K38 Baja Grill

K38 Baja Grill
http://www.k38baja.com/
5410 Oleander Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28403
910.395.6040

K38 Baja Grill is a Wilmington standard--always crowded, always good, and always easy to just point the car toward.

We have a joke with good friends of ours who cruised Baja on their sailboat that K38 Baja Grill is NOT authentic Baja food. According to Jack, authentic Baja would be "dju wan feesh or leezard?"--not the delicious array of tex/mex grill food they serve at K38.

K38 has a large bar area and a steady group of young people (I'm not one of those, anymore - I eat with the other old folks in the restaurant side). Their chips and salsa are better than average - the fresh salsa has a nice cilantro punch. The beer selection will make most folks happy. I'm always pleased that I can get a Negra Modelo there. Wine is so-so, but that's not really why you're going there, is it? No, you're going there for the margaritas, which are on the sweet side, but still really good, especially their top shelf one. (I do wish someplace in town would make a margarita as God intended it, with fresh lime juice instead of that perfectly horrible drink mix, but I digress.) Cold margarita in hand and a basket of warm chips with a bright salsa, you can now peruse the menu.

Everything on it is good, so take your pick. I have a hard time getting past the special chimichanga, but I've not been disappointed in anything I've had. Phillip loves their Cabo roll, a smoky wrap of chipotle, shrimp, avocado and roasted red pepper cut like sushi and served with a spicy barbecue sauce. Their fajitas are also popular, and I love all of their burrito offerings.

K38 is always crowded, so it's best to go on the early side, to avoid a wait for a table. It's pretty kid-friendly - I've never been in there when there haven't been a handful of little people in there. Service is usually fast, without making you feel as though you've been rushed out.

This is not cheap Mexican--you will pay toward the high end for grill food. If price is driven by demand, then that makes sense.