Abuelo’s…Did I Talk Bad About You In a Former Life?
You may be wondering what this is all about. Frankly, I am of two minds about Abuelo’s Mexican Food Restaurant. (Though, technically, this applies only to the restaurant in Kansas City since it’s the only one at which I’ve ever dined.)
50% of my brain says: I have never had a bad entree or appetizer at Abuelo’s EVER. And of all my friends who’ve been there, the only complaint I heard was that my wife ordered a quesadilla once that wasn’t what she was expecting and she was hoping for more. That’s it.
The other 50% of my brain says that Abuelo’s has given me more free food than any restaurant EVER to make up for their mistakes. The list of grieviances goes on and on, but frankly the first 50% of my brain won’t let me list them in detail. Suffice it to say, letters have been written and at a time the general manager probably knew my first name.
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Abuelo’s?
I went there last night. Ordered dinner. Had an issue. If the manager hadn’t made it right, I told myself that was the LAST TIME I was going to go. This decision sucked because I ordered the best entree I’ve ever had there: Enchiladas de cozumel (some of their amazing guacamole enchiladas swimming in a white wine sauce with shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, and onions.) Mouth wateringly good. Like I want some now.
(Quick digression: the first time I had Enchiladas de cozumel was in Colorado at a placed called Hacienda de Colorado about a year ago. I counted the days until I could go back to Colorado, which I finally did last week. As fate would have it, we went back to Hacienda de Colorado and I ordered the enchiladas de cozumel. They were good. The ones at Abuelo’s were 100 times better.)
So you see I’m stuck. I can’t really recommend Abuelo’s to my friends, except the ones who don’t have a lot of money since there’s a good chance they’ll get their meal comped. But at the same time, I love the food. Love it. And it’s not like the service is mean, they’re just slow.
I know that if I were a restaurant critic, I couldn’t give Abuelo’s more than 2 out of 5 stars. At the same time, when I am in Zona Rosa, I am lobbying the family to go. I just wish that 1 out of every 2 times I ate there, I could leave without either having my meal comped or feeling like they should have comped it.
I’m Not Venting
I wouldn’t do that. I want to know from other people who have eaten at Abuelo’s to see if their experiences match my own. I plan to write a letter in the near future and I would like to include a link to the post, so if you have anything to say either positive or negative, leave a comment. I’ve found that Abuelo’s is very responsive when you write to them. And for that, they are to be commended.
At the same time, Abuelo’s, if you are reading this HELP YOUR KC RESTAURANT. I would gladly bus people from South KC to North KC to eat at your place if I felt sure they’d leave happy.
Lastly, if to anyone, if you are reading this and I’ve scared you off, I’m not happy that I did that. Like I said, the food rocks. The experience needs some work.
Anyway, please comment and let’s see what we can do.
I’ve eaten at the ZR Abuelo’s a handful of times and it is quite tasty. the only problem I’ve ever had there is that the service does seem a bit slow – but the food has always been right and I’ve never had any complaints. That being said, I don’t crave to go there – if we’re going to eat Mexican food out, we go to the hole-in-the-wall, Ixtapa, across the street from ZR.
Abuelo’s is actually a family go-to place for us. We really like the food too, and have never had a problem with the service. In fact, they are usually pretty patient with the kids which is a big plus for me.
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