Date Night “dines with the dead” on the Westside, and it’s not Halloween. Tonight’s destination is the Bone Garden Cantina. It’s hard to find, unless you look for this guy.

He will point you in the right direction to the restaurant. There’s a sign, but it’s small and easy to drive by, which we did on our first attempt.

You can eat outside on the patio…

Or you can eat inside with the skeletons. As you can see, the skeleton is the main theme for tonight’s meal. There is more to come.

It rained earlier in the day, which makes it a nice night for the patio. We are joined tonight by Shawna and Joel, who are making their second Date Night appearance. They live right down the street and are Bone Garden regulars.

Shawna gets a Cantina Rita, which is just tequila and some lime juice. None of that wimpy margarita mix in here. It’s nice and strong.

There’s pomegranate in Joel’s margarita. Therefore, it must be good for you. Cheers.

There’s a section on the beer menu labeled “Mexican Craft Beer”. That’s original and we are intrigued. We decide on a Immortal Beloved Hefewiezen and a Pay the Ferryman Porter. The skeletons on the bottle and the Laughing Skull glass are bonuses. (Laughing Skull is the only beer on tap here.) As for the beer, it’s “crafty”, not “craft” beer. It’s pretty good, but it turns out it’s made by Tecate, the Mexican beer giant. Sometimes you have to read the fine print on the bottles.

There are a lot of choices on the menu and it’s really hard to pick. I guess that’s so you come back again. You can choose from burritos, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and empanadas. There’s something for everyone on the menu. The chips are $2 a basket. We start with those and forget to photograph them. Is it better to have to pay for chips or is it better to get them for free and eat way too many with your meal? Ah, the quandaries we must endure during Date Night.

Shawna orders two tacos, one with beef barbacoa (brisket) and the other with carne adobo (steak). The rice and beans come from the sides menu. I didn’t get to taste, but these look great. They must be good as there are no leftovers.

Joel’s pollo barbacoa quesadilla looks awesome. There’s lots of cheese with the chicken as well as avocado and sour cream. Looking back on the food cam pictures, I may be having buyers remorse that I didn’t get a quesadilla.

Eve gets a quesadilla as well. This one is the adobo steak with onions and cheese. This is the second version of her meal as she had to send back her first one, which was ordered with no peppers, but came with no onions instead.

Check out the side dish she orders, the elote. Grilled corn is covered with mayonnaise, queso and chili powder. Mayonnaise on corn? It’s a first for us, and it’s really good. Just don’t think about taking a perfectly healthy piece of corn and covering it with mayo.

I get a daily special, the Pork Tinga Torta. It’s a Mexican barbecue sandwich. The pork comes with avocado and cheese on the bun. It’s enjoyable, but it doesn’t seem very Mexican. My fault. I should have gone with a burrito or a quesadilla.

No dessert for us tonight as we are too full, but Eve has been messing around with what we call “Momsicles” at home. We polish off a couple of these when we get home. They are full of fresh fruit and have no sugar. Just as good as King of Pops, and lots cheaper!

The bottom line on Bone Garden Cantina: It’s good food, and it’s fun. We can see why Shawna and Joel hang out here. And you must come here during Halloween week for a celebration of the “Day of the Dead”. When we leave around 8PM, there is a 45-minute wait for a table. They are stacked three-deep at the bar and there are people waiting outside to be seated. Things are alive at the Bone Garden. If they keep packing them in like this, it will be a long time before this place “walks with the dead”.