New Maize Mexican restaurant serves both Tex-Mex, traditional fare

Update: Owners of Pariso Tex-Mex have just posted a sign on the door saying they’ve had to close to attend to a family matter out of state. They’ll reopen in September, the sign says.

When Vilma and Francisco Barcenes moved to Wichita last fall, they knew they wanted to open a Mexican restaurant. They’d worked in the restaurant business for more than 20 years, running restaurants in Nebraska and Georgia.

In May, Pariso Tex-Mex opened in a strip mall just south of 53rd Street on Maize Road. The small restaurant offers carry-out and has dine-in space for about 30 people.

All dishes are made fresh daily. On our visit, our server greeted us with a basket of homemade tortilla chips and bowls of mild and spicy salsa. The thick and crispy chips were perfect for dipping, and I liked that he brought both flavors of salsa without me having to ask.

Both Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican dishes are available on the menu. I had the chimichanga that Vilma recommended. It was lightly fried and stuffed with a generous portion of shredded chicken, topped with cheese sauce, and served with lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, rice and refried beans. I find most chimichangas greasy, but this one was light and delicious. My husband ordered the camarones (shrimp), but they were sold out on our visit. Instead, he had the chicken mole, which featured shredded chicken in a rich mole salsa. The dish was served with rice, beans and homemade flour tortillas. He liked it, but there was more mole than chicken.

Pariso also offers items like tacos, tamales, flautas, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, tostadas, taco salads, tortas, fajitas with a choice of grilled shrimp, steak or chicken. Lunch specials are served daily until 3 p.m.

Breakfast is served all day Sunday, and the list of offerings includes various Mexican egg dishes, breakfast burritos, or the traditional American breakfast of two eggs and toast. Desserts include sopapillas, churros and fried ice cream. All desserts except the churro are made on site. We shared a sopapilla that was unlike any other we have eaten. Instead of a pocket of fried bread, this was a crispy pastry drizzled with honey, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry. It was warm and delicious.

Prices range from $4.99 to $5.99 for breakfast; $5.99 to $7.99 for lunch; $1.99 to $7.99 for a la carte items and appetizers; $4.50-$14.99 for dinner; and $2.99 for desserts. Kid’s meals are available.

The brightly colored interior, recorded Mexican music, great food and friendly staff are a welcome addition to the community of Maize.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 10:40 PM with the headline "New Maize Mexican restaurant serves both Tex-Mex, traditional fare."