Since it was his first visit to the restaurant, he probably had no idea what they were known for or what their strengths or house specialties were.
Aaaaah, I feel so vindicated by the few people here who can corroborate my assertion.
@ TheChieanBlob I forgot to mention the salsa - same thing here, nearly identical from place to place
@longahair75 I tried Howard’s and yes, it is different than the others. Have not tried Nettie’s but have heard it was good. I think that is the place that is a house?
In Omaha I like Guaca Maya, Los Portales, and basically everything I’ve tried on S 24th St.
I would like to reiterate, I don’t at all hate these cookie cutter restaurants. They are rarely my first choice but they are not nearly as bad as you might think.
So thanks to the few people here who know what I’m talking about. I feel a little less like raving conspiracy theorist now. Or do you think maybe we have uncovered something more sinister than a turnkey cook by numbers Mexican restaurant franchise system? Either way I think that I’ll celebrate with a Dos Equis.
Oh yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about. No idea what the poster who said that Madison didn’t have any of these - what, you’ve never been to Laredo’s? *Everyone’s *been to Laredo’s. Here in Minneapolis we’ve got Old Mexico, El Loro’s, El Toro’s, Acapulco - the list goes on. No, they’re not the best Mexican restaurants in the area, not even close. But for middle of the road, they’re not bad. I think they’re rather banking on the same thing the fast food restaurants are: you always know what you’re gonna get. And in my area anyway, they’re also frequented by a number of Latinos. I take that to mean that they’re not bad.
Of course not. That’s why one asks. Either the family who recommended it, or the waitstaff. If I’m at an unfamiliar restaurant, that’s generally what I do.
ETA: And many menus have a section that lists their specialities separately. It appears La Fuente (PDF file) is one of those.
Seriously, that’s the name of a restaurant?
Not me. But it’s been about two decades since I ate Mexican food there, so hey.
I knew better than to eat Mexican food when I lived in Minneapolis. 
Great Ethiopian, though.
I was going to comment that you described the local Mexican restaurant scene to a tee here. Then I read this post. I also live in Des Moines. LOL
All generalizations with regard to Mexican restaurants are flawed. There are areas where few Mexican restaurants are good, but even there some are pretty good. There are areas where nearly all Mexican restaurants are very good, but even there some aren’t good at all. I think people should be reluctant to make a statement about the relative quality of Mexican restaurants in two areas unless they have tried dozens and dozens of such restaurants (and tried them fairly recently) in both areas.
The same is true for other cuisines. You can be convinced that every Chinese restaurant in some area is poor. Then one day you go to disreputable-looking one in a crummy shopping center and discover that it’s as good as any you ever tried. This means that Peter Chang has moved to your area and become the chef at some hole-in-the-wall restaurant:
Well said Wendell Wagner
Like Chicago. The area near midway airport has a big mexican population and some of the best mexican food I’ve eaten in my life. None of the places I’ve been to there was anything like what the OP has described and even tiny little places picked at random were awesome (Zaca Taco is highly recommended). Simple but well made and delicious food.
I live a couple miles down the street from Zacatacos. It is, indeed awesome, especially the smaller location on 59th and Pulaski. A mile and change north is perhaps the best birria (goat) in the city at Zaragoza’s on 49th and Pulaski. Short menu, awesome goat, fresh handmade tortillas that may be the best in the city.
I’ve never seen this either. That one might be a deal-breaker for me. Some of the OP’s other cliches I’ve experienced, but rather than a “conspiracy” or weird group mind-think hypothesis, it could be that there are consultant-designed formulas and wholesalers whose ideas and food can be readily purchased by those seeking to open restaurants.
I do not think that the presence of authentic Mexicans/Mexican-Americans in the place signifies that the food is good and/or authentic, any more than if you see truckers frequenting a restaurant it means the food is good. Our local Mexican hangout has pretty good food, friendly staff and they keep the chips coming (plus there are often Hispanics eating there), but I think there is a Speedy Gonzales on the lunch menu. Undoubtedly it is considerably different from the average restaurant you might find in a small Mexican city, but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s better or worse.
Related question: Does the Chipotle chain have that minimalist unfriendly decor as a deliberate means of discouraging sit-down lunches? It certainly doesn’t promote the idea of lingering over your food.
I have a vague memory of Mexican places that for someone’s birthday will have the waiters sing some song and then place a cheap sombrero on the birthday person’s head.
In any case, go back to the conditions stated in the OP:
> 1) Each restaurant has a lunch menu selection called the Speedy Gonzales. The
> Speedy Gonzales always consists of a taco, an enchilada, and rice or beans.
>
> 2) Each restaurant also has on it’s menu an eponymous dinner, for example; La
> Hacienda Dinner. It is always an enormous amount of food and arrives at your
> table on 3 or 4 plates.
>
> 3) Each restaurant also has a ridiculous number of combinations. Usually
> around 20 or so, each a slight variation of the others. It’s mind boggling, I don’t
> even look at them. I’ll order a la carte instead.
>
> 2) Each restaurant has an employee who delivers chips and salsa to your table.
> This appears to be said employees sole responsibility.
>
> 3) A waiter(seldom a waitress) then takes your order.
>
> 4) An entirely different person conveys your food to your table. Your plates are
> precariously perched on the servers arm, which is clad in a full length oven mitt.
> This appears to me to be an incredible feat.
>
> 5) On any given night you are very likely to see the restaurant’s employees
> place a sombrero on a patron’s head and gather around to sing what is
> apparently a traditional Mexican birthday song.
Most of these are more or less typical of Mexican places that are probably non-authentic, probably have few Mexican-American customers, and probably are not particularly very good. (I think the only point that birdbrain is making with 3 and 4 is that the person taking the order and the one delivering the salsa are different people.) These are not absolutely certain connections here though, just probabilities. If someday I walk into a Mexican restaurant where waiters put a sombrero on someone’s head and then I get the best and most authentic Mexican food I’ve ever had, I won’t fall over dead from a heart attack from the shock at the incongruity. I’ll be surprised certainly, but weirder things have happened.
Hey there, Birdbrain!
Howard’s is the place that was once in a house on 24th street just south of Q street. They relocated to the Deer Park location, which used to be Marchio’s Italian Cafe, about 1985 or so. Nettie’s is in what was once a gas station about a mile south of Q street.
I love the small places on South 24th too. Try the Alamo next time you are in the area.
They usually have people there called waiters and/or waitresses who would be happy to tell him.
I too noticed some strong similarities between some local Mexican places… no Speedy Gonzalez or any of the other things though. I later found out that they are all owned by the same (local) family.
The best French Onion soup I’ve ever had was in Mexico City… does this now count as Mexican food? The very best thing I’ve ever had in Mexico was a stuffed Lobster in Puerto Vallarta… again, not what you would normally think of as Mexican food.
I live in Atlanta as well, and also know exactly what the OP means.
Check this place out. Been around the Atlanta area for decades, at its height probably had a dosen or so locations around town, and it’s had a “Speedy Gonzalez” on the lunch menu all that time.
And check out this group of places all over Illinois (also called “El Toro,” incidentally. “Speedy Gonzalez” on their lunch menu.
I’ve eaten at both these groups. The food is a notch up from Taco Bell, but utterly satisfying for what it is. Rick Bayless it isn’t.
I know, I did poorly. I just wasn’t prepared and I got flustered. :o
Oooo, El Toro! My mom and her girlfriend used to take us kids to the El Toro on Buford Hwy when our dads were out of town and practice their college Spanish by flirting with the waiter, Rrrrrrrrroberto!
I’m just laughing about the fact that there’s another poster in this thread from Atlanta named Labdad.
Tonight I was in a local Mexican restaurant in the town of Orange VA and there is indeed a Speedy Gonzales on the menu. And there were big sombreros for anyone having a birthday, which was 2 different groups.
The best Mexican food I ever had was in Topeka, KS. The worst was in… wait for it… Southern Arizona, of all places! Followed closely by some real shit in Texas, on the same road-trip! :eek: