I went to lunch at this newly opened (eight days) Mexican restaurant in the second strip mall area down on Lake Mary Blvd (next to Wich Wich and Ale House) this Wednesday. It looks like it would be a chain even though they say they are only the second location. They have a large menu and I think tequila is their thing. The menu may be too large to ensure excellence. Plastic menus should always be a warning. And not just for the germs they will spread. The food was, however, acceptable. It looked like they were drawing from the Jimmy Hula's crowd. I always forget that that isn't a Hawaiin place.
It seats about sixty on the right side and fifty on the left. It has a buffet feel. The place was pretty packed with cackling office assistants and guys who can get away with wearing a golf shirt to work. You can get a lunch special for less than you can get an item at Chipotle. I went a little upscale and had a rice bowl with shrimp for $8 and a chicken taco for $2.25. I was scared the rice bowl wouldn't be enough. Boy was I wrong. It was a large, deep, white, modern elliptical shaped bowl filled with white rice, black beans, salsa-esque veg, corn (I think) fresh avocado and around five medium shrimp (cut up). The shrimp were a little mushy (defrosted) at the edges, but, I wasn't expecting more and I think you need to catch them yourselves these days to get a fresh one. My stomach was still acting weird (I think I isolated the culprit to be these Duke's Small Batch Smoked Meats that I had bought for my trip to Brazil), so, I only ate half the bowl (full and didn't want to risk an outbreak while away from salvation). It would have been alot (especially after the taco) anyhow. The rice seemed to be of a longer grain than the usual white rice. I'm not a rice bowl guy. It seems alien to order this sort of thing in a non-Asian environment. It was fine though. The taco was large. I didn't like their brand of cheese. It was very pasty and soft. The flavor was unappealing too. The rest was ok. Alot of chicken that almost tasted boiled (no flavor or color). It was all white meat. The free salsa and chips were ok. Flavorless, Heatless salsa. The chips could have been store bought or homemade. Hard to tell. And that seems to be the pattern. Alot of marginal food. Like I said, I blame the extensive menu for the mediocrity. If that big steroid monster on TV came to "fix" this restaurant, he would start by eliminating half the items. Maybe that is why you would like the place. I would if they could handle it all. They had "sexy" things like ceviche and street tacos and non-fish tank fish. Huevos Rancheros and all the usual suspects too. But, the restaurant is too big (capacity) for more than an assembly line, pre-prepped operational set up to work. I have a feeling that even if they have/take the time in the less stressed environments that the food wouldn't be any better because they have set up their procedures for when it is stressed. I hope I am wrong. The place is a little generic looking. They have some big murals that let you know it is a Mexican place. Ads for popular brands. One says. Hecho en (is that right?) Mexico. I don't like clutter, but, it needs a little more atmosphere. The seats and booths are non-descript. Service was fast (frighteningly fast) and conscientious. There were alot of them (added to the buffet atmosphere though). They refilled my drink when it was only half empty and the meal was only half over. The check came fast. A value play for now.
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