice, and a tamale.

They were both exceptionally good. We enjoyed our entire meal. One thing that made the food exceptional was the fact that it did not include cilantro which in my opinion is not part of traditional Tex-Mex food.

The bottom line is that I can recommend El Mante Mexican Grill & Cantina.