El Patrón
Mexican Restaurant

801 North Charles St. in Mt. Vernon
Baltimore, MD 21218

Restaurant critique by Erin Sullivan, Baltimore City Paper

One thing that's long been missing from Mount Vernon, in our humble opinion, is a good neighborhood Mexican joint. You can get pretty much everything else in this neighborhood: Thai, sushi, Ethiopian, burgers. So we were pleasantly surprised when someone told us about El Patron.
We were greeted and seated promptly in the airy and brightly painted dining room, ordered a couple of Negra Modelos, and browsed the lunch specials. The lunch menu is indeed cheap eats, with nothing priced above $7.50. To start, we had an order of tamales ($6.50), one with red sauce (which was spicy and crumbly) and one with green sauce (moister and sweeter). An order of chicken barbacoa ($7.50), grilled chicken with peppers and onions in a spicy barbecue sauce, and a tacos al carbon platter with chicken ($7.50) rounded out the meal. Both entrees were simple, but fresh and filling and with enough peppery spice to make it tingle. As we were leaving, the lone server reminded us that Cinco de Mayo was coming up soon and there would be food and margarita specials on the menu to celebrate. And we'll likely stop in for a drink and a bite to eat, because now that we ve found a Mexican establishment so nearby, we suspect we'll be there often.
See some more information here

Beautiful entrance on Charles Street

Another view with the Presbiteryan Church on the background

Looking north on Charles Street

The lobby with Emiliano Zapata, Jorge Negrete, and fine Mexican pottery

Entrance to the dining room with Maria Feliz and Pedro Infante on the wall

A view of the bar

A beautiful glass etching at the bar

A view of the dining room on the first floor

Another view of the dining room on the first floor

Yet another view of the dining room on the first floor

An original entry to another dining room

An excellent wine collection

The kitchen is something to behold