by Jeph Burton of North Texas Daily , Chris Speight of North Texas Daily

Huge portions of food, a well-rounded atmosphere, and inexpensive drinks definitely make for a great meal.

This week we journeyed to El Guapo’s, a Denton staple serving up delicious Tex-Mex cuisine.

A festive, multi-colored interior greets patrons of the restaurant, and comfortably loud Tejano music encourages diners to loosen their ties, order a cerveza and cut loose a little.

El Guapo’s has an atmosphere for families and more boisterous parties as well.

The main restaurant area is more low-key and family oriented, always a nice choice when Mom and Dad are in town.

For those of you who relish in having more no-holds-barred conversation among friends, definitely sit at the bar, where almost everyone can be seen enjoying happy hour 18-ounce margaritas and Dos XX schooners.

Sports fans need not worry — TVs in the bar are tuned in to the event of the evening to reference during conversation lulls.

El Guapo’s is one of those restaurants that always manages to stay busy, but the friendly wait staff quickly arranged us a seat in the bar area, busing our table while we took our seats.

Loud conversation and laughter was paired with the electric-blue lighting, inviting Denton residents to really take this section of the restaurant, complete with smoking.

Our server expertly snagged our orders and delivered our drinks while managing a huge party at the same time.

If he didn’t deliver something personally, it was delivered by someone else in good time, showing that the staff works as a team — major bonus points for service.

Complimentary chips and salsa came to the table (two bowls of chips and our own individual salsa ramekins), but we couldn’t pass up on an opportunity to try the ever-popular Queso Mas Guapo: freshly cooked taco meat and homemade guacamole, stirred into El Guapo’s chile con queso.

We love this dish.

It flows perfectly with the entire scheme of Tex-Mex, which is basically mixing everything together into a delicious, perfect meal. Guacamole, ground beef and queso — it just makes sense.

Order a bowl of tortillas to go along with it, but be warned: This dish can easily take the place of your entrée, so pace yourself.

One of our favorite dishes is El Patron. Imagine two chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce, one pork tamale with chili con carne, one chicken taco, beans and rice, all for $8.49.

Don’t forget to order the borracho beans. These offer a sweet, zesty flavor and are a pleasant alternative to refried beans.

The classic, sizzling steak fajitas for $9.99, served with caramelized onions and sautéed green and red bell peppers, were good.

The steak was a little overdone, but the heaping portions (really: dinner, midnight snack and breakfast) and incredible seasoned rice definitely upped the flavor.

Drinks were also surprisingly inexpensive (coming in at $4 for a call liquor), but one of Jeph’s doubles tasted a little weak. The margaritas were perfect.

In short, El Guapo’s is a staple of local Denton culture. Huge portions of food, a well-rounded atmosphere, and inexpensive drinks definitely make for a great meal.

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