Loco Leprechaun--Westlake, Ohio (Center Ridge Rd.) [$]

On the coldest day since 2009, we braved the blistering wind and snow to get some "Irish-Mexican" food in Westlake.  This was Grace's choice, after a few deliberations, and also her turn to drive.  We arrived a little later than we normally lunch, due to Shannon's traumatic morning of trying to get her car to start.  We sat ourselves in between the booths against the wall and the bar.  There were a few people at the bar and a couple of ladies in another booth.  We like to think the other visitors also had car problems that day, and decided to have a day of comfort instead.  After our waitress stopped fixing her hair in the wall-length mirror, she brought us lunch and drink menus.
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Grace:

We decided to get drinks because of the stressful morning, so I chose the Loco Light, which tasted exactly like Coors Light. I was debating between the guacamole burger and the special that day, Mexican Fish Tacos, but I decided on the tacos since I knew I'd be having a burger at home in a few hours. While waiting, I noticed the decor was a blend of Irish and Mexican cultures--like the wall painting of a sombrero-wearing leprechaun sitting on a cactus. My tacos came pretty quickly, and were accompanied by tortilla chips and salsa. The chunky salsa was nothing special, and probably from Trader Joe's. I was surprised when I saw three fairly large tacos on my plate, seeing as the special was only $8, and included the chips and salsa!

The fish that came in the taco's was also nothing special, and I would have preferred if they had a little seasoning because, after all, they were supposed to be Mexican, right? The other ingredients in the tacos were what, in fact, made them Mexican--green peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, sour cream, and bits of tortilla chips. After eating my first taco, I had told Shannon that I wished I had ordered guacamole on my tacos, because we should all know by now--I'm obsessed with avocado. The waitress really seemed to know her regulars, so that was nice to see. The menu was really diverse and I would gladly try some other things on there someday, but over all, it seemed like a "I just turned 21, let's go to this rinky dink bar really fast" kind of place. It would be really fun to stop in on St. Patrick's Day, but I cannot part from my traditional rinky dink bar for March 17th, Irish Kevin's in Lakewood.
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Shannon:

Upon arriving, Grace and I were somewhat surprised that our destination was much more "bar-like" than we had been expecting.  I had briefly looked at a menu online, so I knew there were vegetarian options though, unlike most "bar fair."  We sat ourselves, and were by ourselves for a while before being brought menus.  It felt like lunch was a secondary part of this business, that if we were not at the bar then we would likely wait longer.  No matter, once we decided on drinks, those came pretty quickly.  Being recently turned onto whiskey sours by my boyfriend, I ordered one as Grace ordered her beer.  Sipping on these, we browsed the menu.  I have a handful of options, and chose the portabella wrap.  This option was least like the other Mexican type foods I've had in the past few weeks.

The wrap came with green peppers, onions, tomatoes, portabella mushrooms, and chipotle hummus on a white wrap.  The only downside to the wrap was how messy it was to pick up and eat.  Though, since the reason it was so messy was because of the large portion of ingredients, it was not terribly disappointing.  I ate it carefully and used my fork to devour what fell out.  The hummus was my favorite part of the wrap.  It gave the steaming vegetables a very exciting accompaniment.  My dish mostly fell under the category of Mexican, although they did come with potatoes!  Crispy, seemingly double-fried french fries took up half of my plate.  The fries are generally what I leave to bring home, if I think I won't eat it all, but I had to have all these fries, despite my shrinking hunger.  I took the rest of my wrap home to enjoy on another occasion.

The decor was clever enough, mixing Irish and Mexican, though I would say it weighed heavier on Mexican than Irish.  Loco Leprechaun, for as far as I could find, does not have a website.  I was expecting something a little different than the overwhelming bar atmosphere it exuded, though I had a fine time here just the same. If I were to go back, I would probably go later in the day for drinks rather than a meal.  If you stop in, definitely get an order of fries, whatever you do!
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Bar area

View from front door

Menu art

Menu art

Outside

Loco Light and whiskey sour

Wall art

More wall art, and computer area?

Portabella Wrap

Mexican Fish Tacos

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This lunch was a great reprieve from the cold.  It was certainly a nice change from jumping the car, which was the activity directly prior to lunching.  The mix of cultures is a fun idea, and the food is pretty well priced.  Definitely check it out at night, and tell us what you think!