• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Event Calendar
    • Submit Event
  • About Us
    • Our Contributors
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Arts & Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • On Screen Dayton
    • On Screen Dayton Reviews
    • Road Trippin’
      • Cincinnati
      • Columbus
      • Indianapolis
    • Spectator Sports
    • Street-Level Art
    • Visual Arts
  • Dayton Dining
    • DMM’s Brunch Guide
    • Restaurants with Private Dining Rooms
    • Dayton Food Trucks
    • Quest
    • Ten Questions
  • Dayton Music
    • Music Calendar
  • On Stage Dayton
    • On Stage Dayton Reviews
  • Active Living
    • Canoeing/Kayaking
    • Cycling
    • Hiking/Backpacking
    • Runners
  • How to Support Dayton Businesses, Nonprofits During COVID-19

Dayton Most Metro

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Elsa’s Enters 74th Summer

May 28, 2019 By The Food Adventures Crew Leave a Comment

Centerville Far Hills

Locally owned restaurant now serving out of 5 locations.

Most Daytonians know Elsa’s Mexican Cantina for eats and drinks.  Most do not know they have been around for nearly 3 quarters of a century.  That’s a lot of taco shells.

Miami Valley Residents love Elsa’s. What’s not to love?  Each location has a sports bar feel, typically a great patio, and the fun atmosphere make it seem like cinco de mayo every day.  It is also a GREAT place to catch baseball and football games.  It gets noisy sometimes, but hey it is part of he fun and alcohol..

 

HERE’S THE SKINNY on ELSA’s:

Frozen Blue Juan and Frozen Bad Juan Margarita

—In 1945, Elsa Bonner opened her restaurant.

—In 1979,  Elsa’s daughter sold it to 4 business men, 1 whom still owns it.  The menu is Americanized Mexican food, and sports bar favorites.  Full bar menu highlights include margaritas and Mexican Beers.

— In 2019, they are operating 5 strong locations, and is the consummate place for a happy hour gathering with friends.

Here are the locations:
Elsa’s East Restaurant & Cantina , Linden Ave., Dayton, Ohio
Elsa’s Kettering Sports Grill, E. Stroop, Dayton, Ohio
Elsa’s On The Border, Wilmington Ave., Dayton, Ohio
Elsa’s South Restaurant & Cantina, Far Hills Ave., Dayton, Ohio
Elsa’s Corner Cantina,  Wilmington Pike, Dayton, OH

 

Now- you’re at Elsa’s, what are you gonna order?

MUST EATS at ELSA’S MEXICAN CANTINA:

—THE BAD JUAN MARGARITA:
The first must eat is a “must drink.”  This is Dayton’s submission to the Margarita world.  Known for its potency the choice is frozen, or on the rocks.  You can also choose Strawberry among other flavors.  We remain purists here and say “Order a Regular Bad Juan, Frozen.”  Warning may cause blurred speech and bad decisions after two of them.

 

— QUESO BLANCO DIP:

You get free popcorn and chips and salsa, so just take a little more and go first class.  This white cheese dip is the sinful deliciousness you are used to.  It is the cheese hat remains hot and liquid and after a few minutes it takes a second to become solid.

—THE MINI-SUPER BURRITO:
 A flour tortilla filled with refried beans, and your choice of ground beef, shredded beef, chicken, chorizo, or pork carnitas.  We always go for the ground beef.  The burrito is topped with a mild sauce, lettuce, pico de gallo, and aged cheddar cheese.  It is the perfect size for a happy hour bite.

 

— CRUNCHY BEEF TACOS:
That greasy beef, with that crispy, crunchy shell.  The lettuce and cheese make it a deal.  Use the Big Ragu’s “fat kid trick,” and drizzle salsa over the top of the taco,before you take a bite.

— JAMAICA JERK CHICKEN WINGS:
These are some of the most outstanding wings in Dayton.  Same with the sweet BBQ sauce.  The only problem is you can no longer order them “well done.”  What the hell ?  Yes it is true, and that is a travesty and affects the wings.  Maybe if a glut of us order “well done” wings and complain, they will change the policy.  But for now, Elsa’s wont cook their wings well done.  But boy are those wings and especially those 2 sauces amazing.

 

— NACHOS
3 awesome must eat nachos:
1) GROUND BEEF AND CHEESE NACHOS

For the simple, pure nacho lover, ask for sour cream on the side.

2) NACHOS GRANDE DELUXE:
Shredded beef, chicken, refried beans and Monterrey jack cheese.  Lettuce , tomatoes, onions, black olives and jalapenos are added.  Ask for Sour Cream and Guacamole on the side.

3) FAJITA NACHOS:
Ground beef, bean and/or chicken nachos, topped with cheese, grilled onions and grilled peppers.

There you have it.  Our patented must eats.  This will get you where you wanna go fast on the large menu.

As we enter the 74th summer of Elsa’s in the Dayton area, we have 5 locations we can ponder visiting.  Now you may have discovered a couple of new “must eats.”  Good Luck at happy hour !

For more MUST EATS around Dayton – check out Food Adventures on Facebook by clicking HERE

Kettering Location

Centerville Location

Kettering

Beer

Tacos

BAD JUAN on the rocks

inside a mini super burrito

wings – jamaica jerk

Bad Juans

Nachos

Nachos

Beef and cheeses nachos

Tacos

Tacos

BBQ wings

Jamaica Jerk Wings

Feel free to browse the gallery below

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Food Adventures, The Featured Articles Tagged With: bad juan, Elsa's

About The Food Adventures Crew

We are 3 Dayton Foodies constantly seeking Food Adventures. We are Jackie Scanlan, Jessie Whitesell and The Big Ragu Steve Milano. Together, your humble crew will seek out locally owned restaurants, unique places off the beaten path, & even give our slant on some familiar favorites. Whenever we visit a place, we call it a “Food Adventure.” You can expect pictures of each Food Adventure we embark on. You can expect us hugging waiters, posting nostalgic blogs, giving healthy wholesome tips, and having a blast. We have a passion for life and no rules when it comes to tackling eats. We are not food critics, that is boring. We just love to eat!

Reader Interactions


Comments

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Featured Events

  • Wed
    14
  • Thu
    15
  • Fri
    16
  • Sat
    17
  • Sun
    18
  • Mon
    19
  • Tue
    20

One Day, One Dayton

| University of Dayton

Fairborn Food Truck Rally

3:00 pm | Main Street Commons

ALL YOU CAN EAT!

5:00 pm | Bullwinkle’s Top Hat Bistro

Trivia w/ DagaTrivia

6:00 pm | Eudora Brewing Company

Build-A-Brand Experience

6:00 pm | The House of (DE-FI)ance: A Fashion & Design Co-working Experience

Trivia Night

6:30 pm | Troll Pub at the Wheelhouse

Live Music with The Reatles

7:00 pm | Little York Tavern

Pozitive Attitudes

7:00 pm | Greater Dayton LGBT Center

Eudora Run Club

5:30 pm | Eudora Brewing Company

World Tour Wine Dinner

6:00 pm | Salar

LGBTQ Health Clinic

6:00 pm | Greater Dayton LGBT Center

The Adventure Color Gap: Diversity in the Great Outdoors

7:00 pm | Virtual Event

Bingo

8:00 pm | Trolley Stop

Xenia Food Truck Rallies

4:00 pm | Xenia Station

Taste of the Jewish Cultural Festival – Purim Edition

4:00 pm | Temple Israel

Destihl Tap Takeover

5:00 pm | Bunkers Bar & Grill

Reception for Art by Greg Alan Jankowski

7:00 pm | Virtual Event

Route 88

9:00 pm | Wings Sports Bar and Grille- Dixie

Tantric with Special Guests The Weekend Effect

8:00 am | Wings Sports Bar and Grille- Dixie

2nd Street Market – Outdoor Market Only

9:00 am | 2nd Street Market

Tree Seedling Giveaway

9:00 am | 2nd Street Market

Shred Day

10:00 am | Routsong Funeral Home, Inc.

Introducing…Mike Ousley and Egg Tempera

10:00 am | The 48 High Street Gallery

Spring Foraging Workshop

10:00 am | Agraria: Arthur Morgan Institute’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture

Market @ Mother’s

12:00 pm | Mother Stewart’s Brewing Co

ArBeer Day

2:00 pm | Devil Wind Brewing

Main Street Lebanon Chocolate Walk

4:00 pm | Downtown Lebanon

Spring Fling Community Dinner & Drive-In Movie

6:30 pm | Greater Dayton LGBT Center

See How They Run

7:30 pm | Sorg Opera House

Paris Flea Market

6:00 am | Dixie Twin Drive-In

3rd Sundays

11:00 am | Front Street Complex

Free Admission for Local Nurses

12:00 pm | The Dayton Art Institute

Brunch w/Luv Locz

1:00 pm | Cafe 1610

See How They Run

3:00 pm | Sorg Opera House

The Bandit of the Year

4:00 pm | Yellow Cab Tavern

25% Off Pizza Monday

11:30 am | Oregon Express

CET/ThinkTV Auction Closes Today

4:30 pm | online event

HVO Pierogi & Kolachi Workshops

6:30 pm | Hidden Valley Orchards

LGBT AA group

7:00 pm | Greater Dayton LGBT Center

$6 Movie Day

| The Neon

Spaghetti Dinner

5:00 pm | Trolley Stop

Luv Locz debut album release “Honey & Sage” 4/20 Party

6:30 pm | The Brightside Event & Music Venue

Live Trivia- In Person or Virtually

7:00 pm | Star City Brewing Company

Open Mic

7:00 pm | Applebee’s – Sugarcreek

Music Bingo

7:00 pm | Wings Sports Bar & Grille Beavercreek

More Events…

DMM E-Newsletter


Give us your email address and we'll send you our DMM E-Newsletters
Email:  
For Email Marketing you can trust
Back to Top

Copyright © 2021 Dayton Most Metro · Terms & Conditions · Log in