Piñata's is an "easy" Mexican restaurant.

The food is not exotic. It fits what can only be described as "family" tastes. You know instinctively the pitch they're about to throw. Yet, Piñata's meets any and all expectations. It looks good, smells good and tastes good. It may not challenge, but it meets the obstacles it faces with solid fare and an excellent wait staff.

The restaurant sits in the back of a King Soopers shopping center at the corner of Coal Mine Avenue and South Pierce Street in what used to be a family pizza place. It's comfortable with a selection of booths and tables, over which hang an amazing assortment of piñatas, hence the name. The place is always packed.

It has a huge menu that covers just about anything anybody could ever want. There's a single entree menu and a combination plate menu, a salad menu and a kid's menu, sections for those who are looking for heart smart or plain American, a la carte or appetizers. Pick it, name it, they've got it.

Take nachos, for instance. Even with the small plate of Nachos Fiesta ($5.50/$7.25), you're given a huge mound of chips with the toppings woven through the plate: refritos, shredded beef or chicken, cheddar, pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, green chili sauce and jalapeños. The spices may be mild -- you've got to look to find a real "bite" here -- but every chip has something new. The kitchen didn't skimp on any portion of the plate.

There's also a basic nachos plate (jalapeños and cheddar) with either refries ($3.95); ground beef, shredded beef or chicken ($5.50); or refries with beef or chicken ($4.50). Not bad, but go full boat.

I'm not sure why, but they seem fascinated by spinach here. There's a spinach and cheese quesadilla appetizer ($4.50), as well as a super spinach soft taco plate ($5.25) with grilled spinach, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, grated cheddar, olives and peppers in warm tortillas. Sour cream is served on the side.

There's enough spinach here to enable you to take Bluto in a fair fight. In a way it's almost too much, nearly a solid inch of spinach in the bottom of your taco. You've got to like the green stuff. But, then again, it was different. It was good. It had a truly fresh taste I didn't expect. And, I felt like I ate very healthy.

The Mile High Garden Burrito ($5.95) is also loaded with spinach. It's everywhere, I tell you!

Speaking of greens, there are a number of interesting salads, from the standard chef's salad ($6.95) to the other standard fajita salad ($7.25).

The fajita salad with chicken again features what you'd expect, although I found the fajita spices to be very subtle, almost to the point of disappearing. The chicken is not bland, but it doesn't reach out and tag you, either. It's just salty enough to win you over.

I also liked the "chilly" Mexican salad ($5.50) with turkey or ham, guacamole, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes wrapped in a flour tortilla and then covered with salsa. It's a different idea for me, one I haven't encountered before outside sandwich wraps.

Like the nachos, the incredible taco salad bowl ($4.75/$6.75) was simply overwhelming. There was lettuce, ground beef, chicken or shredded beef, black olives, cheddar, tomatoes, beans, green chilis and crushed corn chips all stuffed into an edible taco shell bowl with guacamole and sour cream on the side.

The kitchen has a solid grip on the entree menu, with a number of standard items again all done well. However, keep in mind that what may be listed as "hot" would be "medium/mild" anywhere else. Still, the tastes blend well and there is a lot to be had here for everyone in the family.

The chili relleño platter ($6.50) comes with two fried relleños smothered green, rice and refritos. The relleños were very good, with more bite the higher you went on the chili. The rice was bland to the point of disappearing on the plate, but the refries were excellent.

The fajitas ($10.50) give you a choice of beef or chicken. There's not a lot of sauteed onions, peppers and tomatos to add to your tortilla wrap, which is a disappointment. But cheddar cheese, shredded iceberg, pico de gallo, sour cream and refries are served on the side. Again, the spice was evident but merely for flavoring. It took the chicken beyond bland, but not by much.

The Piñata's Perfect Burrito ($6.95) pretty much is perfect, with beef, refries and sour cream in a tortilla, smothered green, topped with cheddar cheese and then baked. Lettuce, tomatoes and more sour cream dot the sides. It's a good-looking plate and your cardiologist recommends you have one today. He's got another payment to make on the Boxster.

There are a number of large portion items, too, including The Colossal ($10.95), a huge tortilla baked with beef or chicken, refries, and hot peppers. Cheese, lettuce, olives, onions and guac are served on the side. The thing looks like a cannon shell. But -- no foolin' here -- I saw a 10-year-old boy put one away in about six bites. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

Brother, did I need another margarita ($3.95/$4.95) after that one. ...