Guest blog: Captain Shalini reviews Montezuma's, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 02/06/08

We drove down to Cairns from Port Douglas on Saturday, February 2. The drive is amazing! The Captain Cook Highway lead us all the way down the coastline (with spectacular ocean views not marred by high rises and condos) and into the city of Cairns. Now, this is much bigger than either Port Douglas or Alice Springs, but is comparative in size to say Round Rock (but not as cookie cutter), outside of Austin. The Captain Cook Highway actually turns into the street that spits us out in front of Montezuma's. It's got an open-air feel that lets you remember the ocean is close by, and even though it is about 10 mintues after the official start of the lunch hour, we are going to be the first ones there to eat. We love the atmosphere, as there is a lot of color and "Mexican" decorations (colorful parrots, huge fake flowers) We get a nice table and proceed to devour the menu.

We know that we must partake of the appetizer (queso fundido); it was really good and creamy, the chips were perfect (I can't stand overly salty chips), and, as you can see, my two and a half year old didn't let us have much.

We then proceed to order. Dennis orders the steak fajitas, I order the cheese and onion enchiladas. Again, here in Australia they do have weirdo varieties of enchilada stuffing, but I request just the cheese and onion.

I get two enchiladas; one does look slightly deflated, but the taste is quite delicious. The onion and cheese has melted together. The enchilada is a bit crispy - as is the rice, but it melds well. The flavor is not very cheddary, which is what I am more used to back in the States. The sauce on the beans and the flavor of the rice complement each other well. I had a lemon iced tea (not brewed there), and it cooled off the meal. Yes, this place had many more spices in their sauce than our last Australian foray into Mexican food, and it wasn't as bland. But I guess the next time I need to carry my own hot sauce with me.

Montezuma's

45 Sheridan Street

Cairns 4870

Queensland

Australia

07 4050 4600

Rating: 3/5