Mexican Food, after a fashion
by Dave • September 5, 2006 • Dining • 3 Comments
As you may have seen in my “Dave’s List”, I like to talk about the many good places to eat in Syracuse. Our city has its difficulties, and those are already well-documented, so I like to emphasize the positive. However, I had a meal at a restaurant that offended me on several levels, so I will make a rare exception to this approach here.
Not long ago, ads began to appear for a new restaurant called El Canelo. It advertised itself as having authentic Mexican food. I was glad to hear this, as my wife and I love Mexican food, and have had the real thing while travelling there. I had also played solo guitar for over a year in a local Mexican restaurant, Jalapeno’s.
Our visit began promisingly, with a young lady waitress who gamely used her brand-new Spanish. We inquired, and found out from her that she had been taking a class at Syracuse University. She was very sweet and attentive. The restaurant was nicely decorated, and was not crowded when we visited.
We ordered fairly standard Mexican fare, burritos and enchiladas, and then were stunned when the food came out almost immediately. At first I was pleasantly surprised (who doesn’t like speedy service?), but then I began to wonder. It’s true that restaurant food is often partially prepared in advance so it can be assembled, finished, and served quickly, but this fast? As we began to eat, our good moods evaporated, as the food was insipid, a term which doesn’t describe the rich flavors of good, authentic Mexican food, whether highly spiced or not.
We continued eating anyway, trying to make the best of it, when a pizza delivery man showed up at the front door. We looked at each other in amazement as someone in the kitchen staff came out to get it and brought it back to the kitchen. It’s common practice for restaurants to use their own food for what they often call the “family meal”. Not doing so doesn’t necessarily guarantee that a restaurant is second-rate, but it did make us wonder. Why order out at retail, when you’re presumably getting your own food at cost? Is there no one that could put together a quick, cheap meal? Or did the workers have to pool their own money because the restaurant didn’t feed them? Whatever the reason, I would cynically add that if a restaurant doesn’t use its own food to feed its staff, it might be a good idea to be a little discrete in doing so – it just looks fishy.
Given the abnormal arrival speed of the food, the bland flavor and textures, and the pizza-fed staff, it’s hard to come to any conclusion other than that the food is frozen and simply re-heated for serving. I wondered if they even had any real cooks in the kitchen.
We were both still hungry and unsatisfied, and we finally decided to have another meal, opting for a delicious dinner at the Dinosaur Barbecue. This is the first time in my life that I’ve eaten a second restaurant dinner in one night after an unsatisfactory first one.
I could accept the premise of El Canelo if they advertised themselves as, say, having “low prices and fast service” or something like that. But “authentic”? As a lover of Mexican food, I was offended. I would be very surprised if any Mexican person called their food authentic.
Maybe some of their food is authentic and carefully cooked. But we didn’t see it. Curiously, I think some people will like it anyway. I would describe it as Mexican food as prepared in authentic Walmart style. Blandness is a desirable characteristic to many diners. For someone who simply wants a quick meal that’s not too expensive, and enjoys some Mexican decor, this may be your place!
A Syracuse resident here. Great post. I agree with you, we went to Canelos as soon as it open. I am Mexican, so I kind of know what “authentic” food should taste. I am aware that I might be a tough critic sometimes, nothing is going to taste as close to my mother’s Mexican food, but I was hopefull with Canelos, since I think the owner is Mexican. When we went there I order a plate with enchiladas, and my mother ordered Chiles rellenos. The taste was not what we expected, the meat they used is like the one Taco Bell uses in their burritos, but somehow they managed to be even tasteless. The chiles rellenos were a misfire too. We left we such a bad impression, that we have not gone back again. I think Jalapenos is way above Canelos anytime.
Rebecca,
¡Gracias por su respuesta! I was very interested in hearing what a Mexican person would say. My wife and I enjoyed some phenomenal Mexican food in Guanajuato and San Miguel De Allende. Great memories!
At the risk of sending people out of our fine town, I’ve found that El Rincon Mexicano Dos in Canandaigua, NY has some very nice fresh food. And for sheer quantity of choices and quite good quality, there’s Margarita’s in Batavia, NY.
As a person who doesnt know for certain what “authentic” Mexican food tastes like, I can offer an opinion that many Syracuse residents can relate to. The first thing I have to say about the place is that I love it and go there several times a week. I have decided what I like and order the same things, so I will have to give the opinion of companions for a few things. Everyone I’ve ever taken there has liked the chicken burritos. Ditto for the tamales. According to more than one person, the beef burritos are not good. The chiles rellenos are a fav of mine, tho they are a hit and miss item. Sometimes they aren’t terribly good, most of the time they are. The enchilladas taste like the burritos with less flavor. (do not get enchilladas, opt for the chicken burrito.) There is no hint of an actual strawberry in thier margarita, but it will knock your socks off just the same. However, for $5.20, I expected something better.
Here is the big thing. They have a Sunday buffet from 11-4 and the price is only $6.50. I have gone every Sunday since they opened and can tell you two things. 1. The food on the buffet and the food off the menu are worlds apart, being that the quality of the buffet is, well, worth about $6.50. If you’re going for good food, order off the menu and dont go on Sunday. If you do go to the buffet, get a bowl of red or verde sauce and pour it over everything, it will taste 100% better. 2. When they opened, the buffet was very good and slowly, over time, the quality dropped until just a couple of months ago I went several weeks in a row with my niece. We didn;t eat $6.50 worth of food between us. However, if you went during that time I can honestly say that the quality of the buffet is on its way back up. However, for the price, the buffet is a great deal!
The first reviewer hit home on a couple of things. They should definately drop “Authentic” from thier name if it actually offends people who are familiar with real Mexican food. Obviously, if it offends, it probably isn’t and I in turn find that offensive, that a restaurant would play on my ignorance, knowing that many of us won’t know the difference. I also agree that billing it as a quick, inexpensive meal would be more appropriate. The speed of her meal’s arrival wasn’t a freak occurance. It’s common and I often joke with friends, telling them not to blink because their fodd will have arrived in the meantime.
My final opinion is that El Canelo is a great deal, offering better than decent food for very little money but, if you’re going for an “authentic” dining experience you will probably be disappointed.