G-L-O-R-I-A

Van "the man" Morrison once said, "she make me feel so good, I wanna say she make me feel alright." For years people thought he was singing about some groupie. Turns out he was singing about the Oak Cliff restaurant that opened a location in Fort Worth and made us all feel alright.

Glorias is a Latin American restaurant in the Montgomery Ward hole and Fort Worth should thank its lucky stars that they chose to open a location here. I have been a number of times and never wrote a post about it but I recently had a meal there with some long-time friends and they wanted all the notoriety and fame that comes from being alluded to in such a popular forum.

If you're reading this when I post it, you know that we're amidst the holiday season, which means you should be going out to eat with long-time friends. And when you go out to eat with them, you should take them to places like Glorias for two reasons. First, they have lots of space to spread out and you can be loud without offending others. Second, if there are people you don't care to talk with, you can always pretend you didn't hear them.

The menu at Glorias is broken down into three main categories (that I care about). There are the Salvadorian options, the Salvatex options and the tex-mex options. I've tried items from each, but you're cheating yourself if you don't try one of the salva-influenced options. The great people of Salvadoriano (I believe its a Latin American country between Mexico and Chile) have a unique style of food that differs from tex-mex. A lot of the entrees include a thin steak that has been grilled, but unlike most tex-mex dishes, the steak stays in its complete form and is topped with a flavored sauce. In Salvadoriano they don't have knives so they don't have the luxury of cutting up meat like the Mexican people.
Everything I have had there is great. This last time I cheated myself and just had the chicken tacos al carbon. They were great but don't waste your time ordering them. You are probably thinking, "they'll make me skinny." No they wont. Chicken isn't healthy until its fried.
Some of my favorites are the Lechon Asado (pork tenderloin with an ancho chile sauce), Sopa de Gallina (chicken soup), the appetizer tamales (they're huge and come in a banana leaf), ceviche (on a tostada), sour cream chicken enchiladas (enchiladas that have cream and have sat out until they go sour), enchiladas verdes (monkey enchiladas), that was a test to see who is just skimming (and who is actually reading), and the Arrachera Adobada (skirt steak in tomato sauce). I would describe these in more detail but I have to go to work at some point.
In case that exhaustive list wasn't enough reason to go, let me give you another reason. You know how much I like hot sauce and chips, right (see A Letter to Benitos)? At Glorias, you get hot sauce (with lots of cilantro) and a black bean dip for your chips. Allsome!!!
Still not convinced? My marketing team has told me most of my readers are heavily influenced by alcohol. Glorias has alcohol. Do you like margaritas? They're good here. Do you like mojitos? They're also good here. Would you like to try some obscure peruvian beer? They have it.
So, whether you're a chips and salsa AND bean dip fan, a good food fan, a salsa (dancing not sauce) fan, or a booze-hound, Glorias has everything you need.
And now that I read the G-L-O-R-I-A lyrics a little more closely, I'm starting to think there is another meaning that is less than family friendly. So Mr. Morrison, shame on you for bringing smut and filthy talk to my world. Glorias the restaurant, thank you for bringing my friends to town and thank you to Mr. E for paying for my meal.
Let me know what you think. For those of you who have been to the Oak Cliff location, how does the Fort's location do in terms of compliance with the original?