Bad Mex
June 29, 2006 at 9:35 AM
by Ashleigh
A few weeks ago we went to order pizza and were surprised to see that the Domino's franchise that used to be across the road and around the corner just up and moved without any warning. Seeing as we used to order then walk around the corner so we could get the second pizza for 3 euros instead of 12.99, it was a bit of a shock! They moved across town to somewhere that's accessible to us by car, but not nearly as convenient as a walk across the road.
Fast forward a week or two and we found out the reason for their hasty move. A Taco Mundo franchise sprouted up in the same set of shops. I guess Dominos didn't want their walk-in business to have the option of vacillating between pizza and mex?
So they moved to a district with a New York Pizza franchise around the corner. Weird marketing but that's Holland...
The Taco Mundo was tormenting us. Every time we went past it we dreamt of Tex Mex. It brought back memories of a wonderful restaurant in Cape Town called 'The Mexican Kitchen' where the food was so good that you wanted to go back the very next day. Of course, if you did you'd turn into a slug because the helpings were so generous and the food was so tasty. The decor was fabulous too. Mismatched chairs, rustic tables, lots of loud music, and real authentic Mexican food (well, with a bit of Texas influence). It also brought back memories of a Tex Mex chain in the UK (of which I can no longer remember the name) which had an 'all you can eat lunch buffet'. It wasn't as nice as the Mexican Kitchen but it was still nice!
So, last night, deep in Ikea boxes and ironing we decided to give the Taco Mundo a try. How disappointed we were. The best part of the meal was the french fries! The fajitas had crumbed chicken pieces in them. The burrito was ok, but nothing spectacular. The gaucamole was stringy and the salsa was from a powder.
We're dreaming of the Mexican Kitchen again. In the meantime, I'll make my own fajitas. I can imagine paying 17 euros for fajitas like the ones I make myself (which cost less than 5 euros to make), but I'm extremely put out that I spent 17 euros on Taco Mundo when I could have spent less on pizza from Dominos, (even if they did move!)
Comments
When French fries are the best part of a Mexican meal, that's just plain ol'sad!
We *love* mexican food, and every few weeks make it ourselves.
We buy the wrap tortillas (as opposed to the standard flour tortillas, which are small) from Old El Paso; use the same brand guacemole spice mix with an avo [and I add lemon juice]; lettuce, tomato, meat ...
DELICIOUS!
I can't wait to try Californian mexican fast-food.
June 29, 2006 11:37 AM