Enjoy south of the border meals at On The Border by Sara Angelopoulos, Outpost staff On The Border is located on the corner of South McCarran Boulevard and Virginia Street. Photo by Sara Angelopoulos For the past few weeks since On The Border opened, I had heard nothing about mixed reviews but the place. Some people said that after eating great Mexican food at local restaurants, On The Border just couldn't beat them. Others who loved On The Border raved about it, saying their food was the best or the service they received was awesome. After hearing all these different opinions, I decided to see for myself. My boyfriend, John, and I eat out a lot and find ourselves trying out new places, so why not make this review my first experience at On The Border. On The Border is located on the corner of South McCarran Boulevard and South Virginia Street, in the same shopping center as Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. We went on a Tuesday around 5 p.m. As we drove up, we saw that parking was not a problem. Parking spaces were available completely around the restaurant. When we entered the place, we were greeted immediately by two hostesses. I was impressed by the way the restaurant was decorated. It was made to look like the home of a Mexican vaquero. The walls displayed equipment used by cowboys. Cowboy hats and lanterns hung on one wall and branding irons on another. A large fireplace stood at one end of the restaurant as we walked to our table. It almost took up the whole wall, and had pictures on its mantle. The scenery at On the Border makes customers feel like they are at the home of a mexican vaquero. Photo by Sara Angelopoulos We were seated at a table close to the fireplace. Our server, Monica, greeted us as we sat down. She brought us chips and salsa and menus. I was impressed with the menu. It offered many different dishes. Unlike the usual Mexican restaurants that offer the traditional Mexican favorites, On The Border offers entrees hot off the grill. On The Border offers a large selection of appetizers such as Fajita Nachos and Quesadillas. The menu also offers garden fresh salads, mesquite fried fajitas, border style grilled favorites and the usual Mexican favorites. It wasn't hard to pick something that I liked. Of course, when we think of Mexican restaurants we think of margaritas. A bar was situated at the other end of the restaurant, and the menu offered its award-winning margaritas along with other special alcoholic drinks. The prices on the menu seemed to be pretty reasonable. They ranged from $6.99 to $12.99, but the descriptions of the dishes made it sound like we were going to get our money's worth. Monica came back to take our order, which was about 5:15. I decided on the Pollo Magnifico Photo by Sara Angelopoulos Pollo Magnifico, which is a mesquite grill chicken breast topped with ranchero sauce, two smoked chicken flautas and a chicken enchilada with sour cream sauce. It also came with Mexican rice, refried beans and charanga veggies. I did not know how I was going to eat all of this, but I could always take it home. John had the Corona Extra dinner. This dish has smoked chicken chile relleno, two chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce and a soft beef taco, plus the rice, beans and veggies. Our wait for our food was not very long. When 5:30 rolled around, our food was on the table. The food looked tasty and the plate was hot. I started first on the chicken enchilada with the sour cream sauce. I think this was the best thing on the plate. The sauce was creamy and tasted great. The grilled chicken breast was tender and easy to cut through but the chicken flautas were not what I expected. I think that the flautas would have been better if they were beef, plus I didn't like the taste of them smoked. Overall, I felt the food was good and was worth the $8.99. John enjoyed his dinner as well. He said that the taco was excellent and the same chicken enchilada I had was tasty as well. He said he would eat at On The Border again. The funny thing about this visit was the amount of refills we received. John and I finished our first Coke only to have two more glasses each afterward. After dinner, Monica brought us a to-go box and brought us the bill. I was once surprised by the prices; our bill came out to $22. We paid with our Visa card and were out the door by 5:45. As we walked through the restaurant to get to the doors, the tables that were empty when we arrived were now full. Others were waiting to be seated. Overall, I felt that my experience at On The Border was a good one. The service was great and the food was good, too. But I have to make a confession that I am one of those people who prefer the local Mexican restaurants over a chain restaurant, even if I would probably go On The Border again to try their salads.    On The Border 5525 South Virginia St. (775) 827-5525 www.OnTheBorder.com HOURS: Sunday-Thursday 11a.m. to 10 p.m Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11p.m. PRICE RANGE: $6.99 to $12.99 HIGH POINT: You get a lot of food for your money's worth LOW POINT: This restaurant is out in south Reno with all the other chain restaurants. PAYMENT OPTIONS: Cash, Local Personal Checks all major credit cards are accepted Posted Sept. 29, 1999 Copyright 1999, Nevada Oupost TOP