This week, I went north of Bowling Green to a restaurant that serves food from south of the border. Las Chalupas in Elizabethtown is a Mexican restaurant I’ve frequented on my way to and from Louisville, that I thought residents of Bowling Green might appreciate knowing about.

Like most Mexican restaurants, the atmosphere is chaotic and colorful; however, at Las Chalupas there are several sections so that the noise does not get overwhelming. The night my dining companion and I visited, the family section to the right as you entered was filled with a large family celebrating a birthday. The cantina to the far left was also overflowing with an abundance of celebrating patrons. We were seated in a booth in the more private, full-windowed section where we could enjoy the celebrating crowds in the distance, but not be affected to the point of distraction.

Our waiter, who we endearingly named Speedy Miguel, darted from one section to another to make sure all his customers were satisfied. We never saw him coming or going, but he seemed to appear out of nowhere just when we needed our sweet tea refilled or to help us figure out which dish we had enjoyed more than a year ago, but couldn’t find on the menu.

Speedy Miguel did falter one time – he forgot to bring the guacamole that I ordered. For my taste, it could have been forgotten. Las Chalupas guacamole included some avocado, but was light in color and long on filler. The texture was thick and included a few tomatoes and onions for flavor. If you like that type of guacamole, I recommend it, but the complimentary salsa was delicious enough to stand as an appetizer. The salsa had a unique combination of seasonings and finely chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro. A second, smaller dish of hot salsa can be added at your discretion to customize the spiciness of your salsa! What a great idea.

We searched the menu for a dish we’d eaten more than a year ago. It was two flour tortillas folded in half, crispy on the outside with onions, tomatoes, chicken and chorizo in the center and drizzled with queso (melted white cheese) on the outside. The closest we came, with our waiter’s help, was the super quesadilla. I say close because we had to order the queso separately and the tortilla was not as crispy as we remembered.

It was, however, a tasty treat and something I have not seen on any other Mexican restaurant menu – which is the main reason I wanted to share this restaurant with you, the uniqueness of the menu items. The super quesadilla is also served with lettuce, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. The chorizo adds a taste that is appetizingly unique.

Another menu item that I have not seen anywhere else, yet had not tried, was the chipotle enchiladas. It sounded appealing and I was excited about the possibility of a smoky twist to enchiladas that my palate had not experienced before. My palate was disappointed. The chicken was abundant but, like the corn tortillas they were rolled in, it was on the dry side. The red sauce was not smoky, but too spicy and seemed out of place with the chicken. I decided to make an effort to enjoy this meal, mainly because it looked so good on the plate. Once I made sure to get a bit of sour cream, cheese, guacamole and a little sauce in just the right combination, I found it to be edible and not all that bad. The accompanying Spanish rice was delicious.

We completed the evening with, by far, the best flan I have ever had. It was the consistency of a substantially thick custard and the richness in the texture found its way into the flavor.

Las Chalupas has an abundance of unique Mexican dishes, like chicken basted in achiote (a paste of Mexican spices); bistec tapatio, which is a rib-eye with a special hot sauce; and arroz con pollo, which, when literally translated, means chicken with rice. They also have traditional Mexican favorites like fajitas, enchiladas, quesadillas and a la carte items.

So, if you’re headed north, but in the mood for the spicy south, I recommend Las Chalupas.