Monday, June 10, 2019

El Mariachi

I had never been to this place while it was Hacienda Isabel, but our family decided to come give this place a try under its new name.

The service was overall OK but a bit on the slow side given that it was only moderately busy.  We ordered a queso with our chips, which was fine.  The chips are slightly thicker than average--some say that makes them hard but these were crisp and good.  They serve their salsa warm.

We ordered a combination enchilada plate, the spinach enchiladas, and the La Bamba special platter.  I would say the enchiladas were fine--I don't have very discerning taste on those, and they seemed competently done.  The La Bamba platter was a little disappointing.

If you look at their menu you'll note that some of the fajita platters are served with the condiments (cheese, sour cream, guacamole etc) in dishes directly on the hot plate.  Those condiments are supposed to be cold, and they heat up quickly when served that way.  At best that reduces their contrast on the tortilla (warm guacamole is kind of gross), and the cheese becomes difficult to get out of the dish almost immediately.  Move the dishes off the hot plate as soon as they bring it if you can.

As for the contents of the La Bamba--the beef and chicken were average.  Beef kind of chewy, chicken just a touch dry, which is normal.  I thought the sausage would be something tasty, like a chorizo or a smoked sausage, but it was pretty much a hot dog.  I've had this in other Tex-Mex places, you would think I'd have learned.  The baloney flavor just doesn't compliment the rest of the items.  The shrimp were OK, a bit overdone but decently seasoned.  It really wasn't too bad, we ended up eating it all, just not great.

Ordinarily I'd order a dessert, but we were ready to leave and I didn't see it turning the meal around, so we'll assume their traditional desserts are OK as well.  I give them 3 stars because they are friendly folks and good corporate citizens, supporting good causes.  There are probably other things on the menu that are better (the ribeye tacos looked tempting).


My Yelp Review

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