Tag: mexican

Sabor Latino (Ann Arbor, MI)
I’m always looking for good Mexican restaurants in my area, so I get pretty excited when I can find one that is both authentic, and well reviewed. This was the case for Sabor Latino, in Ann Arbor. Everything I had heard said it offered delicious, authentic Mexican, Colombian and Puerto Rican dishes for a very affordable price. Morale was high.

I’m a believer that it is fairly easy to make average Mexican food by throwing different peppers and spices together, but extremely difficult to make great Mexican food using fresh ingredients and family recipes. It’s always disappointing to me when I come into a Mexican restaurant and see that their menu consists of unoriginal items like wet burritos, quesadillas and simple burritos. This just happened to be the case for Sabor Latino.

As I saw down, this restaurant seemed to fit all of my criteria for a great Mexican joint.
1. The salsa seemed to be freshly made, the chips were warm and there was no charge.
2. The building was not free standing.
3. Our chips and salsa were brought by someone other than our server.
4. The menus were slightly dirty.
5. No yellow cheese
6. The walls seemed to have been painted several times
7. There were several sombreros hanging from the wall
8. The menu was up front and simple.
My hopes were extremely high. Things began to go down hill from there. The temperature outside that day was around 75 degrees, and as we walked in I realized that the restaurant was warmer than it was outside.

The chips and salsa were a good start. The salsa was served in a small jug and tasted pretty good. It was a little over pureed, but the taste was pretty good and spicy. We decided to start with a bean and chorizo dip. What we got was one of the saltiest things I have ever eaten in my life. I know chorizo adds a lot of salt to any dish, but this was absolutely ridiculous. We found ourselves pouring salsa on top of the dish to attempt to cut the saltiness. Also, the chorizo was somehow ground and combined into a huge pile of refried beans. I expected somewhat of a layered dip with chorizo and cheese, but instead we got this over salted pile of beans. The worst part? Our waitress abandoned our table for ten minutes, leaving us dying for refills on our drinks. We couldn’t get get through half of the appetizer because of the saltiness.

The menu was extremely limited, and I attempted to order from the specials menu which apparently is only available on Fridays. I ended up settling on the fajitas with chicken, steak, and shrimp because the waitress said they were very good there. I’m always very hesitant to order fajitas at restaurants because I like to think that my family has the best fajita recipe in the world. My girlfriend, Stephanie, was more observant than I and saw that there was a daily special for chicken mole. I was immediately jealous.

When my fajitas arrived, and I was extremely disappointed before even trying them. The platter contained more large cuts of bell pepper than any of the meats. The peppers were only slightly roasted, and a large amount of liquid had formed under the toppings. The next thing I noticed was that in my small plate of fajita accessories, there was no sign of any cheese. No cheese on fajitas? I was assuming it was some sort of mistake, but found out when I asked for a small side of cheese that it was a dollar extra. Party foul. The fajitas were extremely bland, and when I finished the meat I was left with a heaping pile of peppers and onions. Not impressive at all.

Surely, the mole would be better. Nope! The shredded chicken was smothered in a mole sauce that had a little kick to it, but no real notable flavor. I can’t even begin to write a detailed review because of the blandness of the taste. You will have to settle for a picture of this one. I will note that when I asked for some form of hot sauce or green salsa, the waitress gave me a confused look and stated there was none.

We ended up leaving most of the food we ordered because of the heat in the restaurant, and the lack of any impressive food on our table. I would have to say this is the second least impressive Mexican restaurant I have ever visited, aside from the always terrible Tios in Ypsilanti. I’m not sure if it was simply the selection of food we chose, the lack of quality service, or the heat, but I left extremely frustrated and unhappy with the experience. I tried to write this review as nicely as possible, but if you want normal ranting John’s opinion.. It sucked. Terrible. Don’t ever eat there.
June 12, 2009
Volcano Quesadilla

Just got back from the Taco Bell trip and am way too lazy to write anything up right now. I did, however, invent a genius creation using their test kitchen. The Volcano Quesadilla. The lady didn’t believe that I hadn’t worked at Taco Bell before. Haha!

May 28, 2009
Tio’s: A Rant
I was driving on Washtenaw in Ypsilanti, and I noticed a small sign on the front of Tio’s Mexican Cafe. The sign read “Best Mexican Food in Ann Arbor”. This was a hard thing for me to digest because.. Well.. Tio’s sucks. The food is terrible. It is quite possibly the least authentic, overpriced, pile of shit “Mexican” restaurant I have ever been to. I found myself trying to think of local Mexican restaurant that wasn’t quite as good as Tio’s. Couldn’t do it.

If somehow you work at Tio’s and you find yourself reading this and disagree with me, I would be more than happy to come in and eat any food you recommend. Prove me wrong. Until then, here’s exactly why your restaurant sucks.

Tios’ recipes are their own interpretation rather than an attempt to mimic either the American Southwest style of Mexican cooking or traditional Mexican cooking. The problem with this is that their interpretation is like a bad, overpriced version of Taco Bell without the drive through. Tio’s tries to serve you the least quality food possible, which is basically a bunch of beans dressed up in different ways, then tries to squeeze a buck out of you any possible way they can. Tio’s prices are already high, but when you get your bill at the end of your dinner, you may be shocked to find the following additions charged to you:
- Sour Cream – $.99
- Beans & Rice – $2.99
- Beans without the rice – $1.69-$2.99
- Corn Chips. Without salsa. That’s extra of course – $.99
- Guacamole – $1.49
Yes, this is correct. Unlike any other normal Mexican restaurant you do not get chips and salsa for free, beans & rice do not come with your meal and any thing extra you want to add to your meal is going to cost you at least a dollar. If you were to order the wet burrito with a side of rice and beans with salsa and sour cream, it would end up costing you $12.46 before tax. This is for a shitty tortilla stuffed with bad meat, way too many beans, and way too many vegetables with a heaping amount of bland red sauce and yellow cheese(more on this later). Also, A fifty-cent charge is added to your bill for two extra flour tortillas when you inevitably come up short in the tortilla-to-fajita ingredient ratio. Wouldn’t this be like charging for a couple of extra packs of Saltines for your chicken noodle soup at Denny’s?

Next, Tio’s does not serve beer or even margaritas. When was the last time you visited an establishment that served Mexican food that didn’t serve at least a basic margarita? You would think a restaurant that serves food this bad would at least try to liquor their customers up before serving it to them. Also, you would think a place that tries so hard to squeeze as much money as possible out of people would attempt to serve alcohol, which is quite possibly the most overpriced item on your average menu.

I already called the food shit, but I will emphasize this again with its own paragraph. The food is shit. I’ve honestly had better Mexican food at hospital cafeterias The cheese is yellow, which if you read my blog regularly, you know is a complete sin for any Mexican restaurant. The shredded chicken resembles cat food and might quite possibly taste even worse. The Nachos are about 80% refried beans, 10% onions with a smell that strangely resembles body odor, and 10% random vegetables and a few pieces of meat. The “world famous” wet burrito? I’m sure the citizens of countries across the world are putting in overtime so they may afford a flight to visit Tio’s Mexican Cafe for their incredible wet burritos. Also, while you might expect a Mexican restaurant to serve some sort of Mexican dessert, Tio’s decides to strategically go the opposite way, give the middle finger to the entire state of Mexico and serve the most random pre-made desserts that they could get their hands on. After your fajitas, treat yourself to a “Ultimate Fried Chocolate Brownie Hot Fudge, Caramel Sundae”. If your stomach wasn’t hurting already from the poor quality food, this will surely do the trick. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, maybe the New York Cheesecake will do. Because when I think Mexican food, I think New York Cheesecake.

Oh, and you know you’re in a terrible Mexican restaurant when the entire perimeter of the parking lot and every square inch of the building’s exterior are decorated in American flags and other assorted red, white and blue decorations. You sure do get your fill of American patriotism when you visit Tio’s Mexican Cafe. I almost feel like saying the pledge of allegiance before eating my Huevos Rancheros.

In summary, If you would like to replicate the dining experience at Tio’s, do the following:

1. Remove one Ortega tortilla from its box.
2. Open a can of refried beans.
3. Find yourself some regular old shredded cheddar.
4. Combine, heat, and serve.
5. Throw $10.99 in the trash. Unless you want any additional condiments or sides. That will be extra.
May 13, 2009