Cantina Mexicana
Variety: Tex Mex
Address: 1551 South Park Street
Date Visited: Monday, June 11, 2012
Orders: Pork Burrito, Beef Burrito with chips & salsa
Taste: 7 + 3 = 11/20
Portion Size: 9 + 9 = 18/20
Presentation: 7 + 7 = 14/20
Value: 7 + 7 = 14/20
Service: 7 + 7 = 14/20
Bonus: -
Minus: -1
Final Grade: 69% (Good)
(Scoring:
100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good,
60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40%
to -1% = Abysmal)
Notes: "This one is probably going to end with vomit. I don't see how it can't." This is what T said after her first burrito. It certainly didn't help that they didn't take her onion allergy seriously (hence the negative point). To be fair, the Pork Burrito was tasty, but the Beef Burrito was nasty, even to a burrito connoisseur like J. The rice was nothing more than Uncle Bens and they didn't mesh well with the beans. Would have benefited greatly from some nice Mexican Rice. It also didn't help that the chips were totally stale. The place is only a few weeks old, so maybe they'll improve with experience, but they're off to a pretty rough start, by our account.
Addendum: The proprietor, via Twitter, has taken exception to my statement that his staff did not take the onion allergy concern seriously. To be clear: his staff did attempt to guide us through onion-free options, but unfortunately, they made a mistake. I stand by the statement, score, and negative point - people with dietary sensitivities need to be able to trust that the people who make their food know what they're talking about, or at least to admit when they're not sure so that the onus it put on the customer.
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Hello J&T, as I assume there are two of you. My name is Chris and I own Cantina Mexicana.
ReplyDeleteI talked to the staff who were on when you came in that evening. They distinctly remember the lady with the onion allergy and say they guided T through what had onions and what did not. So a bit more on how her allergy was disregarded might be helpful.
Nasty is a strong word for you to use in describing our beef, and I find it completely uninformative in terms of trying to help readers understand what you did not like or in trying to correct what might be a problem. Our chef from Mexico makes an outstanding Barbacoa sauce from dried chiles, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper. The beef is slow cooked and pulled in the morning. It is regularly refilled during the day.
Our pork is cooked in an annetto seed paste vinegar and lime juice, wrapped in banana leaves. Glad you found it tasty.
The rice is seasoned with lime and cilantro, maybe not strongly enough for you. We will look into that and see if we can address that.
Overall we have been very well received in Halifax, with over 90% of our comments coming back as excellent.
I am sorry that you did not have a good experience and I certainly hope you give it another try.
Thanks for your response, Chris.
DeleteOnions are pretty common in Mexican cuisine, to say the least, but we trusted that your staff knew what they were talking about when we inquired. When T comes into contact with onions, she develops painful sores on her tongue (and you can only imagine what happens to her innards). That's exactly what happened, so clearly, a mistake was made.
If your staff isn't well-versed on what's in your food, they should admit that they don't know and the customer can make the choice. Otherwise, someone could end up something much worse than tongue sores and a vomitous feeling.
As for the use of "nasty" when describing your beef, I'm not sorry - that's how it tasted. I've eaten hundreds of burritos and am a big fan of Barbacoa sauce and pulled beef. This stuff not up to snuff. Ditto with the rice - it was mushy and didn't work well with the beans at all.
I'm glad that you take your reviews seriously, and take pride in your business. Keep in mind that blog is not hardcore journalism, it's a couple of food fans giving a brief recap of their experiences at local dining establishments. Unfortunately, our experience at Cantina Mexicana did not go as well as we'd hoped, particularly since other Mexican food restaurants in town are kinda lame.
I may be back at some point to give you another shot, but T is kind of scared off, and I can't blame her.