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| - I would love to be able to give Baja California a better rating than three stars, but I can't.
What's to like? A lot, it turns out. On the site of the former Hannah's, followed by a seafood joint for a brief moment in time, this place is spacious and beautiful. The patio is fabulous, though it was way too cold to be of use now. There is a cigar lounge with comfy chairs and sofas, tv, and a powerful ventilation system, so all of us addicts don't have to freeze our asses off in the aforementioned patio. And best of all, the restaurant turns into a Latin nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights, with a live band and a large dance floor. Unfortunately, on this Friday night, the Latin band would play for 20 minutes, then take an hour break.
We were seated immediately and were attended to a server-trainee, but the regular waiter was with him. The menu touted their house-made Sangria, with it's "secret ingredients," so we decided to go with that. Even though the waiter affirmed that, yes, it did have liquor added to it, it turned out to taste perfectly ordinary, no better than what's in a Yago bottle. I also ordered it without ice, and got half a glass. Much worse, though, was that the menu was a combined food/drink one, and PRINTED in the regular menu, in bold letters, it proclaimed "Two for One Drinks," anytime. Not a card on the table, as a special promo. Not a chalkboard special. Just the regular, everyday policy. We had a restaurant.com certificate, and when we got the bill, we were dismayed to see that we were charged for four drinks instead of two. The manager was adamant and unyielding, reading from the certificate about how it's not valid with any other promos. BUT THIS WAS NOT A PROMO!! And she wouldn't budge. But she did offer to bring us a Tres Leches dessert, which we didn't really want or need. More about that later.
Some things are really strange here, foodwise. First, the Queso Fundido appetizer. I've spent a lot of time in Mexico, and the hallmark of this dish is the spicy chorizo blended with the melted cheese. In this restaurant, the chorizo is listed as a $2.50 upcharge. It's not Queso Fundido without that chorizo, so why not just make that the default and raise the price?
There was a choice of soup or salad with our main courses. We're both nuts about Tortilla Soup, so we opted for that. It was a very thin broth, but tasted very good, except for the chicken pieces, which I swear came from the same Costco chicken can I'd put in our salads at home the night before. The chef passing by swore that it was fresh chicken. You'll have to be the judge.
I ordered the Shrimp Fajitas, and that's when it really turned to Planet Jupiter. The sizzling shrimp came out on the standard platter, and there were a surprisingly large amount of shrimp, surrounded by the usual pepper and onion suspects. But where was the pico de gallo, the sour cream, or any of the other accompaniments that always come with fajitas, like a bit of guacamole "Oh, we don't serve fajitas that way here, but I can bring you those things." Most incredibly, the tortillas were 4" babies. One shrimp, no peppers or onions or anything, and I couldn't even fold it over! My exclamations to the waiter had him bringing out burrito-sized monster tortillas that were way too big. I just don't get it. And the shrimp, though plentiful, tasted a bit weird and were overcooked. Hubby ordered the Pollo in Red Mole, which we were unfamiliar with, so we were given a taste. It was just like the usual brown mole, but much thinner. He got some rice along with it, but no beans and no garnish. He did like his chicken, though.
Meanwhile, the restaurant had gotten significantly more crowded, and our trainee was nowhere to be found. When we were at last able to flag down the waiter who'd been training him, he explained that it was the guy's first day, and he sent him home because he was exhausted. But that made the service very slow, because our waiter was all over the place, doing it all. He sure did stay cheerful, though, so props to him for that.
Finally, the Tres Leches was okay, but nothing special. It wasn't soaked enough, and I found it a little bitter. Again, hubby liked it, but he's a lot easier to please!
Yelpers note: You will not get your free dessert if you check in and also have a coupon. But that IS a promo, so I can't really complain about that.
Will we go back? I'm not sure. I'm a Latin music freak, so I loved that part of it, and despite the cliche, I'm a firm believer that you really CAN eat the atmosphere. Maybe in Spring, when the patio is livable.
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