Border Cafe

Since I couldn't afford to go on spring break this year I chose to pretend I was in Mexico with the rest of the college students in the nation. So I headed over to the Border Cafe in Harvard Square in Boston, a large restaurant that offers a Tex-mex Cajun fusion. Border Cafe opened its first restaurant, in Cambridge, Massachusetts,  in 1987. Between 1990 and 2001 they expanded opening 5 more Border Cafes, 3 in Massachusetts, 1 in New Jersey and 1 in Delaware.

The first thing that I noticed when I walked in was the mouthwatering smell of hot fajitas. The restaurant was packed for a Wednesday night. We had to wait 25 minutes to be seated, but I was reassured by my friends that it was well worth the wait. The establishment has two large dining areas and a designated bar area. The top floor was loud and crowded but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. We were eventually seated to the second floor where it was much quieter.

 The atmosphere was friendly, the tables were humble and wooden and the waiters were as nice as they get. The menu was as expected for a typical high volume mexican restaurant with a few creole appetizers, entrees and side dishes added in. There was a good mix of pricey items and less expensive items. Of course I chose a pricey item, the Salmon San Sebastian, and it was worth every penny.

The dish came out looking beautiful and tasted delicious. The mixed green salad was livened up with cilantro and a homemade herb dressing. The bean salad was tangy and sweet and the salmon was tender and moist. If you decide to visit the Border Cafe and order the Salmon San Sebastian I recommend you also try the house margarita on the rocks because the acid complements the fish so well.

If you like good food, a social atmosphere and are in the Harvard Square area this is the place to go.