Diary of a Fat Girl - Bien Trucha

Oh….my….goodness!

My husband and I had a much needed date night this past Saturday. Between our three jobs and our handsome little son, it’s hard to go out and just be a couple. Well, the deck was stacked in our favor. Desmond’s grandpa wanted an overnight with the little guy and we had a gift certificate to redeem at Bien Trucha. And let me just state…best damn gift certificate EVER! (Don’t worry Francesca’s, you’re still my #1 Italian place but this place’s atmosphere kicks your ass!)

So where do I begin? Well, I’ll start with our entrance. Bien Trucha is easily overlooked. I can’t recall seeing a sign outside with the name. I think you just have the address to go by. Plus the outside doesn’t let-on to the magic that resides inside. So make sure you have a nifty GPS or some good eye sight to spot the address for this location. Now, let me forewarn you on the wait…cause it’s gonna happen. I can’t deny or affirm if this is the case for lunch, but for dinner, this place is hopping. The very first time my husband and I attempted to go to Bien Trucha, we were told it would be a two hour wait. Well, this fat girl was too hungry to wait that long and we vowed to come back. This past Saturday we arrived at 8:30 and we were told it would be a one hour wait. We happily agreed, this was gonna happen.

So, a small suggestion; Bien Trucha does have a bar you can spend your wait and you’ll see later that I do LOVE their drinks so that’s not a bad idea, but if the weather is nice, take a stroll. Bien Trucha is right in the downtown Geneva area. We walked two blocks down to a bar called Stockholm’s and had some beer while we waited. (I liked this place but it is not your only option, just keep walking to find somewhere else.) I had my cell phone out because Bien Trucha sends a text right to your phone when your table is ready. And if you’re as lucky as us, we got a call saying a table for two opened up 20 minutes after we arrived. So we didn’t even have to wait the hour, sa-weet!

Now, for the inside of this place…it’s small but I think that gives you an intimate feel to place. Your neighbor’s tables aren’t far from you. (In fact, since I’m wide I had to move the table a bit to sit on the far side…but hey, it worked.) Being close to your neighbors also gives you a good view of their food. (Which I fully expect you to oh and ah over, like we did). The in-laws forewarn the lightening is dim in the place, and I agree, it is, but not in a bad way. I suppose being young still has it advantages. I had no problem reading the menu. (But that could be I eyeballed the thing for a few hours before I went. It’s online. Yes, go check it out. Link is below.) But I think the lighting gave the place a romantic feel. One of my favorite parts of the place is the music. I love good Latin music. And this place had it in spades. It was so energetic. I was consistently doing a cha-cha-salsa wiggle in my seat. It completed the atmosphere of the place, and it also gave you some privacy. You may have a good view of your neighbors food but I can’t recall being able to hear their conversation. It was like the music was just loud enough to block them out and force you to focus on your date and food. Overall, I say the place is trendy. Not a place to go slumming and definitely a good place for a date. Do it!

So how was my food? Here is a run down of what my husband and I shared:

Guacamole del Dia

Fresh avocados, lime, cilantro, fresh fruit of the day (which was pineapple) and chef’s inspiration

Bien Trucha (Tacos)

Grilled skirt-steak, home-made chorizo, chihuahua, roasted tomatillo-serrano salsa

Pastor (Tacos)

Ancho-guajillo marinated pork, cilantro, onion, pineapple, morita salsa

Pica-Pica (Brochetas)

Bacon wrapped shrimp, onion, pineapple, chipotle-lime glaze

Esquites (Side)

Grilled corn, epazote-butter, lemon-aioli, queso cotija chile piquin

Arroz Poblano (Side)

White rice, poblano cubes, sour cream, chihuahua cheese

Corn Cake (Dessert)

Fresona (Drink)

fresh muddled strawberries, lime, sugar, orange liquor, sauza blanco

Pepino (Drink)

fresh muddled cucumber, lime, orange liquor, herradura blanco, tajin

Ahuacatl (Drink)

avocado, agave nectar, lime, sauza blanco, orange liquor, mezcal mist

Mojito (Drink)

fresh muddled mint, lime, sugar, rum, splash of soda

Is your mouth watering? Cause mine is from remembering my meal. It wasn’t until after we placed our food order I thought “where the heck are they going to put our food, our table is so small?” Ahhhhh but that only comes with my lack of experience here, they are masters at dinner service. Our food was brought out in what felt like courses. We had our sides out the whole time but we were presented with one main course at a time. We started with our Bien Trucha tacos and once those were done and removed, they brought out our Pastor tacos. I loved this for many reasons. One, and most importantly, your food is always hot. Two, it promotes a good date. Tacos come in sets of 4, so it’s easy sharing and easy conversing. (Cause you are going to want to talk about the food you just greedily ate.) Three, your table is clear of clutter. So that’s how it works if you order tons of food like me and my husband.

But how was the food? Well, I’m sure you can see I’m writing a positive review here and it stays that way. We got everything as is. No modifications despite some of my food aversions. (Like pineapple, or shrimp, I like neither.) But after hearing so many good things about Bien Trucha we wanted to experience the food as it was suppose to be prepared. And it was AWESOME! I mean it.

I’d love to go into detail on each food but that would make this already longer blog, much much longer. So here are my highlights. My biggest surprise of the night, Pica-Pica brochetas. I don’t do shrimp. But the husband wanted to get them and I agreed because I like to challenge my palette. Well, these things were knock your socks off good. If every shrimp I ventured to try were like these, I’d be completely converted to eating them full time. They didn’t have that unappealing shrimp texture I’m used to and pair that with the yummy bacon and the right amount of char from the grill and these things were just off the hook. (Off the hook? Yikes, I need better ways to say things were amazing.)

Another shocking highlight…the sides. How many times have you gone to your favorite Mexican Restaurant and just love their taco/burritos but the sides are always just alright? These sides are not just alright. I can not stress enough that the grilled corn (Esquites) is 100% required of you, if you go to Bien Trucha. Seriously, this is corn is out of this world. My husband nearly had a spoon fight over the last bites. Who knew corn could be so flavorful. And though I’m stressing the corn, we did LOVE our rice too. It may say white rice and it may look pretty plain but it packs a punch. (No, not heat kinda punch, just a flavor punch.) So I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend ordering both of these when you go. You won’t be disappointed.

And I recommend eating everything as is on the menu. These people know what they are doing when they are pairing up their foods. For example, the pastor tacos we had were topped with a thin strip of pineapple. I’m not a fan of pineapple but I took a bite and thought, man that’s good. It was like they paired the sweetness of the pineapple to counter act the heat of the sauce. I say, give it a try, you just might like it. And if you don’t, pick it off afterwards. Nothing on this menu appeared couldn’t be modified with the use of your own fingers. So be brave and try it first por favor.

My last favorite things and I’ll pair them together just to wrap this up, were the drinks and dessert. My husband drinks were better than mine. I went safe with a mojita and Fresona (strawberry) drink. They were good and strong but when you’re on a food adventure like we were, it paid to go the off beaten path. His cucumber and avocado based drinks were so refreshing. It was cleansing your taste buds before the next course was brought. I highly recommend them on taste and for the fact they were something completely new to me. And a quick word about the corn cake…get it!

The only bad thing about Bien Trucha…the food was so good and we literally finished every bit that we were so stuffed we went into a food coma and had to end our date night out. Ok, so that’s really not a negative. But I was sad to go when the experience was over. I will be going again and I can’t wait to try a whole new assortment of food.

For more information, like address, menu and prices check out Bien Trucha’s website:

http://www.bientrucha.com/