Thanks to Locals Guide I was able to enjoy dinner out with my loving husband this fine evening, and I have to say it was quite the satisfactory experience.
We’d never been to Inti before, and our overall impression was favorable. Inti is located in Talent, right next door to Petals and Ink on the main street through town. It’s comfortable and quaint with fast personal service, fresh homemade ingredients and obviously a favorite with the locals…(always a good sign) :-).
The decor inside the restaurant is clean, stylish and spare with a latin twist. Wrought iron sconces adorn the cream and rust walls, and a sage green floor compliments the color scheme. Outside there was a great patio, that I could tell (while not used for much in winter) would be a fantastic place for a late evening summer supper. I’m a sucker for twinkle lights and this patio was fully decorated with twinkle lights on the patio walls and fence.
I noticed a particularly lovely framed embroidery piece above our table. A large walnut bakers rack against the back wall shelved wine glasses and goblets. I liked the fact that the main grill and prep area was in full view of the tables..I agree with the previous opinion expressed on these pages… I like to see what my food looks like while it’s cooking :-).
Inti is obviously a family affair, and our young hostess/waitress was cheerful and swift to bring our complimentary fresh tortilla chips and salsa…along with vats of fresh cold water. (I wonder if that was a sign of things to come, lol). She was friendly and asked us if it was our first visit to Inti, we did indeed ensure her that yes we were the greenest of gringos and would she please explain anything that needed explaining.
Their menu is quite extensive for a small place, and their main offerings are the gourmet fresh tacos, made with handmade white corn tortilla and served with rice, black and pinto beans. For $9.00 you can choose 3 different tacos from a list of 10…(trust me it was a decision). But beforehand I had to try an intriguing soup that was on the specials board. We shared a cup of Fresh zuchini soup with coriander and cumin. It was a delicate pureed soup with an intense flavor and smooth texture. That soup was wonderful! I’m going to have to try to recreate it at home (If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery…consider them flattered).
My Frank chose the tacos; “Carne Asada”, which was shredded beef marinated with mild roast pepper onions and tomatos, and then two of the “Mojo de Ajo” which was a tilapia filet quickly sauteed in roasted garlic and what they say is “mild” chipotle sauce. Well if that was mild…the hot must be straight out of vesuvius…because Frank said he couldn’t feel his lips for 1/2 an hour. (Not that he was complaining however…all trace of tacos were missing from the plate.)
I chose three different tacos as well, the “Chupacabra” which was braised lamb in a smokey chipotle sauce (surprisingly mild and not at all gamey), a “Carne Asada”, and a “Pollo Asado” which was grilled chicken breast mixed with sweet onion, nopalito, cilantro and lime. All three were tasty, however I enjoyed the flavors of the chicken taco the best.
I do need to mention that we ordered a side guacamole with our tacos..(we’re both avocado fiends) and you know it’s going to be good when the waitress comes back to say..”it will be just a moment..because she’s MAKING the guac fresh..just for us” Packed with cilantro, lime and garlic, this guacamole has the potential to be just about the finest I’ve ever tasted…and I include my own attempts in that ranking.
Finally and only for scientific purposes, we HAD to have dessert. Looking at each other guiltily, we both said, let’s share the Banana Quesadilla. A few moments later a plate comes out with warm slices of grilled tortilla drizzled with caramel sauce, laced with banana and topped with dots of reddi-whip. The inside of the quesadilla was filled with a warm sweet cream cheese spread that was…oh so decadent and yummy. At $3.00 it was a bargain.(At least monetarily, calorically it was a complete disaster!)
Both my husband and I were quite pleased with our experience at Inti. It’s not high cuisine..but most of the time regular folks don’t want that. Inti’s is good family style home cooking, in a clean, friendly environment. Our only suggestion would be to introduce some music to the ambiance. If only to help drown out the two screaming children a few tables away.
Note to parents: If you want to ruin a nice evening for just about everyone in a room, bring your fussy 2 year olds to any restaurant, and don’t restrain them at all when they’re trying to break the glass on my table solely by 3 minute long, ear-drum splitting screeches. All of us including the staff were squinting in pain.
