Carolina's Mexican Food
Posted by: 
Mamatika
N 33° 25.886 W 112° 03.363
12S E 401829 N 3699616
Quick Description: This place needs to be on the map! When you pull up, it may appear that it won't deliver the meal you are wanting. Rest assured, once you try anything from this menu, you won't be disappointed!
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 11/15/2009 3:20:51 PM
Waymark Code: WM7NXY
Views: 4
Long Description:(Taken from their website...)
Carolina's Mexican Restaurant was founded in 1968 by namesake
Carolina Valenzuela, who still presides over the kitchen. It was
first at 105 W. Hilton Ave. and later at 1519 E. Mohave St. Since
1986, it has been at 1202 E. Mohave in a building that also has
housed a coin-operated laundry and a grocery store.
The character of the neighborhood is etched on the building's
cinder-block facade. The restaurant's skin has been pockmarked by
bullets and its windows and doors outfitted with heavy metal
security bars.
The interior of Carolina's is austere. There is a small room at
the entrance where orders are placed and takeout customers wait for
their numbers to be called. Above the order counter is a large,
painted menu, where prices hang on hooks to accommodate inflation.
Many of the numbers are missing, however, having been blown off by
the opening and closing of the front door.
No one is bothered by Carolina's vague pricing. People just
order what they want with the understanding that their tab,
including a large, refillable drink, likely won't exceed $5.
Near the weekend, the workers are busy preparing ingredients for
another signature item, Carolina's restorative menudo, which is
available in quantities for takeout Saturdays and Sundays
only.
(Carolina's is closed Mondays)
But, Carolina's is best known for its flour tortilla ------- a
large, delicately thin and slightly chewy affair that makes the
most elegant wrap for the restaurant's divine burro.
The tortillas, which are available by the dozen for takeout, are
churned out by a crew of workers who stand before a bank of hot
griddles, deftly flipping the paper thin rounds of dough and piling
them up for packaging.
Beyond the waiting area is a large, open dining room area with a
worn, painted concrete floor. Like many things in the barrio,
Carolina's tables and chairs have had previous owners. There are
red and yellow laminate booths that are reminiscent of Subway;
tables with attached swiveling seats that have the characteristics
of McDonald's and purple, oval-backed banquet chairs that must have
come out of a Valley hotel or resort.
The walls are white and decorated primarily with dozens of "Best of
Phoenix" and "Az Best" awards garnered by the restaurant over the
years.