Bartender Response to La Cocina

After reading the Therapist's review of our Friday Happy Hour trip to La Cocina, I asked myself, "Were we actually at the same place?"

I was psyched to end my day/begin my night with a margarita or two. The sign said "2 for 1 margaritas!"

Great!

Not so great.

First, the "2 for 1" isn't exactly as advertised. It's 2 for 1, for $11.00. I call that 50 cents off the regular priced margarita, not a buy one, get one free. If I tried to pull that off at my bar, I would be bitched at every single time. But whatever. So as the Therapist said, we ordered the margaritas on the rocks, as frozen margaritas are for amateurs on the beach. Or maybe for all the people who usually come into La Cocina, because it didn't seem like the bartender had much experience in making a good margarita. It was okay at best. Now, I don't claim to make the best margarita (actually, we have a new one for which we use jalapeno infused tequila that is DAMN good, but I regress). However, I also don't work at a Mexican bar/restaurant!

*sigh*

Moving on. We decide to order the nachos. How hard can it be to mess up an order of nachos? We order it without any meat. Looking back, I'm not sure why we that, but at the time we didn't think it was necessary. We were wrong, because they replaced the meat with broccoli and spinach. Um, eww. I like spinach, but not on my nachos, and broccoli makes me want to vomit. Perhaps they should have said that they would add nastiness never before seen on nachos. But they didn't. Also, the portion was small, and limited in the usual toppings that you would expect when ordering such a standard dish.

So now I'm still hungry, as I was unable to partake in most of the nacho eating experience because of the vile week broccoli. I proceed to order the chicken tacos. Surely, this can't be messed up.

Wrong again!

The tortilla wasn't much different from what you would find at Taco Bell, and the chicken was dry and unremarkable. I had to dump a shit load of hot sauce on it in order to be able to taste it at all. Again, seems like this should be something that would be impossible to mess up. I can barely make toast, but I'm pretty sure I would be able to put together a better tasting taco.

In regards to the not-so-free chips at salsa. It's like when you go get a manicure, and as your nails are drying, the manicurist immediately comes over and starts rubbing your shoulders, and then tries to charge you an additional $10.00. Not so fast, Sneaky McGee. If they chips and salsa were only free in the beginning, they should tell you. It's just good business practice, people.

Now, believe it or not, I do have something positive to say about La Cocina. Their bathrooms. Yes, their bathrooms. They have two unisex bathrooms, which is surprising given the smallness of the restaurant. There is nothing more agitating than having to wait for the three girls ahead of you apply and reapply their mascara, while the mens room remains open. They were also clean and well-stocked. Now if only they put as much effort to the quality of their drinks, food, and service as they do their bathrooms, I would recommend this place. But since they don't, I unfortunately have to give La Cocina a FAIL.