Al Pastor Offers Meaty Mexican Fare

Brilliant blue and golden colored walls set a cheerful tone in this Mexican restaurant on Mitchell Street, located just down the hill from the famed Farmer’s Market on National Ave. It’s an out-of-the-way site in a mainly residential neighborhood in West Allis.

Inside, two paintings of Frida Kahlo, recognizable by her upswept hair and dense black eyebrows, dominate the back walls. Golden globe lights hang over the bar adding more color to this sparsely, yet tastefully decorated, and immaculate restaurant. Unlike many local Mexican restaurants, the décor at Al Pastor appears austere, but you certainly couldn’t say that about the food, as we soon learned.

As soon as we settled, we noticed quiet Mariachi music playing in the background. A server brought warm chips, a tasty, slightly spicy red salsa in a bowl, and two squeeze bottles filled with sauce, one red and one green. There should be a warning label attached to the red. After one drop, my mouth was on fire. I grabbed a chip, desperate for an antidote.

My companion and I found several classic Tex-Mex dishes on the menu plus a few unfamiliar entrees like the Bistec En Salsa De Arbol, marinated steak cooked in a spicy red sauce. Red letters next to the description of the dish offered a warning of the potent chile de arbol in the marinade. We noted another unusual entrée, Carne ala Tampiquena, grilled skirt steak served with rice, beans and two enchiladas.

The first time I came to Al Pastor, my companion and I stayed with the familiar Chimichangas and Enchiladas De Mole, both stuffed with al pastor. We chose al pastor from a list of six meats because we figured if you name your restaurant Al Pastor, you are obligated to deliver, and they did. The chimichangas and the enchiladas were stuffed, and I mean that literally, with chunks of pork which had been marinated in the house adobo sauce. The meat had an earthy flavor that hinted of chipotle. The mole, a rich, dark, chocolaty sauce overwhelmed the flavor of the adobo-marinated meat in the enchiladas, which is not a complaint, because overall, it was a delicious dish.

One week later, on our second visit we dived into more adventurous entrees. We ordered two Signature Dishes, the Bistec En Salsa Verde and Alambre. The alambre, a meat-lovers party and a mountain of food, towered on the plate. This mix of grilled skirt steak, ham, chorizo and bacon, plus sliced red and green peppers and pieces of pineapple, was a scrumptious exercise in excess. Melted cheese topped this feast, the glue that held it together. Rice, beans, and warm tortillas were almost superfluous, but the tortillas provided a tool to scoop into this playground of textures and flavors.

The bistec, tender slices of steak along with potatoes, onions, and cilantro, were mixed with green salsa which was almost too tart from the tomatillos. When I mingled the rice and beans with the meat, this tamed the acid and combined to make each bite delicious and complex. A small cup of creamy guacamole could have used some of that acid as it was flat, despite tiny pieces of jalapeno that gave it heat, and cilantro that added flavor.

We left with bags of Churros, a dessert we were too stuffed to eat. They came with a tiny container of caramel sauce, not enough, but no problem as the churros were sugary and crunchy, a traditional treat and something worth ordering when you find them on a menu.

Mariachi music was still playing softly in the background as we left. Al Pastor felt authentic, with recipes that went beyond locally popular Tex-Mex choices. We appreciated their selection of Mexican entrees that suggested they were rooted in family recipes. And that’s what draws friends and me to small local restaurants like this, food that’s unique, tasty, and from the heart.

On The Menu

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The Rundown

• Location: 6533 W. Mitchell St.
• Phone: 414-885-0756
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tue-Wed, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thu-Sat, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sun
• Website: https://www.al-pastor.com
• UM Rating: 4.1333333333333 stars (average of Yelp, Trip Advisor and Zomato)