Tableside Flair. Dad and I ventured as far as Fairfax the other night to try dinner at Pancho Villa's Restaurant in Fairfax. Pancho Villa was a kind of Mexican Robin Hood and revolutionary leader, so the restaurant has a bit of a rebellious theme to it.

We were quickly seated by friendly staff and given some chips and salsa.

We decided to treat ourselves to some table side guacamole. Now when I order table side guacamole, it's because I would like it truly fresh and more chunky rather than pureed. However, in this case the person prepping took a wire whip to it, and what we got was a big bowl of avocado smoothy! All the chunkiness was due to bits of onion and tomato. Definitely not worth $10.95, unless that preparation is your preferred way, so take note either way.

Here is the view of the finished product less a couple scoops my Dad took.

Dad ordered the chicken enchiladas en mole. He said that he liked the dish other than it was lukewarm.

I ordered a chicken tamale and beef taco combination. I also tried their whole pinto beans rather than refried which were a tasty variation. However, I wasn't too fond of the rest of the meal. It was also lukewarm, particularly the red tamale sauce served on the side. The beef in the taco was sauteed with a very sweet sauce, and the shell was so crumbly you couldn't pick it up. The tamale was the blandest I've ever eaten, and the cool sauce did not kick it up, and suffered from a little over-sweetness too. Now my friend Paul lived in Fairfax for awhile and said he enjoyed many a pleasant meal here, so although my first impression isn't so good, I'd be willing to give it another try.