The Experts Got It Wrong

For the Dining Divas in May

By Lisa Kampeter

Sometimes I rely on the recommendations of actual experts in the food world to provide restaurant suggestions for the Dining Divas. This month, I relied on a top 100 list to find a new-to-us Mexican restaurant.

This is in keeping with our May tradition of “celebrating” Cinco de Mayo on any day but May 5.

I never claim to be a restaurant critic. I hardly know anything about food except what I think tastes good. This monthly space, dedicated to the Dining Divas, is less about the food and more about the ladies and our experiences. But I don’t have to be a professional critic to question this recommendation. This year we went to Taqueria Durango in Overland, and the experience was not good.

I’m not sure if the waitress was doing double duty or covering the entire restaurant, but it took a while to get our food, and when it was ready, the Conscientious Diva got the food off the counter and delivered it to us, rather than our waitress.   The Patient Diva received her food 10 minutes after everyone else’s, and it wasn’t how she ordered it. She went ahead and ate it rather than wait for a replacement.

This is one of those places that only provide one complimentary basket of chips. If you want more, you pay, even if you order a dip as an appetizer. If you’ve already eaten your basket of chips with salsa, you have to pay for another basket of chips for the dip.

For most of the Divas, the food was not good. The Newcomer Diva wanted spicy and was unimpressed with what she got.   The Picky Diva thought she was safe with a Taco Salad, but for some reason, it was watery and flavorless. And she wasn’t sure that her shredded beef was really beef. It’s not like the waitress confirmed it for her, either. She didn’t visit the table often to get any feedback. I guess she was probably prepping food or bussing tables. When we did see her, she was pleasant.

This restaurant has a good mix of authentic Mexican food and the more Americanized kind. Some Divas liked their food. The Cheerful Diva had a generous serving of the Chicken Chimichanga. Delicious! From the number of Hispanic people dining there, the authenticity of the food must be good; however, we watched people come in, but not stay. There were open tables but not enough help. That’s a shame.

When it came time to pay, we went to the register in shifts. This gave our waitress, who was also the cashier (probably the cook, too) more time in between to do her other jobs. It took a while to pay. And for the Chilly Divas, that was torture. (The AC must have been set to 55.)

Perhaps the top 100 article is helping with business, but the restaurant needs to help themselves. They need more help.   It doesn’t matter how good the food is. If the experience is bad, people won’t go back. I don’t believe any Dining Diva will be rushing back there.

And as the Witty Diva said, “I wouldn’t include that restaurant on my Top 200 list.”

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