Laredo, Texas: Best Chile con Queso - El Capataz!

Let me start with defining two things: Laredo, Texas and Chile con Queso.

First, Laredo, Texas. Laredo is a city on the Mexican border, in southern Texas. The Republic of the Rio Grande Museum chronicles the short-lived independent nation, with displays on local culture and history. Next to Los Dos Laredo's Park, a bridge crosses the Rio Grande into Mexico. Lake Casa Blanca International State Park has trails and a fish-filled lake. It's about a 2-hour drive south of San Antonio and for the size of the city (kinda small), it possesses more than 250,000 citizens.

Second, Chile con Queso. Chile con queso, sometimes simply called 'queso', is an appetizer or side dish of melted cheese and chili peppers, typically served in Tex-Mex restaurants as a dip for tortilla chips. This velvety smooth and creamy cheese dip is a popular Tex-Mex recipe made popular by restaurants in Texas.

And when you combine the city of Laredo, Texas with Chile con Queso, the best of the best is a spot named El Capataz.

My spouse's family spent about 10 years living in Laredo and there is no doubt that this spot is a staple when we visit our friends here. Everyone loves this spot for four reasons: the staff are always friendly, the drinks are wonderful and reaosnable, they offer great seasonal options and the food is always delicious, perfectly cooked, full of flavor and timely.

We visited El Capataz four times during the COVID pandemic crisis and the food quality didn't suffer one bit. Obviously, we weren't able to dine-in, so everything was sold as a pick-up curbside. They developed a fantastic process that made the pick up system simple and safe. The orders were ready in the time they quoted and all of the food was just as delicious as if we ate inside their restaurant. During our last trip, we ordered the chicken wings, loaded French fries appetizer and fish and chips. Every item was warm, delicious and ample is serving size. A-plus all the way down.

But their best menu item is their queso. Hands down. There are times that I purposely order three 'queso' sides to go and we sit down at home with three big bags of tortilla chips from Walmart and go 'dipping crazy.'

My personal favorite is the Queso Borracho (drunken cheese). You'll instantly notice that the cheese is melted until a toasty crust forms around it and you'll say to yourself - "once the cheese melts, they must pour something like a tequila in it and then sprinkle it with parsley." Well, that would be correct. Their Queso Borracho includes a Chimichurri Tequila and deliberately melted until a dark crust forms on the sides. The queso is accompanied with a side of crusty bread for dipping. It is phenomenal. Absolutely fantastic.

This menu item alone (which is only $13) is well worth the experience and more than enough for two or three people to go 'dipping nuts'. I'm telling you - this is a great item to bring home, open up a bag of common chips and just 'dip away.'

This place has been extremely cool to the locals and it's not what you might expect to find in Laredo. The interior is hip and the patio is quite comfortable with a long bench along one side, padded chairs on the other side of the tables and even a flatscreen TV on the wall.

During our most recent visit, we ordered a house/coin margarita ($6) which was great as well as the El Capataz margarita ($9) that had jalapeno, cucumber and cilantro muddled in with a chunky salt rim. Without a doubt, it's the best Margarita I've ever had!

I also noticed that their beer selection was vast, even including Avery White Rascal and Breckenridge Agave Wheat (as a Colorado native, I loved this). Our large group split many appetizers, and some were so good we ordered them again. And then maybe again... Instead of heading out to another location for our dinner as planned, we all wanted to stay and keep eating and drinking at El Capataz.

And once again, we all shared three orders of the queso borracho along with the creamy goat cheese in a tomato sauce, albondigas in a creamy sauce, grilled garlic shrimp, chorizo mussels, ribs with mexi fries, and ceviche. All were delicious and quickly devoured. For the 11th or 12th time, we had a great time here with very friendly service.

My personal menu recommendations from El Capataz:

1. Cocktail: The Prime Rib Cocktail

2. Salad: The Poblano Chicken Salad

3. Entree: The Peruvian Roasted Chicken

4. Entree: 3-hour Prime Rib

5. Dessert: The Kaluha Ahogado

I will always love this place and it will forever be one of 'go to's' when we are in Laredo, Texas . If you have not tried it, you are truly missing out. Go now! :)

7220 Bob Bullock Loop Unit C7 Laredo, TX 78041

(956) 723-7400

http://el-capataz.com