France C.
Yelp
In a nutshell:
It's the premiere Mexican restaurant for Hells Kitchen homofriends and their allies to hangout, with a consistently middle-of-the-road service level.
THE GOOD
At this point, consistently dining out to all types of restaurants in NYC, is that #PartyOfOne almost ALWAYS get a chair. So I suppose that I will need to stop to mentioning this as something worth mentioning unless is Madison 5 or some other hard-to-get restaurant. Alas, I DO appreciate being recognized here by some of the staff... WHY do I never luck out on waiters...
THE WORST
I REALLY WANT TO LIKE this restaurant because I enjoy their margarita flavors and, although with a limited Vegan range (please note that beans have pork on it, if you are Vegan avoid them) their vegetarian dishes are typically good.
The part where typically goes low is in the service. Understandably large groups would demand more attention, but being busy or being slow the waiters I get have 0 knowledge on how to really be great at what they do, so larger tips would normally follow. The one I had took my order, another person delivers the food which has a far friendlier demeanor and would rather continue to deal with than my waiter. As is standard here, dishes are not seasoned so one has to ask for salt with the hopes it brings the food to live... That vegetables chimichanga had the texture of canned vegetables and its bland color didn't add to the overall culinary experience. I suppose that, if I were able to eat the beans they served with it, all the flavors together would tie better but still... that filling was just sad. The coconut flavored frozen margarita in such gargantuan size makes me and the rest of the neighborhood very very happy and reason this is a 3 and not a 2 stars review.
THE BEST
In a similar fashion than at other popular American food restaurant I've reviewed recently, it is the OTHER people at the restaurant (including HOT waiters I wish I get next time, WINK WINK) that actually makes a rather typical diner into a fun, pleasurable dining experience.
I'm really bad with names, but I appreciate the host and the manager smiles and always upbeat demeanor. Little talk with your clients, making them feel acknowledged as you've been there before and appreciative of it that, under other circumstances would had merit a 5 stars review.
THE BAD
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