New York Restaurant Guide

How did this place merit 4 stars on menupages? This joint (the 23rd Street outlet) served me the worst Mexican meal I have eaten …anywhere…ever. I do not say this lightly; I thought about it, and I stand by my assessment. The salsa was the harbinger of doom – it tasted like tomato puree (straight from the can) with a dash of red pepper flakes. My entrée was chicken enchiladas. The enchiladas came with a bit of rice, a scoop of refried beans and a bit of lettuce topped with some peas and carrots. All of the cooked food on the plate resembled the garbage that often comes out of a frozen food box. The enchiladas were a mushy mess. The texture of the tortilla was reminiscent of grossly overcooked pasta. The non-descript tomato-based sauce did not help; nor did the partly melted white American cheese sprinkled on top. The chicken filling looked all too much like chunks that come out of a can. The taste? Foul. The texture of the refried beans was nearly as off-putting as their taste. They even messed up the rice, which had no flavor, just color. My lady’s black bean soup was comical. Basically, the black bean soup consisted of black beans heated and served in the liquid in which canned black beans are packed. Her salad contained a few pale iceberg lettuce leaves, a couple of tomato slices and a bit of radish. At least the salad was edible. My complaint to the waiter (whom we later discovered was the manager) fell on deaf ears; he clearly didn’t care. Never again.