For the longest time, my friend Sarah “Blacked Out” Caudill has been telling me about this down river restaurant that serves chili made with peanut butter and chocolate. As someone who likes eating foods with strange ingredients, this had me interested. I’ve made chili with all kinds of things, including chocolate and beer, but I had never heard of a chili made with peanut butter. About a week ago, we finally got a chance to check the place out. It involved going to Taylor, MI but I felt like it could be worth it. Hell, there was even a chance we would run into Steve Avery, who for some reason is not considered a hero in this city. That baffles me.
I was surprised to find that the Matador, which is the name of the restaurant in case you were wondering, is actually a tiny Mexican joint. “Blacked Out” Sarah had only mentioned to me that the place serves peanut butter and chocolate chili. Nothing about Mexican food. She must’ve been blacked out every time we spoke about it, I guess. The inside was small and dark, with no booths and a single TV hung from the corner of the wall. I had no doubt that the waitresses were lifelong Taylor residents.
I gazed at the menu and saw the chili that I had come for. It was described exactly as “Blacked” Out Sarah had described to me. I demanded that the waitress bring me a cup of this black gold as quickly as possible. Seeing the possibility that I had a career, a house and working plumbing, the waitress saw her opportunity to get out of Taylor and sprinted to the kitchen to retrieve my chili. She brought it back and I thanked her for her kind service. She stood there staring at me, which was a little awkward, so I had to tell her to leave for exactly 12 minutes while I enjoyed my chili. She obeyed.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chili
The chili was actually incredibly delicious. It’s not like the chili tasted anything like peanut butter or chocolate. They both simply contributed to a chili that had a very unique taste. It was a thick, dark chili and I have to come expect from Mexican restaurants. Ground beef and cheese sat at the bottom of the cup, and when you mix everything together it lightens up a bit. I was very impressed by the chili, but disappointed that I had only ordered a cup. The waitress offered me a free chili refill, but I politely declined. I told her that I would be having her finest Mexican sandwich for dinner. She sprinted off to the kitchen and I resumed eating my chips and salsa.
Mexican Sandwich AKA Pile of Slop
The Mexican sandwich is one of my favorite things to order at lesser authentic resutraunts. It’s basically a pile of slop, layered throughout a few tortillas. Matador’s Mexican sandwich certainly did not disappoint in the slop department. In fact, this is quite possibly the biggest, sloppiest Mexican sandwich I have ever had. The taste wasn’t too bad either. Their idea of a Mexican sandwich involved a pork stew that was poured throughout the sandwich. The stew had large pieces of pork and was pretty flavorful. Definitely more impressive than your normal shredded chicken or ground beef Mexican sandwich.
All in all, not a bad little joint. Especially for Taylor.
Oh, and I married the waitress.