As a spawn of the New York restaurant chain, a location in the Wilton Manors
neighborhood and it being a Mexican joint, I was expecting good food and fun
times. However, that was not the case. When we arrived, the place was relatively
empty (it was a Wednesday at 6pm) and by the end of the meal, no one else had
arrived. Who cares right? I usually don't, but the service had to go and suck
too. I swear the waiter never smiled and not only did he seem to not like his
job, he seemed depressed about it. Also, when a customer is asking a question
about menu selections, it probably isn’t a good idea to just look at them like
they are crazy or speaking another language. I can usually overlook bad service
because I am all about the food, but the food didn't fare well either. At least
we were given free chips and salsa, because what we actually paid for wasn't
that great.
As an appetizer, we ordered the Shrimp Quesadillas. We had actually wanted
something else, but were told it wasn't ready yet so that is why we ended up
with the Shrimp Quesadilla. It sure looked like a quesadilla but tasted like a
huge disappointment. I have had better quesadillas at Taco Bell than these.
Hated it!!!
My friend ordered the Steak Burrito as her entree. Even from just looking at
it, it didn't look that great. It didn't taste much better.
My order, the Arrachera Steak was the savior of the day. The meat was tender
and had good flavor. It was really, really good and surprisingly so since
everything else we ate was subpar. Based on the name, I thought it was going to
be just steak but it was more like a fajita meal. The steak was great however, I didn't really like the refried beans (they were bland) and the rice was overcooked and crunchy. Some people intentionally make rice like that and love but I don't and I am not sure how intentional it was.
You can’t go Mexican without having some drinks, so in addition to our food,
we ordered a Margarita and a Long Island. The drinks were decent, not great but
definitely not bad. Good for the price point.
I actually liked the decor and feel of the place. It had the typical cantina
feel but the design was a bit more subtle. I really liked the open air design
and bar feel but bad service and mediocre food just aren’t made up for by a
cool looking restaurant.
Pinche Taqueria
2045 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors, FL 33305
(954) 990-6282
www.pinchetaqueria.us
Although Florida is in the far South, it lacks the sort of Southern
hospitality that the South is known for. Yeah you can find some good Cuban
food, Jamaican food and pretty much anything from a Caribbean island food, but
it is often hard to find that real down home soul food. Well, by being
introduced to Rodeo Restaurant & Martini Bar I think I have finally found
that place. At Rodeo Restaurant & Martini Bar it is all about bringing
thoughtful and ingenious Southern food to South Florida. They combine
Southwestern, Tex-Mex, Barbecue, and Cajun/Creole cuisine to create some really
amazing dishes.
The design of the restaurant is a take on the Southwestern style. Exposed
stone walls and warm browns and black colored wood furniture decorate the place,
while pentagrams and animals skulls hang from the walls. I almost wanted to run
back home and get my cowboy boots and holster (if I actually owned any of
those). The atmosphere was very chill and everyone seemed nice enough, but I
didn't feel that genuine Southern Hospitality that I would expect at a place
like this considering that is what their concept is based off. But, outside of
looking at the service in the respect, everything was okay.
Their bar serves an array of cocktails, beers and wines. In addition to that
they run different specials during the week such as Martini
Wednesday when they have HALF OFF the martini menu! So naturally I had to stop
by on a Wednesday and grab me a martini, a Lemon Drop Martini specifically.
Very fresh, very refreshing, very delicious! I loved it, considering I am not a
big fan of martini drinks.
The food here all sound so mouthwateringly good, from fried green tomatoes,
mac & cheese, pulled pork, brisket, pecan chicken, shrimp & grits, and
yes I could go on and on, but I wanted to go for something a little simpler so
I went for the Southern BLT. Now this right here is not your ordinary bacon,
lettuce and tomato. Okay, so the lettuce is ordinary (not romaine ordinary) but
the bacon is not ordinary it is peppered molasses bacon and the tomato isn't
either, it is fried green tomatoes. Nuff said! The bacon was out of this world
good! Now I really like this sandwich because in all honesty, I am still
thinking about it now, I just wish that the remoulade sauce was a little
less tangy; it overpowered the flavor of the sandwich. The bacon and tomatoes
had their own really nice flavors that could have been brought out more if not
for the sauce.
The sandwich came with a choice of curly fries or sweet potato tater tots. I
am sweet potato person so I had to go with the tots. I haven’t had many taters
tots in my day, so when I think of tater tots I flash back to elementary school
lunch. Those were not so good so I was a little wary, but these were effing
awesome. My boyfriend who hates sweet potato fries of any kind, spend more time
eating my fries than he did his. So yes, they were that good.
My boyfriend is a simple man that likes simple things and so he opted for
the Cowboy Burger. The burger consists of BBQ sauce, chili-dusted bacon, fried
onions and cheddar. I personally, didn't taste it because I was too into my
food and forget to try his. By the time I even remembered to think about he was
already done, so take from that what you will. I know I don't eat food I don't
like especially that fast. He did say he liked it though and would come back to
this place again.
I probably want to try about 90% of their menu so it’s a given I will be
back, but knowing that they have brunch on the weekends, I would love to come
back and try one of their luscious French toast!
Rodeo Restaurant & Martini Bar
2033 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors, FL 33305
(954) 537-9544
www.rodeofl.com
