The moral painted on the side of Puero Excondido. (Photo courtesy of Samantha Martin)

Today, September 20th, Puero Escondido: Mexican Grill opened for the first day of business. It is located on Railroad street where G G's used to be.

I was helping out at the museum getting it ready for a big showcase during this coming week with The Wall. We had a visitor to come in and she commented on how good the new Mexican restaurant was. It had completely slipped my mind and I looked at Soozie, the lady who does EVERYTHING that has to do with the museum and more, and said, "I know where we're going for lunch."

We got there, after being amazed at how they remodeled the place and how good it looked, we were escorted to a table. A gentleman asked, "Table or booth?" I thought /Wow! Marked Tree actually has a place to go in and sit down and relax and enjoy eating. We actually have a restaurant!/

We opened the menus and there was another surprise. The options on the menu were in no shortage. There were so many of them, it took us ten minutes to finally decide what to eat. There were complimentary chips and salsa brought to the table, which were very good may I add.

I ordered the shrimp nachos, because I have never heard of shrimp being on nachos, I was eager to give that a try. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed at all. The shrimp was very good and cooked with the right seasoning with the unique Mexican flavor and with the right texture.

The price wasn't bad at all! My huge plate of nachos that was almost impossible to eat the whole thing was only $8.99. Trust me, it was very much worth the price.

I'll go ahead and say this. For supper, I went back for seconds, because I wasn't satisfied with what we were having for dinner. I got the been burrito with rice and beans to go. And once again, I was very satisfied. My bill was 11 dollars, that's with the bean burrito, rice and beans, a large white cheese dip, salsa and chips.

So please, go by and support this restaurant! I cannot begin to describe how nice it is to be able to have an actual restaurant instead of some fast food drive-thru to eat at. It is said that if they make enough money here and are able to make it and see promise here, that they will build a new building beside Walker's Dairy Freeze. So, please support our community. Who knows, other businesses might look at their hopeful success and come to Marked Tree, too.

I'm not just speaking to Marked Tree citizens only. I'm speaking to Lepanto, Tyronza, the surrounding area, instead of going to Trumann or Jonesboro to eat Mexican or any other restaurant, please come and enjoy a meal with Puero Escondido on Railroad street. You can't miss it. It's painted a bright yellow and a hand-painted moral on the window. They also have carry-outs. Just give them a call at (870) 358-1071 and place your order and swing by and pick it up.

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you have a great day!

Dustin Hood