WOW >>>

New and improved. I can't imagine those two words ever applied to Taqueria El Antojo off Orchard Street. The all ready lively restaurant serves a delicious breakfast. Its plump chicken burrito it the Lucky Charms of Mexican food - magically delicious with tons of tiny chicken nuggets, reminding me of the shaped marshmallows in the cereal, only colliding in a sea of beans, onion and cilantro instead of milk. Lucky Charms certainly isn't an appropriate comparison, but I have a bit of cool news and my happy brain cells selected the cereal as a motif. New and improved doesn't apply to me.

Ladies and gentlemen, the bar is open.

When I popped into the University Place Mexican joint to grab a quick burrito I was hit with a fiesta of music, lights, video and smiles. Two months ago Taqueria El Antojo erected a bar along its back wall. It's not an ordinary bar. It's an explosion of neon, glass, televisions, lighting that one would find on a Carnival Cruise, only without the tourists begging to have their pictures taken with a large exhausted iguana in a tiny sombrero. Or something.

Antojo's bar bursts. The decision where to look isn't easy. Every crevice is filled with color. The Mexican music pulsates, forcing tiny movements of glee as one ponders Monday's scratch $3 margaritas, Tuesday's scratch $3.50 piña coladas, Wednesday's $3 mojitos, Thursday's $3 wells and Friday's $3 tequila sunrises - and those aren't officialy part of its 2-5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close, Sunday-Friday happy hours.

There's also something called 3D Night every Tuesday beginning at 9 p.m. I'm not exactly sure how Antojo could possible more in your face.

I didn't have time to sip. You tell me how the drinks taste.

If you are a fan of the Tacoma or Lakewood Taqueria El Antojo restaurants but haven't tried this location yet - or if you haven't visited this Antojo in the last two months - add it to your rotation, especially if the game is on. The Taqueria El Antojo in University Place may have injected more fun into its operation, but it hasn't forgotten a thing about great tasting Mexican food.

TAQUERIA EL ANTOJO, 9 A.M. TO MIDNIGHT MONDAY-THURSDAY, 9 A.M. TO 1 A.M. FRIDAY, 8 A.M. TO 1 A.M. SATURDAY, 8 A.M. TO MIDNIGHT SUNDAY, 5502 ORCHARD ST. W., UNIVERSITY PLACE, 253.212.0914