Why Coyote Grill Has Such Loyal Customers

Before Sunday football games, treat your family to a sensational brunch at Fairfax’s Coyote Grill, located in downtown Fairfax. Coyote Grill has been in its current location since 2002, and has developed a very loyal clientele. The restaurant was packed when we arrived---and we soon discovered why. 

We started with the brunch-offered “Oaxaca Migas." The thin shavings of fresh jalapeno peppers give this mega-egg scramble its surge of flavor, along with onions, tomatoes, garlic, crispy bacon and melted cheeses. It comes with two tortillas, plus rice and beans. You can taste the fresh tomatoes in this dish. Even their beans were fantastic. I kept mopping up nibbles from my finished platter they were so good.

I ordered Juan’s famous Eggs Benedict ($8.95) made with fresh ham, queso fresco, and two flour tortillas topped with two poached eggs covered with a chipotle-hollandaise sauce. The sauce had the distinctive richness and vinegar- bite of a hollandaise, combined with the smoky-woods flavor of chipotle peppers.  Over the gently poached eggs, it was heavenly. Even better were the onion-chipotle flavored skillet potatoes that came with. You can add crabmeat for an additional $3, but this dish does not need a lily to be gilded. 

Their Cinnamon French Toast ($8.95) is three pieces of tender Texas Toast dusted with powdered sugar and served with honey pecan butter. For an additional $2 you can add bacon. I would order this dish again just to taste the honey pecan butter.

When a restaurant continually produces innovative southwest flavors, you know something exciting is going on in the kitchen. Executive Chef Juan Carlos Balderrama has a formidable background from noteworthy restaurants in Washington-Metro area, such as Jaleo and Occidental Grille, and is originally from Bolivia.

His tastes are bold when it comes to hot peppers. Make sure to take a bottle of his signature hot sauce home with you--it is only made in small batches with fresh ingredients, no preservatives—so keep it refrigerated. “Get Your Motor Running is our favorite family hot sauce.”  Be careful, its hotness sneaks up on you.

Try their Roasted Red Pepper Soup for a winter lunch. It is thick and rich with smoked red pepper, onion and roasted Mexican spices pureed into a blissful velvet soup. Their Chicken Tortilla Soup is also good, with bits of roasted chicken in a tomato/lime broth, with corn, chilies and cilantro, topped with sour cream.  Coyote Chili “Texas style” is packed with meat, making it hearty and filling. A large portion of soup is only $4.95.

The main reason we keep coming back to this amazing restaurant is their Monday wine dinners, which are a real deal. A dinner for two includes your choice of soup/appetizer/salad, your choice of entrée (very generous portions), dessert, and, even better, a bottle of wine. This two-person feast costs only $35!  Their selections of wine are quite good, considering they are included in this “steal” of a price. The last time I visited I ordered flounder with a tequila and lime sauce.  It was a very generous piece of fish, and also had a side of beans and a side of salad with it.

Don’t skip dessert here! Juan’s coconut flan is dreamy-tender and dusted with toasted coconut. The key lime pie is made fresh every day and is authentic. My favorite dessert is their Tres Leches Cake with homemade strawberry glaze. This is a hallmark dessert from Mexico---a white cake infused with a sweetened cream sauce, covered in whipped cream icing. With a cup of rich black coffee, this is the perfect ending to a great meal.

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