I don't make a habit out of giving a restaurant one star after a single visit but this time, I'll…read moremake an exception. I lived nearly half my life in Arizona and California, where they know how to make good Mexican food. The food at Habanero was the blandest Mexican food I have ever encountered.
Located in an industrial district, I wasn't too surprised when I pulled up after 7 one evening and it was fairly quiet. "Probably does most of its business during lunches," I thought.
The hostess greeted me quickly and, when I asked if they had a bar area, she ushered me to it and I took a seat at the bar. I should probably have taken a clue from the fact that dirty glasses were clustered at the end of the bar, and there were neither bartender nor other patrons in sight. The other dinner patrons were in the dining room.
Chips and salsa came quickly, followed by my bartender who took my order for a house Margarita, on the rocks. "Would you like salt or sugar with that?" should have been my second clue. Sugar? On a Margarita?
The chips needed salt, but fair enough. Lots of people are watching their salt, and that was easily remedied. The salsa, though, tasted more like pureed tomatoes, lacking any kind of discernable heat. Strike one.
The Margarita was also a disappointment: watery and weak. Though she poured the mix from a jug, it's not uncommon to prepare a large batch of mix early in the day and add tequila just before service, but that was not the issue here. Flavor and any punch from the tequila were conspicuously absent. Strike two.
For my solid food, I ordered a chili relleno, my litmus test of a good Mexican place.
While delivered quickly and piping hot temperature-wise, the sauce had an unusual sweetness to it while the poblano pepper had no. Heat. Whatsoever. Strike three.
When I stood up, signaling that I was ready to leave, the server simply said, "You're ready for your check?" My Margarita was only about one-third gone, and I'd only taken a few bites of my relleno. An astute restaurant professional would have noticed that very little had been eaten and would have asked if everything was all right. It wasn't, but they either didn't notice or knew not to ask.
A good four- or five-star experience - even after a single visit - will encourage repeat visits and a positive review will encourage others to try the establishment. A one-star experience, especially when it's the first visit, will not inspire the patron to give the place a second chance, and a review based on that single experience will likely have a chilling effect.
Sorry to be "that guy," but I won't be back.