North Wales restaurant features New Southwestern cuisine.
By Catherine Quillman

NORTH WALES – It would seem that a restaurant with such an obvious name as the Tex Mex Connection might be open to a few dining clichés.

The phrases killer margaritas or best chile con queso this side of the border or add some spice to your life come to mind.

In fact, only the “margs” – as the connoisseurs who flock to this restaurant call them – demand such a catchall phrase.

Perhaps I was misled by the entertainment – karaoke and open-mike night – and a notice requesting that patrons in the dining room.

But I assumed that the word connection might also be applied to its meet-and-greet, happening atmosphere.

Fortunately, this cheery, family-owned restaurant exceeded my expectations.

Dinner begins with the usual chips and salsa, but the Tex Mex Connection is a creative fine-dining establishment and what could be described as New Southwestern cuisine.

All the requisite –os are here: nachos, tacos and burritos. But so are interesting interpretations of Tex-Mex classics such as steaks rubbed with spices and slow-roasted pork marinated until it is butter-soft.

Much like the dual offerings here, the two-story restaurant offers a lively bar scene but it also has a calming, adobe feel to its upper-floor dining rooms.

Reaching the upper floor by a flight of stairs, you might think you are entering a romantic retreat until you see the dining room.

It is bursting with color and decorated with brightly painted wooden chairs that feature tiny suns and figures

Tex Mex Connection is a handsome restaurant, all tile and terra cotta colors. But is also the kind of place where you can eat finger foods and burgers.

A few offerings might even be described as tailgate cuisine – “angels on horseback” or bacon-wrapped shrimp, are a case in point – but this restaurant aims to please with a variety of dishes.

In fact, the menu practically begs for group participation with its “baskets” (wings and seasoned chicken) and choices of combination platters that are offered at special prices on Wednesday nights.

It would seem that Tex Mex’s southwestern theme would rule out certain culinary trend, but not so.

As I said, few themed restaurants last this long without a nod to the latest in cooking fashions. There is tilapia fish, raised in fish farms, and pan-seared ahi tuna, for instance, but they are beer-battered with Dos Equis, a Mexican imported beer, and “Texas spiced,” as the menu describes the two entrees.

The extensive appetizer list includes a few non-Tex Mex standards – spring rolls, crab dip and calamari – but they too are given a lift with authentic southwestern spices and seasonal ingredients.

The entrees should not be taken at face value either.

The crabcake I ordered, for instance, looked ordinary enough: two nearly beigh-colored, plump discs served with sautéed green beans and rice. But they tasted slightly sweet-and-sour with the addition of white corn and a lime chipotle sauce.

Judging from the menu descriptions like “BBQ rubbed” and “marinade,” the animating principle seems to give them flavor, but not too much spice.

For the most part, the servers are young, friendly and happy to oblige, but I could see how the might get distracted on a busy night.

Our server was helpful with it came to explaining the various margaritas and recommending dishes that might appeal to my spice-wary dining companion.

But then there were long periods when it seemed that we forgotten, without water – we had to ask for it – or, I should say, high and dry in the desert of deliciously seasoned food.

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