By Carmen Shiu, Courier Entertainment Editor

Camacho’s Cantina
1000 Universal Center Drive
Citywalk Suite 133
Universal City, CA 91608
(818) 622-3333

On our second day of the 2007 Senior Grad Nite trip, we went to have fun at Universal Studios. The park closed at 6:00pm, so we needed to check in with our chaperones before we head off to the Universal Citywalk right next to the park for an hour and 45 minutes. My friends and I decided to eat dinner there before we had to go back to the hotel. We were afraid of high prices because it is usually rather expensive near such huge attractions, but we were wrong when we stepped into CamachoÂ’s Cantina, a Mexican restaurant. They conveniently placed a menu outside of their door. The prices seemed fairly decent, so we were good to go.

Our waiter kindly asked us if we wanted to sit outside in the patio area or inside. With our indecisiveness, some of us blurted out inside already, so we sat there instead. It was pretty dimmed in there, but the atmosphere was comfortable enough. However, it was a rather bit weird that either the chairs were much higher, or the table was much lower. Either way, that didnÂ’t affect our good feeling about the place.

One of my friends and I decided to order the Nachos Camacho separately, one of our favorite Mexican dishes. My other friends ordered a dish of queso fundido and a chicken burrito. Our drinks came in fairly quickly, and it was only $2.00 with free refills, I must add.

The food did not take too long to come at all. My friend who ordered nachos was talking to me and did not see the food coming. I interrupted her with my eyes became wide open, noticing just how huge our dishes of nachos were! They were much bigger than weÂ’d imagine it to be. Two things came into my mind when I saw it: That looks so good and big! How am I going to finish that?! It seemed nearly impossible. While we started to eat up, we realized that even if we shared a plate, we still wouldnÂ’t have been able to finish it. I was also very pleased with the fact that it came with enough guacamole (in which other Mexican restaurants just donÂ’t give enough in my opinion). It had an even portion of guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. The tortilla chips were very crisp, not too salty and not stale either with a lot of cheese melted all over. The portion of chicken (or steak in my friendÂ’s case) was just right. Not only that, but one whole plate was only $9.95. It would have only been $7.95 without meat. I must also note that the nachos were in the appetizers menu, not the main entrees.

The queso fundido came in two different plates. One plate was filled with melted cheese with chorizo (a pork sausage). You can choose mushrooms instead, but thatÂ’s what my friend ordered. The other plates consisted of two flour tortillas. I didnÂ’t have the chance to try it, but it looked pretty good. The downside is that there is a lot of oil due to the chorizo. Another downside is that the portion is rather small. My friend seemed to have enjoyed it even though it was fattening all over (it is cheese, you know).

My other friend somewhat enjoyed her chicken burrito, which had mojado and chile sauce all over. On the side, there was rice, pico de gallo, and sour cream. She was amazed by how much chicken they put inside the burrito, which is more than what a typical Mexican restaurant serves. However, it lost some flavor because of it. Once again, though, it was a pretty big burrito.

Throughout our whole time there, the staff was very friendly. They constantly asked us how we were doing and checked on us when it looked like we needed their free refills on our drinks. We were very happy with the fact that they were so friendly. They accommodated to our every request happily. Of course, they received a good tip. Our bill only came up to around $40, which is about $10 each person. The portions were pretty big (aside from the queso fundido) with a very good price. Everyone had to box their food (which the waiter kindly did for us) and bring it back to the hotel, except for my friend with the queso fundido. It is shocking to find such a great restaurant with the price they have in a place like the Universal Citywalk. It is definitely a great place to have lunch or dinner after a tiring day in Universal Studios. Our only disappointment is that we have yet found a restaurant like that locally. Recommendations, anyone?