A Generous Mexican Grill Stop in Wasilla

A plate of street tacos can make a very convincing lunch, especially when the fillings are generously portioned and the seasoning has some presence. At this Wasilla Mexican grill, tacos sit at the center of a broad comfort-food menu, with an easy counter-ordering setup that moves quickly without turning dinner into a rushed affair.

The routine is simple. Order at the counter, stop by the self-serve salsa bar, then settle into the dining room while staff bring the meal over. It works neatly for a quick stop, but the room also has enough seating for a longer meal with family, friends or a table full of shared plates.

The tone is welcoming and busy in the useful way: food runners and bussers keep things moving, and staff continue checking on tables after the order has been placed. During active service, there may be a line, but meals can still come out promptly.

The menu gives taco eaters plenty to explore beyond the usual beef-and-chicken decisions. Asada, lengua, birria, buche and chorizo are among the fillings that have earned particular notice, and the ingredients come across as fresh rather than treated as an afterthought beneath a blanket of toppings.

Asada brings the familiar steakhouse direction, while chorizo adds a deeper, more assertive seasoning. Buche is there for diners who like to work through the less predictable corners of a taqueria menu. Ordering several styles on one visit makes good sense; these are tacos built for comparison.

The lengua is notably tender without crossing into a mushy texture, a small distinction that matters with this particular filling. Birria tacos arrive with consomé, giving the plate its built-in dunking companion and making the meal a little more involved than a standard grab-and-go taco order.

Corn taco shells have held up well in takeout, too, rather than going soft immediately on the trip home. That is a useful quality when the plan is dinner on the couch instead of a table in the dining room.

Before the tacos arrive, the salsa bar provides an enjoyable bit of customization. Several homemade options range from mild to hot, with pico de gallo in the mix as well. A diner can keep things straightforward, or try a different salsa with each taco filling.

Dine-in guests may receive complimentary nachos while waiting for the main meal, which gives those salsas something to do right away. It is a pleasant opening move for a table that has ordered big plates and needs a few minutes to decide who will claim the first bite.

Chips and salsa are a slightly different proposition with takeout, where they may need to be ordered separately. In the dining room, though, the bar and opening nachos make the meal feel immediately underway.

The restaurant's attention-getter is the Trashcan Nachos, a heavily layered, shareable nacho specialty associated with weekends. This is not a side dish intended to disappear beside a taco plate. It is a table project, the sort of order that naturally brings forks into the middle of the arrangement.

Saturday has become a particular nacho occasion here, though the specialty is also associated with Sundays. The weekend timing is worth noting because this is not an everyday menu promise.

The appeal is in the layers and scale: a generous pile of nacho ingredients rather than a restrained appetizer plate. Put it in the middle for a group, then add tacos or a smaller entrée around it if the table is hungry. Leftovers are not unusual when several substantial dishes are involved.

A steak fajita taco salad is one of the menu's visual heavyweights. Carefully assembled and notably large, it can readily serve as a split meal for two people. It is also the sort of plate that gives a table its own centerpiece before anyone has touched the basket of nachos.

Other substantial directions include carne asada, shredded-beef enchiladas, beef burrito plates and beef enchilada plates. Combination-style meals can be generous enough to produce a take-home box, which is not a bad outcome when the flavors are holding up for lunch the next day.

Chicken tortilla soup has its own following and offers a change of pace from the larger plated meals. Rice comes fluffy, and beans with cheese make a simple, comforting accompaniment to the more highly seasoned main dishes.

The menu also identifies vegetarian dishes, with a sizable vegetarian selection represented among its offerings. That gives a mixed group more flexibility than a taco menu that expects everyone to order from the same short list.

The drink list has included horchata, mangonadas, strawberry margaritas and Jamaica when available. Horchata is an especially easy companion for a meal with spicy salsa choices, while a mangonada brings a fruit-forward option to the table.

For a group with a sense of occasion, there is also the unusually named Rub a Dub Tub, a large specialty margarita intended for sharing. Its scale fits the general spirit of the menu, where the food regularly arrives in portions that encourage passing plates around.

Dessert can continue the same generous pattern. Sopapillas offer the familiar sweet finish, while fried ice cream has appeared as a large dessert that is better treated as a shared order than a solo challenge.

Counter service keeps the first step uncomplicated, but the meal does not end at the register. Staff bring food to the table, check back in, and keep the room moving even when dine-in and takeout orders are both active. The format strikes a practical middle ground between fast food and a full sit-down restaurant.

The dining room is well lit and roomy enough for couples, families and groups of friends. It can be lively during busy periods, which suits a place where one table may be working through a stack of tacos while another has made a weekend event out of nachos.

Takeout and delivery are part of the restaurant's rhythm, while dine-in offers the fullest version of the visit: salsa choices, an opening serving of nachos and time to work through a plate without hurrying. A free parking lot with ample space adds one more convenience to the stop.

Even the bathrooms offer one small visual quirk in the form of a distinctive sink. It is a minor detail, but it fits a restaurant that puts a little personality into the practical parts of a meal as well as the big, heavily loaded ones.