Wow my auto correct sucks! I juat sounded like I was from freaking Scotland lol.
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I went for lunch. No way to get in otherwise. I waited 45 minutes on a Monday night once, and their dining area is gigantic. Waits on weekends can hit 3 hours.
As of our last visit, Los Corrales has Diet Coke!
You are sitting at my usual table.
That is the table for only the best looking and most cut up jersey shore gringos. Welcome to the club my friend 
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Si. Certamente.
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3 for ten street tacos at TST bbq. I got one chili, one ground beef and one brisket. Damn tastyâŠnot true Mexican style but good to change things up once in a while
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A Review of Chilangos (Highlands). Went there Friday night for the first time.
For years I had heard from people, âChilangos is the best Mexican food in Highlandsâ. Well, they are right, but with a caveat: they are the only Mexican restaurant in Highlands. Actually, in the entire surrounding area. You would have to venture into Red Bank or Keyport for true Mexican food above the âfish tacosâ that everyone and their mother is selling on the Jersey Shore. Sometimes being the only place around for a certain type of food is a good thing. Other times, it isnât. Chilangos is far from terrible. Our dining experience was decent, I guess. But considering the rave reviews I have heard and good online ratings I read, it was a let-down.
I started off with a $6.50 margarita on the rocks that was nothing but ice and sour mix. Not even a hint of tequila anywhere near it. I think within four sips I had finished the drink. Waiting a few moments more and whatever was in my tchotchke cactus glass was little more than a weak lime-flavored water. Justin had his margarita strawberry flavored and frozen, which he enjoyed considerably more than I did mine. But I should have known better: it is a rarity that a Mexican restaurant in these parts can actually give you a solid margarita without screwing you. While the price was not bad, you get what you pay for. You can charge me more if you actually make the drink worthwhile. For my second drink, I switched over to a bottle of Modeloâcanât screw with that.
Our appetizer was the highlight of the meal. It was a thin-crust chorizo pizza. The crust itself was actually two large flour tortillas placed on top of each other. It was then covered with a light layer of salsa, cheese, and a hefty amount of chorizo sausage. The flavor initially caught me off-guard (there was a strong hint of cinnamon) but after a few bites, was delicious. This would be perfect late night drunk food if you had been downing margaritas that actually had booze in them. It was cheesy, gooey, crunchy, salty, and savory. I washed it down with my lime water.
For his entrée, Justin had the chicken fajitas. Portion size was fine. There were ample amounts of chicken strips, peppers, and onions. Upon it hitting the table, it looked as though it would be a homerun. There was the classic sizzle and smoke everywhere. However, upon eating it he said there was not much flavor. I grabbed a piece of chicken and agreed. Looks were deceiving here. For all the pomp and circumstance, there was not much of a taste to be found. He was given three tiny tortillas to make his fajitas.
My meal held up decently enough: the shrimp in garlic sauce. There were eight camarones tossed in some kind of garlic rubâit was most definitely not a sauce. I actually ordered a side of flour tortillas in the hopes that I could dredge them through the garlic sauce I was expecting (like I do at Los Corrales with the Devilâs Sauce), but the tortillas never came and my plate was pretty much dry. I was also expecting a bit more garlic, but it was not potent enough. When I hear garlic sauce, I expect to be blown away with garlic. But maybe thatâs my fault again. It was mixed with cilantro, so at least my palate was livened up a bit more than Justinâs. The shrimp was not overcooked, a welcome relief. The rice and beans on the side were fine. The âsaladâ the menu said came with it was shredded lettuce and a lime wedge.
I say this a lot, but with so many restaurants of all different varieties all over Monmouth County, you really have to stand out or at least be above average to get me to go back a second time. Unfortunately, that was not the case here with Chilangos. Maybe if the margarita wasnât a fraud, I would have gone a tiny notch higher. But we got off on the wrong foot, and there was not enough positive to bring it up. They get 3 out of 5 stars from me. Three is average, and average just doesnât cut it anymore.
I feel the same way. This place doesnât cut it for me. It isnât bad but there is better food in red bank. On a positive note, they seem to do decent business and the owner is a nice guy.
Bumping this upâŠ
I tried going to los corrales for the first time but it was closed for some family event. So I googled up other Mexican spots and found El Tropico.
We started chatting with the manager and it turns out he is from costa Rica. The two ladies cooking were from Oaxaca, as is the owner who was not there. Their cooking style does differ from what Iâm used to in LB and RB.
I got the âdevil shrimpâ and asked for it extra spicy. This dish hit hard! The sauce was almost like a moleâŠmaybe it was. It was pretty complex and the light amount of onion just balanced it out with the chilis. They gave us some free chips and salsa and then served three more salsas with dinner. My friend had two tongue tacos and liked them too.
Next time I am trying the smoked chicken. The manager said every single thing in the restaurant is made from scratch and it tasted that way. It was a good find and I picked a good dish. The beans were rather bland but when you have multiple salsas and hot sauces you can get creative.
Check out that cilantro! And yes, that is a deer head lol
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Nice find man. You can tell from the pics that sauce is legit.
Got Tropico once for takeout when I lived in Hazlet. It was ages ago but good! The shrimp in devil sauce at Los Corrales is superb. Havenât been there in about a year now. Gotta go back and also try Tropico again.
We love Tropico! We used them to cater my daughterâs first birthday party. Everyone went nuts for it.
Iâm used to the cayenne based red sauce on the diablo shrimp. While that is very tasty, this tropico sauce was on a different level for me. There wasnât any vinegar tang. It was really tasty and had different levels of flavors (if that makes sense.) Did anyone notice the one huge shrimp with the head and shell on? There was only one on the far right of the pic. Iâm not sure if that comes standard or what, but it was pretty cool 
I really want to try that smoked chicken. I was going to get it to go, but I didnt want to reheat it and decided it would be best to try that one prepared at their location.
The fact that they grow their own cilantro is a good sign in my eyes. I believe it shows they care about putting out fresh food.
Also, there is a latino market right next door as well as two others a few doors down. Iâm sure there are more but within yards you had three markets. I stopped at one and got a few things. I have made hundreds and hundreds, or more, pots of chili, but today Iâm trying my first green chili.
@gracieggg. Good stuff! Do you have any favorite dishes?
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Iâm really into their take on Al pastor tacos which are chunks of pork rather than sliced. We havenât ventured too far off the tacos. But this is a good reminder to get back here!
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I find the La Costena green salsa a little bitter so the pineapple is a great addition. 
The pineapples were actually to make kombucha and some tepache but maybe I will experiment today 
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I add palm sugar to mine.
Actually, making a green chili from scratch isnât that hard:
Saute a chopped onion and 2 chopped cloves of garlic 3 minutes. Add 2 chopped jalapeños and 2 or 3 chopped green bell peppers. Saute another 3 minutes. Add either 1 lb shredded chicken or 1c TVP(*), 2c broth, 5 chopped tomatillos, 2 drained cans of canellini beans, 1t oregano, 2t ground red chiles, 1t cumin, 1/2t paprika and 1/4t cinnamon. Bring liquid to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens and flavors blend, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours. (Frankly, I rarely simmer it that long.) If you use TVP, you may need to add a bit more broth or water. Mix 1/3c chopped fresh cilantro into the chili.
(*) Textured vegetable protein.
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