I visited Orofino on a trip to Idaho. My home is in Austin Texas where we really know Tex-Mex but I have been to the interior of Mexico many times as well. So, when I found myself in Orofino and offered no other fare except comfort food, I thought that going to a North Idaho Mexican joint would be a lark. I must say that the salsa wasn't up to par. After all, who puts corn in salsa. It was watery and week. To be fair, the foods from the interior are more bland than I am used to. All over the world, the temperature of the food matches the temp of the climate and in the altitude of Mexico, both can be quite a shock to our concepts of the culture. Then the main dishes came. I was so lucky to have ordered Mole. The real test of Mexican food. Every bit of the meal from then out was right on the mark. I talked to the owners of the store. They said that they were immigrants from the city of Jalisco, thus the name. The food was so good that I thought that this restaurant was doomed to fail in this backwoods little town. Who would have guessed that the population there would embrace it. I went back two years later and then two years after that to find that the Jalisco's was doing good business. It just goes to show that if you make it good, it does not matter if you are from Central Mexico, Austin, Texas or a hundred miles from Canada. It just tastes good. By the way, I was in the area for 5 to 7 days for each stay. All of my suppers were taken here. On the way out of the restaurant on evening, there was a pickup truck driven by a man, a women in the center seat and a mountain lion as shotgun. A live big cat. They were at the stop sign but pulled away before I could ask to pet the kitty. This isn't at all one of the weirdest things that has happened to me in that town. The place is full of surprises.

When this place first opened it was excellent. Now it is just bland production line American Mexican food. The interior yellow paint job is dreadful. If you want a good meal with fresh ingredients eat across the street at the Chinese resteraunt.

I grew up with this place. I remember when they first opened up when I was a little kid, and let me say that the food has consistently been excellent for that entire time. Hell, I live two counties over now and I still make special trips to Orofino for the Mexican food alone. The staff is very friendly and the bar is pretty good too. Forget the Pizza Factory and the Pound-o-grease-ah, go eat at Fiesta and then stumble across the street for some Chinese food they're pretty good too.