FARANG RESTAURANT REVIEW: SENIOR PICO AND CHARLEY BROWN'S

Mexican food is quite possibly my favorite cuisine in the whole world. I used to love going to the Mexicantown district in downtown Detroit and my favorite restaurant there was a place called Xochimilco. God, do I miss that place...

So it was only a matter of time before I started searching for a suitable replacement here in Bangkok. After asking around, two names came up the most: Senior Pico (located in the Rembrandt Hotel) and Charley Brown's (Sukhumvit Soi 11).

The first place we tried was Senior Pico.


The atmosphere was nice, but had a kind of "corporate Mexican" feel to it.


The staff was friendly and there was a band ("Los Lamas") on hand that played authentic Mexican tunes in Spanish. They were a bit loud, but I thought that was still a nice touch.


I ordered my standard favorite: a beef burrito. I realize that this is not the most adventurous choice on the menu, but when trying a new Mexican place, I always order one just to set the standard.


They did have fancier fare for order - like this meat on a skewer that my friend Greg ordered.

The food was OK, but a bit unspectacular. Maybe my expectations were too high. One thing odd about the place were the selections on the children's menu: Mickey Mouse Burger, Super Mario's Penne Pasta, Spaghetti Pinocchio, Road Runner Chicken, and Senior Pico's Pizza. You would think that they would have kid's versions of tacos, nachos, burritos or chimichangas, but no dice.

Next up was Charley Brown's.


The decor had a down-and-dirty "Route 66" kind of vibe, complete with a vintage gas pump, old cars jutting out of the walls, thousands of old beer cans, and banged up license plates.


I generally like this kind of style, but I have to admit that it usually fits a greasy burger joint more so than a Mexican restaurant.

The food was similar to Senior Picos - a bit commercial - but for some reason I liked it a bit better (and the kid's menu did have tacos, nachos, etc).

It was really a coin flip in regards to which restaurant I preferred. I would give Charley Brown's the slight edge in food (which I guess is the most important factor when deciding where to eat), but the atmosphere was a bit better at Senior Pico.


Neither one measured up to my beloved Xochimilco (at least in my eyes). Maybe that's a bit unfair, but that's how I feel. It should be noted that we did have some Mexican friends (you know, from Mexico) in Detroit and they thought Xochimilco was crap, so I guess it really comes down to what you're used to. If you've lived in Bangkok your entire life, then Senior Pico or Charley Brown's might just be the zenith of Mexican food for you, and that's perfectly OK.