Las Margaritas - Las Margaritas Rolls Out The White Paper For You!

Las Margaritas Mexican Restaurant
2113 West Republic Road
Springfield, MO

Wow, I've felt about twenty thousand different ways walking into various restaurants in my life, but this one was completely unique. I had some reservations about trying Las Margaritas on the south side of Springfield, but ultimately acquiesced.

Wow, what a bizarre place! When you walk in, you're not quite sure what to think, whether it is upscale or not upscale. When you look in the menu, and see the prices, you start to think, well, maybe it is supposed to be upscale. After all, they have pretty nice tables, cloth napkins and nice decor. However, in a twist, once we sat at the table, I realized the table was covered in two long strips of white paper. Kinda like when I was a kid and my mom had to take me to a public restroom and she placed toilet paper on the toilet seats to minimize the spread of germs. The paper on the tables also felt a bit like we were puppies with newspaper spread out underneath us.

I was so perplexed by the this, I actually asked the waitress why they spread out the white paper on the tables. Our waitress was very pleasant, probably the best part of the experience. Anyway, sh said well, it had to do with a lot of guests having children and making messes and also it was great if they had crayons and they could color the paper. I was still perplexed. It seems to me when you have restaurant tables are just gonna get dirty. That's just part of it. If you don't like cleaning tables, maybe you shouldn't have a restaurant.

As far as the food, the salsa was some of the better salsa I've had in Springfield. However, the hot salsa they offered with the regular salsa was just plain ridiculously hot. Even when you mixed it with the regular salsa, it spoiled the flavor and just made the whole mixture hotness in lieu of flavor. I ordered a burrito enchilada style (8.99-one of the cheapest things on the menu), which came with refried beans and rice. The burrito itself was smaller than the price would warranted, in my opinion. My girlfriend ordered enchiladas, also with refried beans and rice. I have to hand it to Las Margaritas, because their mexican rice was possibly the best tasting mexican rice I've ever had. Unfortunately, everything else on my EXTREMELY hot plate wasn't so flavorful. In fact, it was strangely devoid of flavor.

So, the end result of Las Margaritas is, nah, it's not a do-again place. At least not for me. It was a Friday night and the place was pretty busy, so who knows, maybe they aren't all that desperate for business. Apparently somebody in Springfield likes this place. Not me so much. At these prices the food should have a bit more flavor, and the tables should probably be white paper free.

Good Food In Springfield, MO (It Could Happen)
Let's Not Do Again, Good Riddance

Maria's - Surprise Suprise! You just got ripped off!

 
Maria's Mexican Restaurant in Downtown Springfield

I went to Maria's with my gf and aunt and it basically sucked. Yeah, the food was okay. But the hostesses didn't seem to know what hostess means. They weren't inviting or welcoming in any way. Then the waiter wasn't much better. He got my gf a refill but I had to ask for one. He seemed annoyed. I ordered the Sergio but instead of shredded beef, I wanted ground beef. After a short wait, the food arrived and I was shocked to see how small the portions were, considering this was nearly a 10 dollar dish. I was unpleasantly surprised when my sergio cost more than my gf's who got an "ultimate" sergio (I can't remember if it was called ultimate or some silly thing). I asked the waiter how this could be and he said it cost extra to substitute the shredded beef for ground beef. I asked, "It cost extra for a cheaper meat?" He said, "Yes", again somewhat annoyed. I said I would have liked to know that but at this point, it was obvious he didn't care. As we left, the hostesses just talked to each other instead of telling us, "Thanks for coming," or anything like that. Ridiculous. Food was good but portions were comical. Service was serviceable but completely dead fish friendly. Won't be back.

And oh, to the rest of Springfield, as a warning, the next time a waiter/waitress doesn't tell me something cost more to change or whatever, it's coming directly out of your tip! I'm sick of this.

Good Food In Springfield, MO (It Could Happen)
Let's Do Again Maybe