Tienda Casa Paloma: I’m afraid that this place is starting to disappoint me. I visit for lunch about once a month and have decided that most things on the menu are just average. I ordered the chiles rellenos last week and they were ice cold in the middle. Now, I won’t get all uppity about the fact that these were clearly pre-made–they were inexpensive and I can;t expect a relatively complicated dish of this sort to be made from scratch. But the primary ingredient is cheese. It’a cheese-filled poblano pepper. It needs to be hot and melted. I took my plate to the counter and asked to have it warmed up. Two minutes (in the microwave) later she brought it back out: Still not hot. I figured life was too short, ate what I could and took my leave. I’ve also found the carne asada to be somewhat flavorless and tough. I won’t even mention that crazy yellow cheese sauce that I witnessed at an impromptu blogger lunch earlier this year.
Bates City BBQ: This place continues to impress. Never had a bad meal and the service is outstanding.
I ate lunch at Cancun Fiesta Fresh yesterday and am happy to report that it still serves up some of the best quick and simple Mexican food in midtown. This place has been in business for well over a year and I hope it establishes itself as a Westport institution. Now if they could only get a liquor license…
Red Dragon House downtown is undoubtedly the fastest place to get a freshly prepared hot meal on the face of the earth. While the food can be pedestrian, I’ve found the Hunan Chicken to be quite reliable. Here’s a tip: Skip the mediocre soups that come with the lunch special and they will give you extra rice (which you’ll need).
The tuna sandwich is probably my favorite dish at Farm to Market Cafe.
Lunch buffet at Waldo Pizza? Doesn’t do it for me folks.
It is too bad to hear that the new owners of Casa Paloma have not been able to keep up the same standards. If you want the old feel and food cross the border to visit the original owners in their new pursuit: http://www.casapaloma.com/
I agree that Tienda Casa Paloma’s food quality has gone down hill. The food was excellent when the original owners were there. That standard was maintained for a short time after the new owners took over. Then I noticed how dry the meat was getting and the portions were getting smaller. I said enough and haven’t been back in months.
Red Dragon still has 5 dollar lunches. I am a big fan. Casa Paloma just sucked.
Man, we used to hit Red Dragon at least weekly when I was downtown. I usually just ignored the soup tho (didn’t know bout the upgrade option).
And I agree that the lunch buffet is not the best way to have Waldo Pizza, especially since I can’t have beer at lunch. Pizza is one of those feeds that is made for beer!
I can’t believe you went back to Casa Paloma. That cheese still sorta gags me when I think about it. :)
Cancun Fiesta Fresh is awesome, and thanks for the reminder about it.. I know where I’m eating dinner tonight.