Voted as having the best fish tacos in the area, CK’s Cantina & Grill is located just a few minutes from the Misericordia campus and serves authentic Mexican foods, as well as American-style foods.

Patrons have the option of indoor seating, where an extensive bar can be found, or screened-in patio seating.

Many restaurants offer bread before your order arrives; at CK’s, bread and butter takes the form of chips and salsa, a staple for all Mexican restaurants and CK’s doesn’t disappoint. The chips have a satisfying crunch and give the impression of being home-made. The salsa is a traditional style and not chunky like supermarket salsa. You come to appreciate not having to watch chunks of tomato or onion fall on the table.

On two separate visits, I tried both the Chicken Tacos and Chicken Fajitas (I like variety in my meat selections). At their core, these two dishes are similar, but are presented differently.

The tacos are served with lettuce, tomatoes, Mexican-blend cheese and salsa, sour cream, and rice with beans on the side. The taco-seasoned chicken was delicious, tender and flavorful. Chicken Fajitas, for the uninitiated, can best be thought of as do-it-yourself tacos.

As is the tradition for fajitas, CK’s delivers the components for your meal in a skillet still sizzling from the stovetop. You are provided with tongs to lift the chicken, cooked with peppers and onions onto the flour tortillas. I like to add the rice into my fajita, along with the lettuce, tomato, and cheese. The chicken here is different from the taco chicken but is also very good. It’s a little drier while maintaining the same tenderness.

There are many more delicious-sounding menu items I didn’t get to, like the award-winning fish tacos mentioned above. When you visit CK’s, be prepared to eat a lot; in the case of the fajitas, there was chicken remaining after I had used all my tortillas.

Pricing is reasonable, especially for the amount of food you’re served. A one-meat fajita is $17.99. It sounds pricey, but you get the fun presentation of the still-sizzling meat and vegetables for your money. An order of three tacos is a more economical $10.99.

All this food left me without room for dessert, but dessert at CK’s deserves a separate trip anyway because CK’s has its own ice cream stand next to the main restaurant. I haven’t had the chance to try it yet, but the menu is full of original ideas and items different from typical ice cream stands. Things like pretzel ice cream cones and flavors like peach, mango and blueberry set the CK’s ice cream stand apart from others. I certainly will review it here in the not-too-distant future.