Taco War #1...not a good experience

Sorry, JessFlem, that's 2 strikes

Add caption

It's seldom that I put much credence in food reviews, so they don't often guide our dining choices.

But, Jessica Fleming of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, said this place was really good (we won't name it because that's not what we do).  And,  John is always in search of the elusive great taco.  Sorry, Jess, but we respectfully disagree.

First, as you probably know, food safety is number one with me.  Most people don't pay much attention....until they are infected with salmonella (many, many people in a recent Twin Cities outbreak) or worse, listeria.  Then, when they're violently ill, they review where they've been.

Last time I followed one of Jess's recommendations, we sat in a downtown restaurant and I watched an employee handle raw eggs and then without washing his hands (he didn't wear the required gloves), put potato chips on a plate.  Unfortunately, it was the plate of a kid's meal....which means he exposed this little child to a potential food-borne illness through his carelessness.  Inexcusable.

So, tonight's visit was a disappointment from food safety to food tasty.  I'll give the place a break because when you're mentioned in a food column, you often get slammed with customers.  It wasn't really that busy when we went in.  So we ordered, based on some of the recommendations in the food review, and sat down.   

Twenty minutes into our wait, I was bored, so decided to watch the kitchen staff.  Big mistake.  One with a glove on, then his glove was off.  Then a guy walked in from the street, reached over, picked up some food (for himself?) and walked to the back of the kitchen.  Then he came back and prepared food...no gloves, scratching his back between platings and, my favorite, rubbing his belly before patting down someone's lettuce.   Oh yummy!

The food itself was a big sloppy mess.   When you have messy food, don't serve it on a piece of paper.  Paper is not tasty and generally ends up as part of a forkful within a couple of minutes.

John:  "Linda told me to write add something to this review but my mother always told me that if you don't have anything good to say don't say anything at all."