I saw the writeup about this new restaurant in the local paper. It was highly mentioned about how he uses all fresh ingredients form local butchers and local grocers and the reasonable prices he charges. I then saw something that made me nervous…he used to run the local Dominos pizza.
We had stopped patronizing the local Dominos because the people on the phone could not speak clearly, the orders were wrong most of the time , and the pizzas just did not taste good at all. Delving into the article, about the time he left that Dominos to start this new venture is when the quality of the Dominos drastically improved. Needless to say I was apprehensive about this local eatery given the owner’s history.
Me and my family walked into the former Emerald Garden to see a restaurant that did not really appear to be completed on the inside. The main dining area was well done with a southwesterm/modern motif with various tables with chairs throughout. Even when full this space would not feel cramped. Moving up to the ordering area is where things got a bit stark. I attribute this to this being a startup trying to get some incoming funds due to the bad economy so i will comment on it if it has not changed the next time i go back.
I tried the Barbacoa Taco. You can see the description on the online menu. I ordered mine with just meat, lettuce and added cheese. I did this for two reasons:
1. I wanted to try the meat more than anything else
2. I wanted to be able to taste more meat than the rest of everything else.
I was left very unimpressed. The seasonings were ok..they had a nice bite. The big letdown was the beef. It was the same quality and texture as the low grade bulk shredded beef you get from foodservice companies for school lunches. The tortilla was the low end variety you would get from your local supermarket.
All in all I walked away unimpressed. I do intend to go back to try other menu items and i hope the beef quality was only because that is not El Sloppy Tacos primary focus,.