Food Lake Container

Avenida Hidalgo #456, Riberas del Pilar
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Directions: From Walmart, drive east on the Carretera approximately 2 miles. Food Lake Container is on the right. Parking in front of the restaurant.

First Impressions

I admit, the odd name, Food Lake Container, confused me. Was this a take-out place serving food to go? Was it even a restaurant?    

Turns out, behind the front gate is not just one restaurant, but five different restaurants, with a sixth coming soon. A long, narrow path leads to a common dining area. There are tables for two and spaces for large groups. Jazz music plays from speakers overhead.

Our knowledgeable waiter, Daniel, handed us the largest menu I have ever seen and explained the concept of Food Lake Container to us. The menu contains selections from all five restaurants and we could order from one restaurant, or from all of them and would receive one check. The restaurants at Food Lake Container are Su Wok, El Tejado Steak, Burger Paradise, La Casa Del Dogo, and Vagon Rojo and the vast number of possible combinations is mind-boggling.

Chile Caribe

Drink selections are easier to navigate. Food Lake Container offers Mexican craft beers and wines from Ensenada, Mexico as well as soft drinks.

Menu

It takes a while to get through the extensive menu. Su Wok offers a number of oriental and fusion style appetizers and main dishes, many that I did not recognize but that sounded tempting.

El Tejado Steak serves a variety of typical steakhouse plates and Burger Paradise, as the name suggests, creates interesting burger and fry combinations.

Rib Eye from El Tejada Steak

La Casa del Dogo is a hot dog stand and Vagon Rojo features sandwiches on baguettes. The waiter mentioned that the group of restaurants will soon be joined by an Italian café.   

We ordered Chile Caribe as an appetizer from the Su Wok menu, peppers stuffed with manchego cheese,  gouda cheese and crab.
These were lightly breaded and fried until the cheese slightly melted. They were unique and scrumptious, though much spicier than we expected.

For the main dish, we ordered crispy chicken from the Su Wok menu and a rib-eye steak from the Tejado Steak menu. The crispy chicken was well-prepared, the chicken tender and the vegetables slightly crunchy. The sauce tasted of soy sauce and honey and lightly covered the dish, which was accompanied by fluffy rice.

Rib-eye does not translate in Mexico. No restaurant serves what we from north of the border call a rib-eye. Nevertheless, the steak was tender and the baked potato satisfying.  The steak was accompanied by a sauce of freshly grilled peppers which was prepared at the table by the waiter.

Crispy Chicken from Su Wok

To accompany our meal, we ordered a glass of white wine and a bottle of  India Pale Ale from a Baja California brewery.

Service and Price

Our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable. He explained the food container concept to us and knew how the many dishes were prepared. He made meal and appetizer recommendations and guided us through the menu.

The dining area is open on the sides and can be a little cool in the evening. There is a small play structure to occupy children and a television mounted on the wall for viewing special sports events.

Our Waiter, Daniel

Compared to prices in the area, Food Lake Container is moderately priced. The Crispy Chicken cost 110pesos and the Rib Eye, 190 pesos. Wine is 45 pesos per glass and the craft beer is a little pricey at 60 pesos per bottle

Our Recommendation ***

This is certainly an interesting concept, a modified version of Container City in Cholula. You could eat at Lake Food Container every day for a week and never order the same thing twice. This place is worth a visit, just to try the unique combination of foods from the different kitchens. My only complaint is that on the evening we visited it was cool and the dining space is open to the outdoors.

Watch for the Italian Café that will join the group soon.

Buen Provecho!