Today’s review stems from a late morning lunch-hour run from Friday. A 60-minute window necessitated a food run close to home. Given said run also included my daughter and two other people, it also meant a more varied menu was required.
We opted for Tlaquepaque in the Ohio Valley Plaza in St. Clairsville. Having eaten there a few times in the past, I knew the quality of food and service level to expect. To no surprise, neither has dropped below expectations.
What has changed since my last visit is the expansion. When Dollar Tree moved over to Mall Ring Road for a larger building, Tlaquepaque purchased that old building and expanded its size.
The prices, and the food quality, however, are still second to none.
Per usual, I opted to pair my meal with a delicious Mexican-style beer. While they were out of Estrella, the second time I’ve run into that this week at different locations, a Modelo Especial is a tasty back-up.
Our server brought out the customary chips and salsa with an ample helping of chips and two carafes of salsa—more than enough to outfit our party of four.
The Special ACP, grilled chicken and Mexican rice. 
A pork tamale a la carte, always a must order.
Time to Order
While the Tlaquepaque menu, eight pages in length, primarily features traditional Mexican-style cuisine, it does offer some items, including on the children’s menu, for the pickier eaters in the crowd.
Translation? Someone in my party—my daughter—ordered chicken strips and fries. She says the only tacos she likes are my homemade variety. While pretty good, my version can’t compare with the Tlaquepaque meat. But I’ll take it.
The others in our party ordered two cheese quesadillas for one meal, a Special ACP for another. That meal consists of grilled chicken topped with cheese sauce and serviced with Mexican rice.
That left my order. Considering I’m quite fond of Mexican cuisine, I opted to order something I love, and something I’ve never tried before.
For the former, that meant picking up a pork tamale from the a la carte menu. While there are a number of quality Mexican eateries in the Ohio Valley, not everyone offers tamales. Tlaquepaque does and, when torn between two competing options, then restaurant with tamales wins.
Second, I opted for a dinner-portion order of Flautas, Spanish for flutes.
The order of Flautas came with four deep fried rolled tacos, two with chicken and two with shredded beef.
The Verdict
As expected, great food and quality service.
The tamales never fail when I order them at Tlaquepaque and this time around, it was no different. Great taste. I enjoyed the flautas as it was different than my usual main course of carnitas.
In fairness, a deep fried rolled taco isn’t veering too far off the reservation when compared to my usual orders. But it was new. I’ll certainly get it again.
As far as everyone else’s meals? Thumbs up all around.
The food never disappoints at Tlaquepaque, but the family-owned eatery is equally as known for its friendly staff and great service. It’s a relaxing atmosphere with smiling faces. Well worth a visit if you’ve never been, and well worth another if you have.
