Just recently I went out to lunch at Tortilla Republic on the Islands. I was really disappointed with the food. Our seat and dismiss girl/hostess had lovely teal and lime green shadow on and asked us the same question twice. ” How is your day going?” I said with a smile, ” fine , how is yours? ” then she returned to the table to give us the cold chips and salsa (if you can call it that) more like ketchup based and said “How is your day going?” I said with a smile, fine, how is yours?. No response. Jalapenos are not easy to find on the island. I’ve yet to find any unless you grow them yourself because I have yet to find any at the market. The same goes for Nicaragua, they will bring you salsa if you ask but they will insist it is “ketchup”.
However, Tortilla R. here is suggestion; try some pre-made salsa seasoning this will help with your tomato/ketchup based salsa. I saw it for sale at your local Safeway. This you just add fresh tomatoes too. It’s easy -peasy. Using fresh ingredients will give your salsa fresh flavor such as ; (onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapenos, fresh tomatoes, salt, pepper, chili flakes, fresh squeeze of lime) at home I throw in Habanero seasoning, hatch green chili seasoning(Olde Thompson) or ancho chili powder(+++hot) (simply organic) or chipotle (The Spice Hunter) . These spices will jazz up your salsa with your organic ingredients. We eat salsa just about every week in the southwest. (on eggs, soups, chili, baked potatoes, enchiladas, tacos, pinto beans, in salad dressings).
This is a case of being on automatic and not listening to your customers or being so nervous that you have no recall of the information you received 10 minutes ago. I ordered the fish tacos (they were cold and bland). Partly , our faults as you should never expect great Mexican food on the Island but great pineapples. Now that would make an interesting salsa with pineapple. It only exists in the Southwest. When I got my order, I said, “gracias” she said, curtly, “I don’t speak Mexican”? “Oh dear I said, with a huge smile, how about Spanish?” She walked away. She did not think I was funny at all. I did however like her artistic makeup and her up-do.
I did enjoy the house cat that rubbed every leg of the table. This cat looked well fed. And those awesome Hawaiian trade wind breezes blowing through our hair . Once the order was taken the food came really quickly but it had zero flavor. The ice tea/lemon was awesome. I did like the Freda Kahlo pillow that was used in decorating and the christmas lights on the backbar. This place is not an example of Great Mexican Food. Just saying, with a smile. Its really hard to have a bad day on the island. But I expect great, tasty food. This might be a happy hour spot with chips and real salsa instead of a lunch/dinner joint. The search continues. What I learned, if you want really great Mexican Food on the Islands, make it yourself. Adios. Till next time, Sunny!
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