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| - I've been coming to Nandos for years. It's very close to my home and a convenient meeting place for friends and family. When I say "years", I mean at least once a month for a decade.
I have resisted writing this review because I thought it would feel traitorous. I'm over that. My wife has suggested Nandos several times in the last months and I've said: "I'm done for now."
First, let me say that the staff are great. My only beef is with the decline in quality of one specific item. That item is the shredded beef taco (SBT). To me the SBT is the quintessential casual Mexican fare. It's the standard by which I judge all Mexican restaurants. It's what I look forward to the moment thoughts of Mexican food enter my head. My standard order at Nandos was always El Numero Uno (Two Tacos with Rice and Beans). They were so good back in the day.
It's been about 18 months that I've found the Nandos SBTs lacking. They are now bland with very, VERY little flavor. You're getting texture from the meat, but not much else, except a hint of the deep fryer oil (and that's not a good thing). You have to add flavor by adding salsa.
But I have a simple suggestion, a really quick fix, that I hope Nandos adopts (or returns to). Here's the discovery story: My daughter recently returned home from college. On the way home from the airport she suggested we stop in to Nandos (what are ya gonna do?).
Hope springs eternal... I ordered the bland tacos. Now, you don't have to specify they be bland... they just come that way regardless. I wish it weren't so. Truly I do.
Alas, at first bite, my hopes were dashed. I began the ritual of heaping more regular- and habanero-salsa on my tacos to make them palatable. I should have ordered the shrimp/beef fajitas or the Hatch Green Chile Pork burrito (those are excellent tasty options that I would never have tried had the tacos not gone into quality decline). But, dammit! I want tacos... the good tacos I used to get here.
My wife got her standard shredded beef enchiladas. My daughter got a shredded beef chimichanga. Both enjoyed their meals but had much to take home in takeout containers.
The discovery came the next day when I reheated my daughter's leftover chimi. I discarded the deep-fried flour tortilla and tried a forkful of the shredded beef. Oh, lordy. It was exactly as I remember the SBT meat had been seasoned back in the day. It was excellent.
So, please, all at Nandos - owner, servers, bartenders, kitchen staff - please please please use the seasoned beef in the shredded beef tacos, the same shredded beef as goes into the shredded beef chimi. Please taste test the two items side by side and you will see what I mean.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to rewriting this review.
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