“The spices in those beans actually have medicinal purposes… they work as an anti-flatulent!” “Really… Is that soooooo.” - Rosa Mexicano

Yea! That lasted all the way to their front door. I couldn’t believe that a really nice restaurant would make such a claim, let alone, tell you about it. Ok… but for the sake of not spicing up a story, this was the waitresses’ claim, and she did say anti-gas. Whatever that’s worth, but to me its all the same.

It’s Saturday night, which means it’s date night with my better half. Since my work and this blog has been taking up a lot of my time, I agreed to not' turn the evening into a restaurant review. That too only lasted until the first appetizer arrived. She could see it in my eyes… it was killing me not saying anything about the service and not commenting on my thoughts about the food. I even ordered simple items on the menu, knowing I wasn’t looking for anything special other than our time together (I think I can add +10 brownie points to my score board for that).

I think it was getting harder for her not saying anything, knowing even she is getting really into this.

So we arrive at Rosa Mexicano on Sunset. It was her decision, I insisted she pick, and it came down to Rosco’s Chicken and Waffles or… Rosa Mexicano. Being that we were both dress up, Mexican it was. And from that moment forward the night got even more awkward.

We arrived, parked in the lower structure and elevated our selves to the restaurant. It had a beautiful entrance, lovely lighting, and loud thumping house music. Didn’t seem like it fit, but I’m never quick to judge. I like to get into it a bit, before I decide, if I like it or not.

“Yes, 2 please… No we don’t have reservations.”  Of course all those poshy places on Sunset can’t have someone just walk into their restaurant without making them feel like homeless off the street.  All the empty tables were booked so we were sat outside. Right under the VIP house music speaker section. We sat, I opened my menu, she worded something to me, I couldn't hear her, and at that point the waitress arrived. Surprise,  I asked to be moved to the EMPTY back section of the restaurant WHERE NO ONE WAS SEATED!!! (and it was quiet) I mean come on restaurant hostess… is it really that much more work for a server to walk 8 more feet to serve us. And why the hell would you not have servers for every section of a restaurant on the main Sunset Strip, Saturday night… at 8pm to be exact!  I worked restaurants for 5 years, I have a right to bitch.

So we get moved. Fantastic! We can now restart this awkward night. (buzzer sound) WRONG! I look over and the manager, and our lovely waitress, is yelling at each other for moving us.

So its safe to say, make reservations at this place, and no body gets hurt. But hey! We could hear each other and that’s all that mattered. For now…

Time to order… Our server informed us that they were known for their table-side guacamole service, their enchiladas and their butter fly red snapper. The miss’s had the beef enchilada and I have the chicken, we started with the guacamole. There was a big dilemma with the spiciness of the guacamole.  Should we go medium… we usually go spicy… they can add jalapenos on the side… but its really not that spicy when you order spicy… so screw it, MAKE THAT SHIT HOT! We’ll take it!

So the guacamole maker (I don’t know if these people have an official name, so no disrespect) came by and whipped us up some GUAC! He also added 2 sides of salsa and our custom jalapenos.  Ummm, it was nice and creamy guacamole. It had just the right amount of salt and lemon. But guess what… Not one God Damn ounce of spice. I mean nothing; the minerals in my ice water had more kick than this guacamole.  So we added the salsas and it turned out to still be pretty good.

At this point she looks at me and says, “Are you sure you don’t want to write about this place?”. I laughed, “Sure what else could possibly make this more interesting!”. With a slight turn of the head and boom… Across the way, some women is standing up running around panicking, because someone spilled red wine all over her nice Gucci bag. Good heavens how on earth could that happen. By the look on her face, you would of thought her husband was shot in the face by her server. Nope, just wine. But like my girly said, “If you can’t afford to fix it, you probably shouldn’t buy it.” Well said. She may have been implying that I am paying for dinner, and maybe desert, but nun the less I always have her back.

The food has arrived; at this point I am ready for anything. Her beef dish is in a dark sauce… mine a light green, sprinkled with cheese and cilantro. All accompanied by a bowl of black beans and rice. I take a bite, she takes a bite, and we looked at each other in disbelief. Holy shit, this stuff… is… AMAZING. I couldn’t believe what I had tasted. I had no idea how to even describe it. We had never had enchiladas this good or even flavored this way.

Its like all the weird shit that happened before, didn’t matter. Now… shit just got real! It was all about this masterpiece that came from the kitchen. The waitress stopped by an asked. “Is everything ok?’, I said “No, I need you to tell me what this is because my mouth is confused!”… She smiled and explained.

In her beef enchilada they use peppers, nuts and chocolate in the mole. “CHOCOLATE!!!” It was fuckin’ chocolate. I couldn’t f-in believe it. It was so, so, good. I had no idea. Mine was traditional green sauce with chihuahua cheese and grilled chicken. The beans were with tapas and queso fresco. With that super special medicinal… anti-gas… beans… Ok, whatever you say Jack! (I am still passing gas from that meal 8 hours later.) The rice, was a brown rice, seasoned with mustard which resulted in a yellow color. All in all, the food was quite good.  In a month or two I may want to go back again and try and be surprised by something else on the menu (sorry I didn’t have my camera so my photos do this beautiful food absolutely no justice).

After having consumed our individual art pieces we chatted about desert… And we chatted, and chatted. Should we have the deep-fried ice cream, should we go somewhere else, what was on the menu… Who knew. Our waitress, GONE! Never saw her again. I’d say we sat there for a good 20 minutes or so, (in a full room of people, mind you by this time, the tables were full) and nothing. Nada. Not even a peep. She had in fact magically disappeared! We had to ask a random server for our check. At this time I was reminded that we had also ordered Plátanos Fritos. Which I would have loved to have told you about, but WE NEVER GOT IT!!! So we paid and we left.  Really just out of frustration…

I feel restaurant owners have no idea how much bad service hurts them. It is 50% of the experience if not more. If your customers have to flip out just to get your good food, what’s it worth to them? Especially when it’s really pricy!

I lived next to Crazy Rock’n Sushi (which I can’t wait to 
do a write up on, one of my fav’s) and had been going there since the day they opened. I used to go there everyday. I did the math and I was spending about $1,000 a month on their food. Their sushi was always amazingly fresh, large portions, and tasty. But, I had to wait 45 minutes for a Bud Light. One day I slammed my empty bottle up on the sushi bar after the waiter (who was super busy) looked at me for the 8^th time, without my beer. I looked at the owner and said, “What the fuck do I have to do for a fucking beer? I come here everyday, I spend over $1,000.00 on your delicious food, I shouldn’t have to fight for it. Figure it out cause I’m not coming back for a week!”. I stormed out. James the owner and I were good friends, but he didn’t know this was the case because I never said anything.

I feel bad now. Tonight I should have told the manager, I said nothing and now no one will know that people may never get to taste their delicious food. I even tipped the server… screw them. How are they going to know that they fucked up if I leave them $10 tip!  I left the wrong message for both parties.

When I came back to the sushi restaurant a week later he had 2 more people serving on each shift, and a service button at each table.  It worked! Now I have to wait 20 to 30 minures just to get a seat at a table… but its worth it. Because I know once I sit down, I am going to enjoy amazing food. That’s what good service is all about.

I would love to give Rosa Mexicano a second chance. Something was way off about tonight, maybe with the whole city. We went to Pavilions to grab some cookies and ice cream, there were 3 cop cars out front and inside 10 broken bottles of wine and destroyed shelves. Felt bad for the guy who had to clean it up.

So remember. Speak up! Be Honest! And if the service sucks MEAT ME!!!


You can visit Rosa Mexicano locations on their website at
http://www.rosamexicano.com/Locations/LosAngelesCA/tabid/325/Default.aspx

Sean Rice

The bar at this place is amazing and would be lovely for a pre-night drink to get the evening started. Not to mention the ladies looked to be dressed at their best gentlemen (Wink)! Enjoy!

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