Coyote cuisine an after-beach thing

Lauren Vane

A low Saturday morning tide allowed a walk all the way down Laguna’s

beaches, from Main to Victoria. On my trek, I saw families packing

the beaches with sand castle-building children and sunbathing adults.

The sky was free of clouds and the morning breeze rendered the

perfect temperature for a long, lazy day at the beach.

So that’s exactly how I spent my day, alternating between the

beach towel and brisk dips in the ocean. When I looked at my watch,

it was suddenly 4 p.m.; I was starving and craving some Tex-Mex.

In the name of a relentless food craving, I decided to brave the

traffic and head south to the Coyote Grill. I luckily nabbed a

curbside parking spot, right in front of the restaurant. If you can’t

swerve off South Coast Highway quickly at the sight of a spare spot,

the alternate option is the restaurant’s valet lot, an extra $2

charge per vehicle.

The wait for a table for two was surprisingly minimal. We waited

in the bar area and perused the menu before my name was called within

five minutes of arriving. Naturally, I wanted to catch the sunset on

the restaurant’s outdoor patio, but the demand for an outdoor table

was high and my stomach was getting impatient. Turns out, our table

near the window had a great view just the same.

Though we were promptly attended to, the offerings set down on our

table were slightly odd: a bowl of salsa, a thimble of butter, a

combination of raw vegetables, a hot pile of tortillas and no chips.

I waited for the chips but they never came. Not sure what to do with

the smorgasbord of oddly paired starters, I spread butter on a hot

tortilla and dipped it in the salsa.

We had to ask for the chips, but they eventually arrived and all

was well. The restaurant was filled with mostly families enjoying a

casual environment with a kid-friendly menu that featured a typical

range of Mexican entrees augmented by many choices of shrimp and

fish.

For an appetizer, we chose the Coconut Prawns. The shrimp came

fast and arrived in a colorful presentation. The prawns themselves

were fine, but it was the crunchy salsa garnish that stole the show.

Now with some food in my stomach, I could look at the menu and

make a rational choice. Because I love to be served tableside with a

sizzling hot plate, I went with the chicken fajitas and all the

trimmings.

The fajitas arrived quickly and very hot. Combined with the

sizzling platter and a whole other plate full of fixins’ I had little

room to actually eat what had been spread out in front of me.

The meat of the fajitas consisted of a hot mix of onions, peppers

and mildly spiced chicken. I piled some on a tortilla and went for

the overwhelming array of condiments: rice, beans, onions, scallions,

cheese, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole. No garnish was left out.

Several bulging tortillas later and I felt a return of all the

energy the sun had earlier taken from me.

My boyfriend, no doubt inspired by his Coyote margarita, was

willing to take a gamble on his dinner, so he ordered something a

little less ordinary: the zucchini enchiladas. Much like my meal, his

was served in grand style with heaping portions. The zucchini, a meat

substitute for the vegetarian Tex-Mex lover, made for an interesting

twist on the regular cheese and meat enchilada. Over time, though,

the enchiladas stuffed with the zucchini mixture became a little too

mushy for my tastes.

Despite a few bumps in the experience, our meal at Coyote Grill

was just the thing I was looking for after a day at the beach.