I ordered tacos today

[Frylock]

@JpnDude

Here in Tokyo we have very few “Mexican” restaurants. Almost all are of the Tex-Mex variety. The past couple of times I have gone to an “El Torito” location, I’ve been served flour tortillas that were cold to the touch. It seemed like they were warmed up and left to cool down. I asked the waitress why the tortillas were cold and she said, “Traditionally, that is how they are served in Mexico.” My reaction was, “uhmmm what?” I told her that growing up (I’m part Mexican) and in my numerous visits to Mexico, we never had cold tortillas for a regular meal. She said, “Oh really, I didn’t know that. I’m sorry, we’ll warm them up.”

If you’re ever in Nagoya, go to Desperados.

It’s incredible.

I’ve been back in the US for over ten years now and I still crave Desperados tex-mex.

(Once took our Australian pals there, and they ordered the “fajitas.” I put that in quotes because they pronounced it with the a from cat and the j from jack. Emphasis on the first syllable.

Our other friend ordered the “ahnchiladas.”)

[Fear_Itself]

@Frylock

Exactly the same thing happened to my wife!.

I didn’t believe her at first, then I tried some and–absolutely. Brown gravy!

Wtf? Where are you? Is this regional? (I’m in Indianapolis. A Texan going for Mexican in Indianapolis is… feeling much trepidation…)

New Hampshire. Good Mexican is a challenge. Locals usually don’t venture beyond pizza, subs and steak tips.

[Hippy_Hollow]

Not exactly the same thing, but about 15 years ago I went to two separate Whataburgers in the span of a month and received burgers without meat in them - everything, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, mustard - but no meat patty.

The first time I called the restaurant and the manager apologized and promised to make it right on my next visit. The second time, I turned right back around and went through the drive through. The Whataburger dude then had the nerve to ask me if the patty slid out. Where, precisely, would it slide?

@mnemosyne

Until you mentioned your location I thought perhaps you’d been to a place my sister orders from. She’s a vegetarian who orders from regular fast-food places. She’s trained workers at dozens of McDonald’s across the country to make her Double Big Macs…no meat. She pretty much always gets what she asks for!

So did she get some kind of meat substitute, or was it just buns, special sauce, cheese?

[MadTheSwine]

@Hippy_Hollow

Not exactly the same thing, but about 15 years ago I went to two separate Whataburgers in the span of a month and received burgers without meat in them - everything, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, mustard - but no meat patty.

The first time I called the restaurant and the manager apologized and promised to make it right on my next visit. The second time, I turned right back around and went through the drive through. The Whataburger dude then had the nerve to ask me if the patty slid out. Where, precisely, would it slide?

So did she get some kind of meat substitute, or was it just buns, special sauce, cheese?

I clicked on you to see if you lived in Austin

[Lacunae_Matata]

@John_DiFool

There’s a local Middle-Eastern cafe that I go to 1-2 times a month, which serves some pretty good riders and such, and their fries are good too. During the lunch hour I called to preorder for pickup, only to find that fries weren’t available that day, and I wondered just how could you possibly pull that off (all you need are some potatoes and a fry slicer, and there’s a grocery store right across the street).

Similar WTH moment for me: a while back, we stopped off the interstate for a meal at Ruby Tuesday. (Shut up. I love the salad bar. Especially the croutons.) The restaurant was out of catsup, straws, paper napkins, and something else really basic, maybe Italian dressing. The eyebrow raising part? Said restaurant was located smack dab between a Super Walmart and a Sam’s.

[sparky_1]

@Fear_Itself

New Hampshire. Good Mexican is a challenge. Locals usually don’t venture beyond pizza, subs and steak tips.

There is a good Mexican place in Manchester that never lets down. You close by?

[Fear_Itself]

@sparky_1

There is a good Mexican place in Manchester that never lets down. You close by?

Not far. I go there about once a month; where is it?

[sparky_1]

@Fear_Itself

Not far. I go there about once a month; where is it?

Consuelo’s Taqueria on Amherst Street across from the Court House.

Just had lunch there on Saturday.

[mnemosyne]

@Hippy_Hollow

So did she get some kind of meat substitute, or was it just buns, special sauce, cheese?

Buns, special sauce and cheese. She gets two, with one as a combo with fries and a drink. It was her favourite 2am meal during vet school!

[Acsenray]

@John_DiFool

There’s a local Middle-Eastern cafe that I go to 1-2 times a month, which serves some pretty good riders and such, and their fries are good too. During the lunch hour I called to preorder for pickup, only to find that fries weren’t available that day, and I wondered just how could you possibly pull that off (all you need are some potatoes and a fry slicer, and there’s a grocery store right across the street).

@Lacunae_Matata

Similar WTH moment for me: a while back, we stopped off the interstate for a meal at Ruby Tuesday. (Shut up. I love the salad bar. Especially the croutons.) The restaurant was out of catsup, straws, paper napkins, and something else really basic, maybe Italian dressing. The eyebrow raising part? Said restaurant was located smack dab between a Super Walmart and a Sam’s.

I believe that most restaurants, especially chains and franchises, are very strict about sourcing raw ingredients. Their cost structures and contracts prevent them from just going to the nearest market when they run out of something.

[Red_Stilettos]

When I was in high school, I was out with a bunch of my guy friends. I got completely overruled and we ended up at Hooters for dinner. We sat down and were promptly informed by our under-dressed waitress that they were out of wings. An entire shipment went bad. :eek:

[billfish678]

@Red_Stilettos

We sat down and were promptly informed by our under-dressed waitress that they were out of wings. An entire shipment went bad. :eek:

Both of em?!

[6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast]

@John_DiFool

There’s a local Middle-Eastern cafe that I go to 1-2 times a month, which serves some pretty good riders and such, and their fries are good too. During the lunch hour I called to preorder for pickup, only to find that fries weren’t available that day, and I wondered just how could you possibly pull that off (all you need are some potatoes and a fry slicer, and there’s a grocery store right across the street).

I once ordered a soda lime & bitters in a pub in the Northern Territory.
“Sorry. Can’t do it,” came the response.
“What are you out of?” I asked, figuring I could substitute something.
“*Cups. 'til next week.”

*A classy establishment. They used plastic cups, not glasses. Luckily, I had my own. Disaster averted.

[waterj2]

@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast

I once ordered a soda lime & bitters in a pub in the Northern Territory.
“Sorry. Can’t do it,” came the response.
“What are you out of?” I asked, figuring I could substitute something.
“*Cups. 'til next week.”

*A classy establishment. They used plastic cups, not glasses. Luckily, I had my own. Disaster averted.

Hah. I once had to wait for a bartender to purchase ice nearby to make me a gin and tonic. A real classy establishment, they were shut down a year later for selling Oxycontin, among other things.

[amanset]

@sparky_1

I once ordered an itlian sub at D’Angelos: lettuce, onion and mayo. I got lettuce, onion and ketchup. Who the hell puts ketchup on an italian sub?!

A Swede quite possibly would. They will put ketchup on anything, especially if it is Italian. I’ve seen many, many times ketchup being put on the likes of lasagne and bolognese, with the justification being “it is a tomato sauce that I am adding another tomato sauce to”. And this isn’t all in my head, I read an interview with a chef in a newspaper once going crazy about the people that demand ketchup in his restaurant.

@Hippy_Hollow

So did she get some kind of meat substitute, or was it just buns, special sauce, cheese?

As a student I worked in McDonalds and would occasionally get asked to make one. I’d basically throw a bit of everything in: bun, sauce, onions (I think I used regular ones), lettuce, pickles, cheese, maybe some tomato if another item required them meaning we had them available …

We charged the price of a regular cheeseburger.

[The_Universe_Lashes_Out]

@Chimera

Supervisor tells the girl to make three more and that they’re coming out of her pay.

Supervisor being a dick about an innocent mistake would have pissed me off a lot more than missing some cheese on my tacos. Isn’t it his job to teach his employees how to make the tacos in the first place? Threatening to take money out of someone’s paycheck (which I hope is not actually legal) is about as low as you can get.

[JpnDude]

@Frylock

If you’re ever in Nagoya, go to Desperados.

Thanks a lot. I’ve been going to Nagoya on business for over 10 years. I’ll check this place on my next visit in November.

[Alessan]

@Acsenray

I believe that most restaurants, especially chains and franchises, are very strict about sourcing raw ingredients. Their cost structures and contracts prevent them from just going to the nearest market when they run out of something.

My wife used to work in the kitchen of a very upscale Manhattan restaurant, and she couldn’t tell you how many times she would have to run out to the bodega across the street to buy, say, strawberries, because Gene Simmons *really *wanted strawberries and cream for dessert.

[Incubus]

Funny that you mentioned tacos. Once I started dating my [mexian] fiancee, she introduced me to real mexican food, not the tex-mex stuff you get at chain restaurants.

Its quite good, one thing I noticed is that it tends to be spicier, saltier, overall more flavorful. Compared to the food she grew up on, the food that my family makes is quite bland to her palate.

But the real deal tacos are awesome, and now I like them more than the ‘crunchy’ kind most places have. They have a simple forumula for much of their cooking: Salt, lime juice, chile.

Need a marinade for meat? Salt, lime juice, chile.

Something to zazz up your soup? Salt, lime juice, chile.

Beer too boring? Salt, lime juice, chile :eek:

[aruvqan]

Our roomie smokes and has for probably 40+ years. Her taste buds are dead. She makes stuff ‘mild’ and it about lights my nose hairs. Her favorite deal is to use those spice blends like Mrs Dash chipotle crap mixed with the extra spicy and liberally douse everything. My training is classical french, and I was taught to make more level subtle blends that let the flavors of the food be more emphasized. Whamming me in the head with a capsicum brick is not a way to get me to enjoy my food. More spice/herb ingredients is not better.

@Incubus

Its quite good, one thing I noticed is that it tends to be spicier, saltier, overall more flavorful. Compared to the food she grew up on, the food that my family makes is quite bland to her palate.