One thing I like about our WacoFork venture so far is that the people who have joined up with us and written reviews have fairly blanketed local dining establishments.
Go through our restaurant directory either on a computer or on our new iPhone app and see how just about every local restaurant has at least one review. This trend is even more evident when we have a new restaurant open and it almost immediately garners reviews.
Such was the case with Cantina Texas, which opened its doors on Nov. 3 and elicited a quick reaction. As a matter of fact, two diametrically opposed reviews were written within the first week. Response to the new restaurant also erupted in the form of blog comments on a blog I wrote announcing the arrival of Cantina Texas back on Nov. 3.
A little background info for anyone who hasn't read previous blogs concerning Cantina Texas. The restaurant formerly known as La Fiesta in Hewitt closed briefly then reinvented itself as Cantina Texas. The Castillo family, which owns and operates La Fiesta, opted to refashion the Hewitt location as what they call "Texas comfort food." The menu at Cantina Texas retains many Tex-Mex favorites, but also incorporates things like chicken and dumplings, steaks, burgers and sandwiches.
To me, the new menu seemed intriguing. But I understand the reaction of people who found it puzzling. I can even sort of sympathize with people who had disappointing experiences at the Hewitt La Fiesta and found themselves hesitant to believe that the new restaurant would be a huge improvement.
But given the wide gap in opinion presented by these initial reviews, I felt I had to go see for myself.
"That movie is awesome!/I walked out of that movie!"
"That band is terrible!/That's my favorite band!"
"He's so cool!/He's such a jerk!"
Who to believe?
So I guess the fact that I went to Cantina Texas on Monday leans to the notion that I wanted it to be good. Why would I choose to dine at a restaurant hoping it would be awful? The fact that I went at 11:30-ish on a Monday also shows that I gave them the benefit of the doubt in that I went at a less-crowded time, giving the best opportunity for quality service and food.
That stated, it WAS good.
I'll go so far as to sincerely claim that my brisket enchiladas were the best thing I've ever eaten in that space, meaning it topped anything I ever had at that La Fiesta location. And that's not to complain that I was always disappointed with the food at that particular La Fiesta. There were times when I enjoyed good food and good times at that La Fiesta. I will admit, though, that I'd lost the desire to go there in recent months. Understand, by the way, that I grew up dining at the Franklin Ave. La Fiesta and learned to love chicken enchiladas, among other things, there.
A brief description of the brisket enchiladas. Good to great brisket in a flavorful corn tortilla, topped by pepper jack cheese. The thing that made the dish, though, was the queso sauce that covered the enchiladas. This was not just ordinary, thick cheese sauce. It was an enchilada topping that properly complemented the brisket filling. The dish came with ranchero beans and grilled vegetables to which I paid cursory attention, but found tasty nonetheless.
Our server was attentive without being overbearing. When I initially ordered chicken and dumplings only to change my mind to the brisket enchiladas, she handled it without any problem. She brought our smashed avocado appetizer to the table quickly after it was ordered. (For the record, the smashed avocado was kind of pedestrian, though we ate every last bit of it, so I guess it had some appeal.)
Now, understand, I'm not in the habit of reviewing restaurants. I'd rather let you folks do that. But when I feel like a restaurant is getting beaten up a bit, I want to see for myself.
I have to side with the reviewer who gave it 4 stars. I recommend at least giving it a shot. I will be back again.
One more bite: Cantina Texas serves beverages in mason jars. Nice touch.
