giveaway: cabana grill be our guest gift cards

This is a sponsored post. Cabana Grill will be providing gift cards for use in a giveaway later this week. All opinions are my own.

Last night Mr PugRunner and little man were out on an adventure, so I was on my own for dinner. I decided to pay a visit to  Cabana Grill, a several-months-old Mexican inspired, fast casual restaurant, brought to us by the owners of Pollo Tropical.

Cabana Grill boasts fresh-pressed and grilled-to-order tortillas, grilled steak and chicken fajitas, quesadillas, nachos, tacos, bowls and burritos. They also offer a Salsa Bar, full of a variety of fresh salsas. Yum.

The restaurant is located on San Jose Boulevard, just north of the I295 exit. It’s a pretty hopping area, and I am glad that there is another dining option to break things up.

Cabana Grill is bright and airy, with an enclosed sunroom-style dining area, as well as a patio, in addition to the regular indoor space. Patrons walk up to the counter to order, then take a plastic table number with them to a table of their choice. Food is cooked to order and then brought to the table. I loved the colorful, oversized artwork and hanging globe lights.

I was a little overwhelmed by the menu, and ended up letting the employee at the counter make the choice for me. I went with a bowl served in a tortilla shell, and absolutely loved the digital, interactive menu while I ordered. It showed the different options for rice, protein and toppings, so I could pick along the way and double check that the order was correct.

Since I wasn’t super hungry, I skipped the sopapillas (they looked delicious) and decided on a water instead of a margarita (frozen or on the rocks) or bottled beer.

I found a table and got some salsa verde and pico de gallo from the Salsa Bar.

Dinner was ready quickly, and I was pleased that the rice, beans and chicken were all nice and piping hot (in temperature, not in spiciness). My bowl had sliced chicken breast, with Mexican rice, black beans, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole. I loved the marinade on the chicken, and the rice was very nicely flavored.

The flour tortilla was great with the pico de gallo, but the salsa verde wasn’t quite my favorite. It was spicy, but lacked that nice tomatillo flavor.

The employees were incredibly friendly and circulated around, tidying up as needed and taking empty bowls and plates from diners.

There was also a really cute setup outside, where kids were painting and decorating wooden picture frames as a craft as part of the Cabana Grill Spring Break Celebration. The rest of the week’s activities include

• Thursday: Build Your Own Piñata, 5-8 p.m.
• Friday: Friday Night Fiesta with food and drink specials, DJ and caricaturist, 4-9 p.m.
• Saturday: National Crunchy Taco Day with free taco giveaway, 2-5 p.m.

I’m looking forward to going back to try those sopapillas, in addition to the nachos and quesadillas.

Want to give Cabana Grill a try? Well, go ahead and enter below: two lucky winners will each get $20 in Cabana Grill Be Our Guest cards to enjoy some of their delicious offerings. Leaving a comment on the blog is a mandatory entry (tell us your favorite Cabana Grill meal or the one you’re most excited to try!), and there are some extra ways to score entries, too! Giveaway ends on March 26, and the winner will be selected and notified on the blog and via email. Good luck!

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