Page 32 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2025

DINING EL CHILANGO
Panuchos.
ADDRESS
1116 Cowan Rd., Ste. K Gulfport
CONTACT
228.206.7108
WEBSITE
www.elchilango.com
HOURS
Mon-Thurs, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri & Sat, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
32 | June 2025
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El Chilango’s menu is different from what you’ll find at other Mexican restaurants around the Coast. This small but mighty establishment brings their A-game in terms of both food and service.
First things first: I always try the salsa, guacamole, and queso on my first visit to any Mexican restaurant. They’re a good litmus test for the rest of the menu. The first thing I noticed here was how fresh ev- erything was. The guacamole was delicious in its simplicity, with avocados so fresh you’d swear they were picked off a tree in the backyard. The salsa had a surprisingly smoky flavor, contrasted with onion and cilantro. The queso is on the milder side but had chopped onion and peppers if you wanted a little extra kick.
We also started our meal with the aguas
frescas. We tried the Jamaica, which is a dark hibiscus tea, and the Horchata, which is made from rice water with notes of vanilla and cinnamon. The Jamaica was steeped very dark, with notes of pomegran- ate. The Horchata was creamy and sweet with a touch of cinnamon that lingered on the palate. Both were lightly sweetened and refreshing.
For our meal, we tried three very differ- ent dishes – two of which are authentic Mexican specialties you’ll only find at El Chilango.
The Surf & Turf is essentially a faji-
ta with steak, chicken, shrimp, onions, peppers, and cheese – but what makes it special is that it’s served in a pineapple. It’s absolutely beautiful, and we all took a mo- ment to admire it before digging in. The
story and photos by Anne Pitre