One major difference I’ve noticed about Wichita compared to many other big cities is there aren’t that many places to eat at late at night. When I say late at night, I’m not referring to 8 or 9 pm. I’m talking (or for this particular medium) writing about places after 11 pm. You could do fast food or stop by the local IHOP or Denny’s but that’s really all the main options you have.
Why no love for the people working until 9-10 pm or the younger age of folks who eat ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner and by 10 pm are starving? Well my younger brother told me about a Mexican place that was open 24 hours a day. A restaurant open late late late at night and doesn’t serve pancakes? I had to check this place out.
Alejandro’s Mexican Food
1212 S Rock Rd
Wichita, KS 67207
(316) 681-8166
I stopped by this place twice in the past couple months: once after a golf outing for lunch and a second time when the bars closed. You’ll notice the pictures taken were after the golf outing. The last thing I wanted was to take pictures after the bars closed and drunk people thinking I was snapping pictures of them.
The first time I went was on a whim after heading home from Hidden Lakes Golf Course. I randomly saw it and quickly pulled in while using my right turn signal within the 100 feet obligated by Kansas Law. Place was nearly empty when I arrived in the middle of the afternoon. This was a noticeable difference compared to when I went there with friends at 2 am one evening; place was packed.
While glancing through the menu, they had a vast assortment of different items to choose from. Since I was in a hurry, I went with the safe bet of a Carne Asada Burrito. You can see the grill from where you order so you’ll know everything is made fresh as you order them. If I was writing radio jingles for them I would suggest “Freshness Made to Order”.…………………….
It didn’t take long for my food to come out. There was a condiment section by the counter that offered two sauces; mild and hot. I’m a big fan of hot sauce but tried both to see what they were like. The mild was, as expected, mild…..very mild; anybody could eat it. The hot, on the other hand, had a nice little kick to it. It wasn’t overly spicy but I really liked it. I could douse my entire burrito in it and would still be fine; I could see though how some people would think it’s too hot.
The burrito itself was very large. I had to cut it in half to make work of it. I managed to finish the entire burrito but afterwards knew I was going to be in need of a major nap. It was delicious and filling. It didn’t have the Tex Mex taste that you get at your ‘On the Border’ or ‘Carlos O’Kelly’s’. Lot of good flavor packed inside the big burrito. I could see why the place would be packed when the bars closed; it made for some great food after a long night on the town.
After that visit, I told some of my friends about it and we checked it out a few weeks later after the bars closed and they were all big fans of the place. In a random coincidence, we even ran into another random set of friends who told me they’ve been going there for a while. That evening the place was packed, every table was taken. There were quite a few cops patrolling in that area and parking right across the street. It almost made me wonder whether 1.) They were waiting for one drunk driver to pull out or 2.) Fights or trouble usually happen there at night. On that particular evening, nothing bad happened and everything was safe accept the unhealthy gorging of food by all the patrons.
The place is almost like a dive but I’d recommend it as would my friends, as would my brother. It’s a great little spot right off of Rock Road near Harry that’s open late at night. Service is quite good and even fast considering the number of employees they have on hand versus the number of customers that come in.
You know the old saying “Nothing good happens after midnight?” Well that’s wrong. Bring two quarters if you go here and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
SPIDER-MAN TATTOOS BABY!!!!
The carne asada burrito picture reminds me a lot of the ones they have at Mexican Burrito (Pawnee, near Hillside). Have you ever eaten there? My only complaint about their burrito is sometimes grease comes pouring out of the bottom, like water from a downspout. Was the Alejandro burrito greasy at all?
All the food there is great.