You don’t have to be a linguist to enjoy La Fountain
The small combo platter from La Fountain Mexican Restaurant in Lehi features a taco, tostada, burrito, and cheese enchilada for $7.94. Photographed on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
The chimichanga with rice, beans, and a salad from La Fountain Mexican Restaurant in Lehi. Photographed on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
The smothered burrito with rice and beans from La Fountain Mexican Restaurant in Lehi. Photographed on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
The interior of La Fountain Mexican Restaurant in Lehi. Photographed on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
One might think that the easiest thing about reviewing a restaurant is listing the name of the establishment correctly.
In the case of our most recent dining experience, however, one would be wrong.
It was the highly visible bright new sign on the exterior of the building that first caught our attention — boldly proclaiming La Fountain Mexican Restaurant in the location formerly belonging to La Puente in Lehi. Our confusion did not begin to manifest itself until actually going inside and seeing references to La Fuente Mexican Restaurant — along with a listed website address of lafuentemex.com.
Of course, local linguists know that the Spanish word “fuente” translates to “fountain” in English. So, to recap, this is what is known about this restaurant location: The establishment formerly known as La Puente (the Bridge) has now become La Fuente (the Fountain). Same location, same owners, same food — just a slightly different name and a double-tongued title that is probably only confusing when it comes to deciding what name to put in a headline.
Whew — glad we got that out of the way! On to the food …
The food at La Fountain is standard Mexican fare, with a bevy of house specialties, appetizers and combos that one would expect to find in a South-of-the-Border dining experience.
Naturally, the meal started with complimentary chips and salsa. The chips were pre-seasoned and tasted good. The salsa, which came in squirt bottles, was a bit thin and a tad too spicy for our own taste — but when we asked for a side order of guacamole, everything really came alive.
One slight oddity occurred when we placed our main orders only to have the waiter return to inform us that the restaurant was out of rice — something that would affect nearly every one of our party of five’s orders. (We imagine that the only thing stranger than a Mexican restaurant being out of rice would be if it ran out of tortillas.) We were given the option of substituting french fries or getting a second helping of refried beans. We’ve yet to meet the person who needs a second helping of refried beans, no matter how good they are, so most of our party opted for french fries — which turned out to not really be fries after all, but more like thinly sliced potato orbs, with similar seasoning to the complimentary chips.
What we loved most about our meal was the fajitas — both the steak and chicken varieties were most excellent. The fajita mixture included onions and green and red peppers, with topping options of lettuce, tomato, avocado and sour cream. We also added in some of our side of guacamole. The whole combo was fantastic.
Something else we really loved was the tortillas. The flour tortillas were thick and warm — just how we like them. They were also quite large, so the two that came with one fajitas order were sufficient for the contents and very filling. The corn tortillas are much smaller — and you get six per order.
We also sampled the chicken enhiladas and a chicken chimichanga. Both were delicious, even though the chicken seemed a hint too salty for our taste.
The portions at La Fountain are large, so come hungry!
Looking over the menu and its canned photos, many other dishes drew our attention — none more so than the guacamole tostadas. Perhaps we will have to try a pair on a future visit.
The restaurant itself is fairly roomy with a combination of booth and table seating — and festive Mexican music (is there any other kind?) played at a low volume over the speakers. Service was quick and friendly during our mid-week visit.
Whether you call it La Fountain or La Fuente, if you enjoy solid Mexican fare, it’s worth a visit.
La Fountain Mexican Restaurant
Where: 101 N. 1200 East Suite #A-6
Prices: $2.75-$10.34 (appetizers), $4.94-$16.03 (entrees) with a full complement of a la carte and side items at varying prices
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
Info: (801) 766-2619, lafuentemex.com