The experience that inspired me to start this blog.
It was today - wait, it still IS today. A (my partner in crime) and I were out on the town running typical suburbanite errands (the big box home reno stores for some generic inspiration) when we realized it was time for lunch.
We had passed by a Mexican restaurant in Orleans called Willie and Juan's several times before and today we even backpedalled to get there. Who wouldn't want to have decent tasting Tex Mex food in a place that is pretty easy to get to and has parking? (read: is not downtown). Located on St-Joseph, formerly a Mexicali Rosa's I had high hopes, and I wanted to support local entrepreneurs as well.
A and I walk in and the man who took us to our table was pleasant enough, we asked for a booth thinking it would be a more comfortable experience...not necessarily the case.
First note: A giant gash in the wall with bare concrete very visible....
Second note: thick layer of dust on the lighting fixtures which were too big and far too close to the booth. Third note: My seat was sticky. Fourth note: icicle Christmas lights as decor. Fifth note: The top 40 music is too loud. So I thought maybe the place could use a dust and mop, better decor, and more appropriate music, but the food could be awesome. I've had some of my best meals in places worse than this...
The menu offered pretty decent looking fare typical of a tex-mex restaurant (nachos, taco salad, burrito, chimichanga, etc). The prices on the high side for a typical lunch menu but I thought surely that would be indicative of quality, portion size (which is generally quite generous in these types of establishments) or at least the inclusion of complimentary nacho chips like several competitors.
There were no chips.
Our drinks came in good time though. I ordered the chicken enchiladas with a side salad and A ordered the chimichanga with rice. Based on how busy the restaurant was not the food came to us on the longer side of acceptable.
Let's start with the good:
My salad dressing was delicious! (Lime based, nice and light, something like a creamy vinaigrette)
Now that we have that out of the way let's get right down to it:
The waiter came to us with two very thick heavy plates straight out of the oven, warning us that they were very hot (and they were exceedingly hot!), so much so that my cheese that was supposed to be on the enchilada's had fallen off and was mostly burnt (blackened) to my plate. The salad, served in a separate bowl on the side was fine, although I was a bit concerned with the celery which was browning and splitting...like i said, my salad dressing was delicious! :)
The enchilada's themselves were stuck to my plate, soggy, half charred and with an enchilada sauce that tasted more like a spaghetti marinara with some tex mex seasoning. The chicken itself was scant but decent tasting on it's own. I missed the cheese :( The garnish of lettuce and onion wilted tremendously on the hot plate.
A's chimichanga was an underwhelming sight. On the small side with reasonable flavour, again, soggy and overheated. The lack of garnish (sour cream??) and distinct lack of cheese were noted. The rice was acceptable but I've had better at any Mexican fast food restaurant, A did not love it.
On A's way to the restroom he encountered our waiter and presumably one of the owners reviewing complaints from the customers in plain ear-shot for any customer who happens to be walking by. Seriously...SERIOUSLY??!?!
The icing on the cake - a good fortune.
When we asked for our bill it came in good time (excellent) but we had an interesting surprise with it - FORTUNE COOKIES, not mints, candies, or nothing (which would have been better) - we were told to pretend they were mexican cookies - WHAT? Alright, so the waiter never came back to get my credit card after several minutes wait. I fished for some cash, we put it on the table, and got the hell out of there.
The consensus is this:
We will never eat here again. What were we thinking? Fortune cookies?
I was thinking that we could support a local establishment. This place has so much potential - the space in several areas of the restaurant are bright and festive. Some recipe tweaks, a good scrub down, a dollar or two off their food, some minor repairs, and a more festive atmosphere would have me come back. Unfortunately, this will not be the case.
Oh and my fortune read:
Stop Searching. Happiness will come to you.
Sadly, that did not happen - at least at Willie and Juan's.
If you want, check it out at http://www.willieandjuans.ca/
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