GOOD NEWS IS COMING TO DINNER! We will feature a local food critic’s thoughts as they dine in Franklin County. This month, Shannon Beebe visited Fiesta Grill.
IF YOU could be sitting here right now — smelling the aroma, hearing the sizzle of the carnitas skillet as it arrives at your table — you’d understand. This is Mexican food at its best. Tonight, we’re at Fiesta Grill in Cowan, packed wall-to-wall with families on a Wednesday night. Just a regular midweek evening, and every seat is taken. Friends dining with spouses, old co-workers catching up over a meal. That alone tells you something.
We settled into the bar area and ordered. I was eager to try the carnitas skillet, while the rest of the table chose the chicken chimichanga and the chicken delight. Everything came out quickly.
The chicken chimichanga and chicken delight were equally impressive. Both were loaded with grilled chicken and fresh, steaming sides. The restaurant uses quality ingredients that remind you that a good kitchen doesn’t need to overcomplicate things.
Then you hear the sizzle. Pork tips, peppers, onions, and tomatoes crackling in a hot skillet, audible from 20 feet away, growing louder as it makes its way to your table. Steam rises in a trail behind it. Alongside the skillet are rice, beans, a fresh salad with guacamole, and flour tortillas — a rainbow of colors that speaks to the freshness of the ingredients.
I laid a tortilla flat on top of the skillet, grabbed a handful of crispy pork and vegetables, folded it over, added some salad and guacamole, and took that first bite. Hot, fresh, and crispy all at once. It was amazing.
Now I understand why people are driving out to Cowan on a Wednesday night. GN
Fiesta Grill Mexican Restaurant:
226 Tennessee Ave.
Cowan, TN 37318
(931) 962-9939
Shannon Beebe: franklincountyfoodcritic@gmail.com
