I suppose I should have written this review a year ago, but after what happened this week, I knew I…read morehad to finally share it.
The first time I visited this restaurant last year, I was immediately impressed. The salsa was fantastic, and the quality and freshness of the ingredients in the spinach and mushroom quesadilla and chili rellenos really stood out to me. I went home and talked about the food so much that I was determined to bring my then-fiancé here so he could experience it for himself. We got married two months ago and for his birthday this week, the timing finally worked out--and, of course, everything was just as delicious as I remembered.
The food was wonderful, but what really stood out was the service. Our waitress was fantastic, and the other staff members continuously checked on us, chatted with us, and made us feel genuinely welcome. There is a warmth and friendliness to this restaurant that you can feel almost immediately. It feels less like you are simply eating at a restaurant and more like you are being welcomed into a community.
Then, in the middle of dinner, I realized I couldn't find my wedding ring. Because apparently, I enjoy adding a little excitement to an otherwise perfectly pleasant birthday dinner.
At first, I assumed I had left it at home or perhaps accidentally dropped it down the drain. It had been a little loose, so I was worried but figured there had to be a reasonable explanation. I still couldn't find it and even called the restaurant back to see if someone had found it. The next morning, however, I suddenly remembered exactly what had happened: I had dropped some salsa on my wedding ring during dinner. When I wiped it off with a napkin, the ring must have slipped off and gone into the napkins.
At this point, I had one thought, "Oh no, I know exactly where my wedding ring is and what I'm going to have to do to find it."
I called the restaurant, and they had already looked for it the night before. When I came in that morning, they let me search the restaurant myself. When I couldn't find it, I asked if I could look through the trash. I came prepared--with gloves, waterproof shoes, a mask, and extra trash bags--because I was fully prepared to dig through it myself. Basically, I looked like I was preparing for a very low-budget episode of Dirty Jobs: Wedding Edition. (If you're wondering where my husband is in all this, I'm super stubborn and left him while he was in the middle of getting ready to come with me because I didn't want him to dig through trash on his birthday.)
But George, the owner, and his daughter, Hilda, absolutely insisted that George would look for it instead.
So we went out to the dumpster, and George climbed in and began going through massive bags of trash filled with everyone's discarded food, napkins, and everything else from the night's dinner service. He went through one bag. Then another. Then a third.
By the third bag, we were getting close to accepting that the ring was simply gone.
And then we saw it.
MY WEDDING RING!
After three enormous bags of restaurant garbage, my tiny wedding band was sitting there like it had been on a bender and was finally ready to come home.
I was obviously thrilled to have my ring back, but honestly, that isn't even the part of this story that means the most to me. What I am most excited about is being able to tell people about the kind of people who own and work at this restaurant.
This is what genuine customer service looks like. More than that, it is genuine kindness.
There aren't many people who would willingly climb into a dumpster and dig through three enormous bags of garbage for someone else's tiny wedding band, especially when there was no guarantee we would ever find it. George and Hilda didn't have to do that. They could have simply let me look through the trash myself and wished me luck. Instead, they went completely out of their way to help me.
In a world where it can sometimes feel like the internet is determined to convince us that people are terrible, experiences like this remind me that there are still so many good people who will help someone simply because they can.
So yes, I am grateful to have my wedding ring back. But I am even more grateful to have a story about a restaurant owner who was willing to climb into a dumpster to help a customer find hers. I am incredibly grateful to George, Hilda, and everyone at this restaurant--not just for helping me find my ring, but for reminding me what a welcoming, caring community can look like.
That is the kind of place this is.
The food is delicious. The service is wonderful. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming. And apparently, if you accidentally throw your wedding ring away with your napkin, they will literally help you retrieve it from the depths of the dumpster.
I will absolutely continue coming here, and I will continue telling everyone I know to come here, too.
I just may be a little more careful with my wedding ring next time.