Jonathan R.
Yelp
Horrible experience
Unhealthy, extraordinarily greasy "food"
Low grade ingredients
Dirty
Upon walking in today, at 4:30 pm, the place was barely 1/4 occupied. I'm greeted by this early 20 year old male wearing shorts and a hoodie, as though he just left the gym. No restaurant attire, no name tag, and rude, oh so rude. I'm supposed to know that he works for the restaurant. He's conveying this smug "you don't belong here" attitude, one of rejection. I'm a party of 1. Imagine that, no 15 relatives or noisy babies. He walks me all of the way through the empty dining room, past 20 tables and into this horribly tacky bar and to a dirty, rickety high-top bar table. The air is musty and smells. Bad lighting and of course, booze bottles everywhere. Boy it's dirty and hasn't been remodeled since the Alamo. I just want to bring in a cleaning crew and dismantle the whole room.
Here's the fun part. To get there, we literally pass under a sign at the doorway of the bar that says "Jaime's Cantina." I politely tell him that I don't want to sit in the bar. And he has the audacity to tell me "oh, that's not in the bar." Unless he's that poorly educated, and doesn't know Spanish. A Mexican cantina is a bar. Out of disgust, he insults me quietly to another early 20's pseudo Caucasian male with a crazy haircut from the circus. I'm supposed to feel real good now. As an aside, They've positioned these rubber floor mats right in the entryway serving as a trip hazard for the public. Bizarre.
Finally, I'm seated and the service is back to normal. Waitress is nice. The table has a little bit of food on it from the last party. Oh well. It's a Mexican restaurant in the old part of the city. So we can't say anything. It's just coooool.
But oh my, the grease! From the enchilada to the chile relleno to the beans, everything is immersed in grease. So it's unhealthy and any other style of food, we'd make a scene about this level of rampant, grease, salt and cheap, unhealthy ingredients. But this one cuisine? It always gets a pass for some reason.
The enchilada was tasty but basic. The tortilla chips? Poor tasting. The salsa, fresh but bland. The chile relleno? So greasy that even trying to eat this proves an exercise tantamount to overcoming your own self preservation instincts. I asked the server if they could bring Tabasco. It was as though she'd never heard of it. They literally lack hot sauce.
After paying and leaving this place, I couldn't help but note another 20 something military aged male carrying a box measuring 10"x6"x6" or so. What is it? "Artificial butter flavored oil." Needless to say, this is, at best, margarine. I've felt sick all evening following my visit to this truly greasy meal. My advice: if you get the hankering for Mexican food? Go to Whole Foods and buy an Amy's frozen cheese enchilada. It's tastier, fresher, far more healthy, cheaper and best of all, you don't get snubbed or lied to by a kid or forced to sit in a non-bar bar.