Middle American Mexican

Back on the road early today, riding I-94 eastbound. Haven't driven this route before, I'm usually further south on 80, or 70, but since I went through North Dakota, this was the closest and most efficient way home.
As you might imagine, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are pretty much flat and the road runs mostly straight, which makes for an easy, fuel efficient ride. 'Course, you do get to see a lot of scenery, loads of cattle farms, miles and miles of corn (remember Iowa? Corn...more corn....corn....even more corn....corn!), and many acres of deep green grass. Really a pretty ride, highlighted by a sunrise in N. Dakota that would be right at home out at Montauk point! 
With the easy ride, good weather, and the car that is comfy and easy to drive, I did about 700 miles today before calling it a night. I had planned to stop in Madison WI, but went a little further on to Janesville. Looks to be a fairly typical Interstate Stop/Suburban area. You get off and you're immediately on a long stretch of retail, food, and professional buildings. Most of the usual suspects here, along with one or two that you don't always see, like Fuddrucker's, Famous Dave's, and not one, but two buffets - Hometown and Old Country. Checked in to a nice clean Microtel Inn, and out to dinner I went. Decided to take a chance and get some Mexican, so I took the short ride over to Cozumel.

Pretty typical menu, lots of 'combination plates', the usual burritos, enchiladas, tacos, etc. While I was contemplating the choices, the salsa and chips arrived.

We're off to a good start, the chips are fresh, crispy and warm; they need salt, but when dipped in the salsa, they're fine. The salsa is also very fresh tasting, with a hint of lime juice, good tomato flavor, and a nice kick; several pieces of chopped jalapeno add to the heat level. Quite good. Washed the chips down with a cold Negra Modelo on draught, served ice cold in a frosted mug, and topped with a lime wedge.
For my dinner, I chose the Deluxe Chimichanga. I haven't had a good Chimi for a while, I think the last one I had was the disappointing one at South Of The Border last winter. A few minutes wait, and here it came.

As they sometimes say, the photo doesn't do it justice. This is one HUGE chimichanga, loaded with chicken, and sauteed onions, peppers, and tomatoes. It was topped with a dollop of guacamole, a load of pico de gallo, a huge amount of sour cream, a good pile of lettuce, refried beans, and a serving of Mexican rice. 
The rice was good, savory and moist, not dry and crumbly as it is at some places, while the refried beans were nothing special. The pico was fresh, had a mild Cilantro flavor (good, as I'm not a fan of Cilantro), while the guac was pretty much just a tasteless green paste; it could have used some jalapeno, salt and pepper. 
As for the Chimi itself, it had been fried to a nice crispness, but all the 'stuff' they loaded on the plate quickly turned it from a crispy, tasty wrapper into a soggy, mushy mess. The filling was okay, but, like most of these places, they don't understand that you have to season your ingredients while you're cooking them to get the flavor to come out. The peppers, tomatoes, and onions, while cooked nicely, needed some help. As did the chunks of chicken, which were nicely cooked, but bland. Overall, a very impressive looking dish that didn't quite live up to expectations. 
Best part of the meal was the chips and salsa, and the Negra Modela. For a total of $16 and change, a reasonably good meal at a decent price. Decent Mexican in Wisconsin - who'da thunk!