Taco Cabana

Landon's Chicken quesadillas and Chips and Queso are in the first picture, Jennifer's Black Bean Tacos are in the second.

Here is our uncensored panel discussion of our lunch on 11.26.06

Note: Landon, the guy did not offer you $50 for Trump the Game. He said, "I'll give you 50 for that," and you said, "seriously?" and he said, "YEAH! FIFTY CENTS!" and then he laughed at how witty he was for a few minutes.
----------------------------------------
11.30.06 11:06am Jennifer: so what did you think of your meal

11.30.06 11:10am Landon: food - 4/5
atmosphere - 3/5
service - 6/5

11.30.06 11:12am Jennifer: music?

why?

11.30.06 11:21am Jennifer: every other panel discussion i've ever participated in has been a little more active

11.30.06 11:21am Landon: sorrryyyy my internet kicked me off after i'd typed a response, and then my mom called. is it sleeting in austin?
music summary:
a nice mix of american classics (such as "wipeout") and music that would probably be on the mexican jack fm.
5/5

11.30.06 11:27am Jennifer: better, it is sleeting in my apartment. my leak is back.

i enjoyed your music review. My main problem is with the food. What kind of taco doesn't have lettuce?

what was wrong with the atmosphere? I enjoyed the atmosphere. The birds. The weather. Good company. The mexican colors splattered across the walls. what other components are there?

11.30.06 11:40am Landon: the birds were an especially nice touch. it was nice of taco cabana to domesticate them and train them to wander around on the patio for the amusement of their customers.

i meant to tell the story of why service got 6/5: though each taco cabana might be different where food is concerned, the one thing that stays constant is the quality of service. comments such as "i'll give you $50 for that copy of trump the game in your backseat", "i hate to break it to you, but your total is...$6.66" (this has happened twice at the same location) "do y'all know what y'all want, or can i go smoke a cigarette?" are part of the taco cabana experience. this time i was asked if i wanted everything on my chicken quesadillas. when i asked what came on them other than chicken and cheese, the man replied "pico de gallo...at the salsa bar" and then pointed to the salsa bar. i replied that yes, i would like everything on it. i've learned from retail, jennifer, that it's little things like that which keep the customers coming back.

i have always felt that it is the responsibility of the person ordering to make sure they know what they are about to eat, so i have no sympathy for you if you were expecting a certain ingredient or topping that wasn't there. that's like asking "why the hell would anyone put pickles on a chicken sandwich" at chick-fila. a real dining con-a-sore makes sure they are preparing themselves for a meal they are comfortable with by, for example, asking for no pickles.

11.30.06 11:44am Jennifer: i'm speechless. i feel like i should just hand over the keys to my food blog to you now.

11.30.06 11:47am Landon: but you have the camera phone

11.30.06 11:48am Landon: what were your thoughts on the meal?

11.30.06 11:49am Jennifer: I also have a culinary dream

11.30.06 11:56am Jennifer: overall i was pretty disappointed because taco cabana is, hands down, the best restaurant ever. According to you it was my own fault though for being disappointed. I really think the lettuce would have added a lot to the tacos. I guess I should have asked for it.

Also I had a weird stomach ache, which I think originated from the green beans we had during Thanksgiving. I definitely can't blame taco cabana for that. But it is hard to really evaluate my experience fairly because of it.

I can't agree with you more on your sentiments on the service there though.

I enjoyed the atmosphere. It really can change to be whatever you want it to be. It is the chameleon of restaurant atmospheres. It can be romantic, it can be loud and busy, it can be a quiet place to have a serious discussion with a friend. In college it starts to feel like home. etc.

Music...you are right, the jack fm of mexican music.

11.30.06 12:01pm Landon: perhaps you should have had some of the black salsa. i'm not sure what any of the salsa's actual names are, other than black, green, and red. well, now that i think of it, the green salsa really is just named green salsa. anyways, the black salsa definitely tied the meal together for me. i have had green and red in the past, or tried to mix different salsas together to find a balance, but the black salsa by itself was far superior. i felt like calling people gringos (as an insult) while i was eating it - that's how you know it's good. maybe that would have helped your lettuceless taco experience.

11.30.06 12:04pm Jennifer: i'm pretty sure a non-gringo would find it insulting to hear you say green salsa. it is definitely VERDE.

11.30.06 12:08pm Landon: well, since i don't know any non-gringos that read EYTO, i went with green.

11.30.06 12:10pm Jennifer: well, i will try the black salsa next time.

--------------------------------------------------------
Later we'll find out if the black salsa is as good the second time around.