An unbelievably terrible meal ...
We took a family of four here after seeing the 4 star reviews. I rarely post reviews, but this experience was so comically bad, that others need to be aware of what they're potentially getting into.
There were two large parties in the restaurant, so expected service to be somewhat slow, however after seating - with a view of the kitchen, I didn't expect to see the servers standing around, which they were. Other than these two large tables, the place was essentially empty, so they were by no means slammed that night.
We started with chips and salsa (which are $2.50 - normally complimentary in the rest of the civilized world). At most Mexican restaurants, the server would bring out two salsa cups for four people. Here? Nope - one half-filled cup that lasted about 30 seconds before being emptied. When I finally flagged down a server for more, he dropped some more chips on the table and ignored the salsa. It took flagging down yet another server to get a salsa cup refill - again, only about 1/2 full.
A total deal-breaker? Not really, but the adventure was only just beginning. I ordered a burrito smothered with green chile, my wife the chicken enchiladas, and my kids a cheese quesadilla with pico on the inside, and a hamburger for the other one.
The food took an abnormally long time to arrive especially as I could see the wait staff lounging in the kitchen. Cook staff undermanned? Perhaps. But by the time the food finally arrived, my burrito was lukewarm (so much for that theory that the cook staff couldn't turn out dishes). My wife's chicken enchilada plate was missing refried beans, and my daughter's quesadilla was missing the pico de gallo that was supposed to be in it. Also, we then realized that we had no silverware. So, after chasing down yet another server (we're on server #3 by this time), they brought three sets of silverware ... for four people. Chase down a server one more time for a fourth set. Speaking of the 3rd server, he may have been the owner, but he was wearing sweats and had a toothpick in his mouth. Classy.
On to the meal ... courageously: The by-now lukecold burrito wasn't half-bad, except for its rapidly-progressing-to-room-temperature character. One more complaint got my daughter some pico on the side for her quesadilla. My wife asked about the refried beans, and was told 'they ran out in the kitchen'. My son took about three bites of his hamburger and lost his appetite.
At this point, the original server come over to the table after a lengthy hiatus, probably in an effort to salvage his rapidly-diminishing tip. He asks my wife if she'd like a side of refried beans now. So ... somebody's lying about the beans, are there any in the kitchen or not? Her meal is done, she didn't need a refried bean chaser. We cut into the now-abandoned hamburger and discover that the inside is totally raw! Not pink-in-the-middle rare, but barely-singed on the outside and barely-unfrozen on the inside raw. Wonderful. All aboard the E. Coli Express!
We get the hamburger pulled from the bill, and just want to pay out and leave. Nothing else was offered other than a sheepish, 'sorry ...'. For the first time in probably 20 years, I leave no tip. I NEVER do this - but this was actually a worthy exception to that rule. We pay the bill and get on our way only for me to discover the coup de grace a day later: The bill was brought for me to sign, but my credit card never came back, and in our haste to escape from this culinary prison, I didn't notice until 24 hours later ... from the wrong side of Berthoud Pass.
So, if you find yourself even contemplating a meal at this dump, do yourself a favor, do a quick 180, and go over to Safeway for a balogna sandwich. It'd be cheaper and infinitely more satisfying.
Hands down the worst meal I've had in nearly 20 years. read more