Karl K.
Yelp
La Carreta in Advance prepares some tasty Mexican cuisine in a beautiful building--the attractiveness of the building alone is almost worth a visit. (Please see my backstory on this building at the end of this review.)
I sat at the bar to place a to-go order. The bar features a lot of beautiful wood and luxurious booths that are very cozy and inviting. The bartender was polite and helpful but also quiet and business-like. I had a margarita while I waited. It came from a machine, and I am more of a purist when it comes to mixed drinks, yet I must admit that it was excellent.
Chips and salsa: the chips were standard fare, but the salsa was outstanding. Very fine and smooth tomato base, it had the perfect amount of seasonings and fresh cilantro. In addition, it had a perfectly awesome heat to it. I would imagine that people who like no heat would think it was too hot, but I LOVED it.
Beans and rice: refried beans were generally mild but had a nice flavor. Rice was also mild and a bit dry.
Taco, burrito, enchilada: all tasted good but the beef was very mild. The cheese was excellent. I wish there had been a little more sauce.
Price was just a tick high. But the owner has to pay that rent somehow.
Which takes me to the building. This building did not originally house La Carreta. It was actually called to Saratoga steakhouse. When I first moved to this area into 2003, it was a well-known fact that one of the best steaks in the area could be found just west of Winston-Salem at a little hole in the wall on US Highway 158 called Putters. The owner dry aged his steaks, a time-consuming process that produces a deliciously flavored meat. Eventually he decided to move to eastern Davie County, and had a magnificently beautiful building constructed for his new restaurant, which he named Saratoga.
Unfortunately, things did not turn out well. The steaks were truly outstanding, and there was a house-made blue cheese dressing that remains the best I've ever had. EVER. The price, however, more than matched the value of the steak and people found it difficult to dine there on a regular basis without taking out a second mortgage. This was also at the time that the economy went into the tank, which did not help. For this and other reasons, the owner had to shutter his windows and close down. Sometime after that, La Carreta took over the building for their restaurant.
So you can still dine in this attractive building, but you will be eating good Mexican food rather than outstanding steak.