1376 Prince Ave.
706-543-1500
2080 Timothy Rd.
706-543-0154
By KRISTEN CALLIHAN
Every Southern town has a handful of good Mexican restaurants, and there’s always a debate over which is the best. This place has the best chimichangas, this place has delicious quesadillas, this place is the best for margaritas. Athens is no different, and Agua Linda is one of the heavyweight contenders for best Mexican food in town.
Mexican food is synonymous with tasty, affordable and quick food — food that was made for a college town. And Agua Linda, that bastion of cheese dip, provider of delicious burritos, south-of-the-border eatery of Normaltown, dishes up food that is, for the most part, in keeping with the delicious and fast meals that people expect from their local Mexican restaurant.
The last meal I ate at Agua Linda was not the best I’ve had, but one thing that remained consistently good was the cheese dip. This creamy queso goodness is the ideal start to my Mexican feast. What could be better than dipping those little salty vessels called tortilla chips in this nectar of the gods they call cheese dip? It’s the perfect combination of creaminess and spiciness that keeps hands returning to the chip basket time after time. And the $2.75 price tag for this appetizer is well worth it.
After nearly reaching my limit on chips, salsa and cheese dip, the entrées arrive. Saved from about-to-burst-balloon fullness by — what else? — more food.
The chicken enchilada was a tomato sauce and cheese covered vessel of juicy chicken. The chicken was tender and flavorful, the red sauce well seasoned. Agua Linda has arguably one of the best enchilada sauces in town; where others tend to have the overwhelming taste of cinnamon or nutmeg, giving the enchilada an unwanted sweetness, Agua Linda’s sauce is savory with a hint of spicy peppers. Combined with the cheese melted on top, it was a tasty topper for both my enchilada and mixed with refried beans.
Refried beans accompany many of the meals on the menu, and these frijoles were just what they should’ve been. As somewhat of a refried bean connoisseur, I must say that Agua Linda does them right. Not soupy at all, these beans had a thick texture that made them seem like beans rather than the leftover juice in the bean can.
Consistency may be Agua Linda’s faltering point. From visit to visit, staple menu items vary in their taste and preparation. There’s much more to be said for the refried beans than the rice, which was lackluster at best. Dry and bland, the rice was a dish that garnered only one or two bites before falling by the wayside of superior eats.
The spinach and mushroom quesadilla was another disappointment. The flour tortilla was filled with a slimy suspension of spinach and mushrooms glued together with cheese that was not of the freshest tasting variety. This sad menu item, which on the plate looked more like a giant pancake than a Mexican dish, is one of only a few vegetarian options on the Agua Linda menu.
Non-vegetarians have much to enjoy though, especially with Agua Linda’s Mexican tacos. Made with corn tortillas, these beef tacos had an authentic and fresh — thanks to the lime juice and cilantro — taste, making them one of the restaurant’s stand out menu items.
While there were both good and not so good dishes to be had during this meal, Agua Linda’s wait staff made up for almost any blunder in the food’s taste. The ever-smiling waiters and waitresses never left me wondering when my water glass might be refilled or dying for more chips to finish off the last drops of salsa.
So even though some of the dishes fell short, this visit to Agua Linda was still a delicious meal that left me with the overstuffed burrito feeling I’m expecting after a Mexican meal. The pleasant atmosphere, quick service and good food will keep this customer going back to Agua Linda over any other Mexican place in town.
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