Tom C.
Yelp
The first couple of times I drove by and noticed their new sign, I thought it sounded like a melanated BBQ joint. Not interesting at all to me. Then, their ad showed up on social media. It said something about the restaurant being a love letter to Tex-Mex food. Ok, you got me. I'm in (even though there's a Los Tios 3 blocks east of there and an El Tiempo 1 block north). No real need for another Tex-Mex restaurant in the neighborhood. But, it's new, I'll try it.
Big clean restaurant that looks like it doubles as a Latin night club. It's in the former space that used to be Yao Ming's Chinese restaurant.
The servers had no idea what they were doing. We ordered 2 ice waters, 1 iced tea, and 1 margarita. 1 water and 1 tea was served 5 minutes later. Margarita arrived after 15 minutes. My ice water showed up in 20 minutes. Silverware and napkins 30 minutes into the visit.
The house frozen margarita was awful. Very sour with one shot of the cheapest tequila available. I had to laugh as it came with an umbrella and a cherry. The umbrella must have been left over from the Chinese restaurant that used to be there.
Chips and salsas reminded me of Brenda's (that's not a compliment). Tacos al Carbon - tortilla thick (interesting), beef tasted like cheap quality and not seasoned or marinated (it really needed it).
2 really weird things here: 1.) Queso had no flavor at all. How do you screw up queso? 2.) Cup of charro beans was just soup. I only counted 4 actual beans! I've never seen this anywhere. There was actually a little cut up hotdog weiner like someone threw in a can of franks 'n beans into the pot. I guess the beans sunk to the bottom? This is some real amateur hour stuff.
Spanish rice was very bland. I guess they don't have any spices in the kitchen? Guacamole was ok. Chicken flautas were ok.
Not going back. If you're in the area and want Tex-Mex, try El Tiempo or Los Tios. El Tiempo for fajitas. Los Tios for tacos, burgers, and margaritas. If you want food that is more authentic Mexican than Tex-Mex, try La Tapatia.
