On Friday the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I headed to my Mysterious Sister-In-Law's to prepare for a Sunday barbecue. Jim, my brother-in-law was going to pick us up at the New Brunswick train station. He wasn't sure when he would get there so we agreed to meet across the street at Marita's Cantina, a Mexican restaurant and bar.
Marita's Cantina
I have been in there before for a drink or two while awaiting a ride and it seemed like an okay place. I noticed that it was kind of empty for right about lunch time on a Friday. Two other people at the bar and one couple having a meal. But I didn't think much of it when I ordered my Margarita.
The Margarita wasn't bad, but not good either. Your standard tequila (and not much of it) in that overly sweet Margarita mix, shaken with ice and poured into a salt rimmed glass. A sadly typical Margarita these days.
Soon Jim showed up and we figured as long as we were here we would have lunch as well. A bad mistake. I ordered a ribeye steak and asked for it to be done medium rare. Jim ordered a stuffed pepper. I don't remember what the Mysterious Chinese Woman ordered.
My steak, which cost $14.95, was pretty much well-done. Not that you could do it any other way because it was, at best, a quarter of an inch thick, and I am being generous. A pretty sorry piece of meat. Jim at first thought what he got was a potato stuffed with spinach. The batter on the pepper was so thick and mucky and the pepper was kind of shredded. If there was any stuffing in it we couldn't find it.
But, that wasn't the worst of it. We each ordered a Sangria. How bad could that be. I was immediately suspicious when it came with a Maraschino cherry. And my suspicions were confirmed. It tasted like some kind of a tropical fruit punch with little or no alcohol.
And then things got gross. We were drinking our "Sangria" and complaining about it.
Jim And His "Sangria"
Now, look closely at the bottom of Jim's glass.
Bud Lite
Not exactly what you want to find at the bottom of your glass, even if you were drinking a Bud Lite. Kind of makes you question the whole "cleanliness" thing.
When Jim showed this to our waitress she uttered a bit of a shriek and said she would tell the bartender and then just kind of disappeared. We were done eating so we paid the bill, leaving cash, and Jim and the Mysterious Chinese Woman left to get the car. I stayed at the table, not wanting to just leave the money unattended.
After about five minutes or so the waitress walked by to tend to the other couple in the restaurant and never even looked at me and didn't pick up the money. No apology, no "So terribly sorry, we aren't charging you for the drinks," no nothing. Just acted like I wasn't there.
Same thing again when she walked by the second time heading back to the kitchen or the bar or wherever.
I finally just got up and left, leaving the money on the table.
All in all it was not only one of the worst drinking and dining experiences I have ever had, it was also one of the most, how shall I say this, one of the most disgusting. And topped off by a total lack of concern by everyone working at the place.
Nice looking place, great location, I will never set foot in the there again unless I see an "Under New Management" sign. And even then I would be cautious.
1 comment:
Honestly I would have refused to pay for the meal at all. That's totally unacceptable.
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