MCDUFF
enthusiast
Posts: 166
Reg: 08-21-03
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10-14-11 03:47 PM - Post#140820
In response to Al C
This was a major disappointment.
The Bob Armstrong was exactly as advertised except they failed to tell us it was served somewhere between cold and tepid. Nothing exceptional, American/Velveeta/Cheez Whiz – they are all the same thing.
The Carnita’s were dry and bland. They were truly tepid – no cold spots. The Relleno was the big disappointment. The cheese is not cheese. It is American/Velveeta/Cheez Whiz. There are restaurants using this analogue and I wish they would say so rather than simply saying “Cheese”. It would be so easy to have the menu say “Processed Cheese” and I would know I was ordering Velveeta.
All in all, it tied as my least favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. I hope it is opening blues and gets better but I won’t know.
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allen
enthusiast
Posts: 1874
Reg: 12-02-05
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10-14-11 04:08 PM - Post#140823
In response to mgrayar
so maybe it's just a "newness" issue.
doubtful
| We sittin' here, I'm supposed to be a franchise player....and we in here talkin' 'bout PRACTICE? |
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BigDaddy
enthusiast
Posts: 631
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 09-28-04
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10-15-11 08:52 AM - Post#140838
In response to richardb
The reason I ordered CFS is (A)I like CFS, and (B)they are supposed to be famous for their rendition. Kinda makes sense, doesn't it?
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jnewsom
member
Posts: 53
Loc: allen
Reg: 08-12-05
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10-15-11 10:57 AM - Post#140843
In response to BigDaddy
I've never stepped inside a Matt's Rancho Martinez, and even I know they're supposed to be known for their Chicken Fried Steak and Chile Relleno. That's the talk about town!
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Jay J
enthusiast
Posts: 562
Reg: 11-09-05
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10-15-11 04:59 PM - Post#140855
In response to jnewsom
Despite all the negative reviews about the quality of the food here we thought we'd be open minded and give Matt's a try, as most have said the service was good to excellent.
Sadly, I wish we had chosen otherwise.
I understand they are somewhat new, and perhaps we should have waited another month or two because of that, but overall I'd give this place a big thumbs down.
The food as others have pointed out was bland, barley warm, much less hot, and average to poor in quality.
And while the food wasn't great the service was down right terrible!
I suspect that our waitress may have been a rookie, because she was slow, forgetful, timid, and confused.
It took forever to get our initial drinks, and we had to ask and re-ask for pretty much everything from refills to chips to salsa, to extra napkins, to you name it.
And even though we asked twice for some items like salsa and napkins, she would still forget them!
There wasn't a single time that the waitress was proactive in coming by our table to bring fresh drinks or chip refills or to even see how things were going.
I had to flag her down for everything, including things that should be taken for granted.
Once we placed our food order, it took 30 mins to get it to our table, and once it did arrive, they got my order wrong, and completely forgot my sons!
The waitress had to go back and put those two orders in anew, while my Wife and Daughter ate theirs.
Then when they did bring them back out, they still screwed up my son's order! When we asked about it (It didn't have the rice and beans it should have come with as a kids meal) we were told that the order was correct.
My wife grabbed a menu to double check and sure enough the server clearly didn't know what should or shouldn't come with certain dishes, and couldn't tell the difference between the kids dish vs. adult dish.
When I told the waitress how unhappy we were, with how our visit was going, she blamed it on the kitchen (even though IMO she should have checked to make sure everything was correct before having it brought to our table)and when pressed further, said she'd get the manager, but even that seemed to take a long time.
When the manager did come by, and we were able to point out all the mistakes, and she apologized and offered to comp our meal, and give us a gift certificate in an effort get us to give them another try in the future.
Quite honestly that was the right thing to do, so I applaud her for that, and she reminded us that they were new and still working stuff out.
At this point in time, even with the gift certificate I'm not sure I'd give them a second chance, in fact I wanted to leave it on the table, but my better half saw the wisdom in hanging on to it, because it's good for a year.
So... Unless I start to see a lot of positive testimonials here and other places like Urban Spoon and Yelp, then we'll be "one and done" with Matt's.
We eat out a lot and try to give local Allen establishments our business, so it's unfortunate our experience was so poor, because there is a LOT of competition in the restaurant business in Allen and nearby places like Plano and McKinney.
Unless they make some major improvements to the quality of food and service, I don't expect Matt's to last more than one year, and like so many other places that have come and gone over the past decade in this town, Matt's will be just one more casualty.
PS: I invited the Manager to check out this website and look for this review, as I make a point of posting about good experiences as well as bad ones that we've had dining out in and around Allen.
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MCDUFF
enthusiast
Posts: 166
Reg: 08-21-03
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10-15-11 05:19 PM - Post#140857
In response to Jay J
I have a feeling they are attempting to make Trinity Hall look good.
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TC2112
enthusiast
Posts: 750
Reg: 08-16-07
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10-15-11 10:35 PM - Post#140861
In response to MCDUFF
Went for the first time last night. Only hiccup was waiting for a booth in the bar area to get cleaned. I had to flag down someone to bus it. After that, our orders of smoked brisket burrito, fried chicken sandwich, crispy chicken tacos, and poblano pepper were cooked to perfection. We'll definitely give it another go.
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bsnelson
enthusiast
Posts: 754
Loc: Allen, TX 75013
Reg: 10-14-05
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10-16-11 12:25 PM - Post#140869
In response to richardb
I guess I simply have to ask, and no disrepect intended, if you ordered an item that was supposed to be queso with taco meat, sour cream and avocado and it tasted like queso with taco meat, sour cream an avocado, what were you expecting?
I'm not BigDaddy, but I'll offer a comment here: The same could be said about most recipes (if the recipe has x, y, z, p, d and q, it'll taste like x, y, z, p, d and q), but, if the recipe is good and it's properly executed, some culinary alchemy will take place and the result will be greater than the sum of its parts. I'd be disappointed if I had a pasta sauce at a fine Italian restaurant that tasted like tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme etc.
On the topic at hand, though: I'm bummed to hear that it sounds like we have yet another mediocre restaurant in a city already populated with too many such outlets.
Brad
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Al C
enthusiast
Posts: 5538
Loc: McKinney/Allen, TX
Reg: 02-16-01
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10-16-11 03:51 PM - Post#140877
In response to bsnelson
I thought it was pretty good. Obviously, opinions on tex-mex vary greatly. Give 'em a try, Brad. I'd be interested in reading your review.
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readingu
enthusiast
Posts: 705
Reg: 02-08-04
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10-16-11 04:53 PM - Post#140881
In response to Al C
Due the typical raving reviews that become the norm to bash every new eatery in Allen, we decided to not ruin a birthday dinner. Went to Plano and enjoyed a joyous time at Abeulo's. We have always been happy with the food and service. Same with Gloria's in VAF.
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bsnelson
enthusiast
Posts: 754
Loc: Allen, TX 75013
Reg: 10-14-05
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10-17-11 10:00 PM - Post#140926
In response to readingu
Gotta agree with Gloria's and Abuelo's; I've never had a bad meal at either one. They can be a little pricey, though, but I'd rather have one pricey but good meal than two mediocre cheap ones.
Al, I'm sure I'll get over there. I think Greek/Mediterranean has replaced Tex-Mex as my favorite go-to, but I do still love Tex-Mex.
Brad
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EnjoyingLife
enthusiast
Posts: 372
Reg: 08-09-10
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10-18-11 09:54 AM - Post#140938
In response to bsnelson
We visited Matt's last night. It was our first visit and probably our last for a while. It was obvious they still need time to work the kinks out.
Constantly had to ask for refills of drinks, salsa and chips and my order was wrong.
The food was really good but I cannot stand it when I'm having to hunt down a waitress.
Maybe things will improve in time. I'll check back on the reviews in a few months.
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AA
enthusiast
Posts: 463
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 07-20-09
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10-18-11 12:35 PM - Post#140947
In response to EnjoyingLife
You can help "work out the kinks" with a big goose-egg in the tip line. And then write why. That's what I do. If I don't perform well at my job, I don't get bonuses. Why should they?
Proactive Response: "It's not a bonus for them but part of their pay." I know I know, don't even get me started on that. But it's still the same principal.
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Raider18
member
Posts: 83
Loc: West Side
Reg: 03-07-11
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10-20-11 11:18 AM - Post#141012
In response to AA
I liked the place. A lot better than Uncle Julios in my opinion.
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SAHM
newbie
Posts: 16
Reg: 01-23-06
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11-05-11 09:39 PM - Post#141813
In response to Motormom
Horrible service. Waited forever to get food. Husband asked waitress if our food was coming and were told the kitchen was a 35 minute wait. I have heard of waiting for a table but that long for food. Never received appetizer but was charged for it. Not worth the wait. Plenty of Tex-Mex places around that have better prices, better food, faster and better service. We will not be back.
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hoofdpijn
enthusiast
Posts: 143
Loc: West Allen
Reg: 03-17-06
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11-07-11 09:25 PM - Post#141955
In response to SAHM
Been there twice. Service was great the first time, average the seconds time. Food was excellent both times. Guess it depends on the night. <shrug>
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AA
enthusiast
Posts: 463
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 07-20-09
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11-11-11 05:45 PM - Post#142163
In response to hoofdpijn
We finally went for lunch today. I had the CFS and thought it was very good. Probably the 2nd best I've had (BJ's being #1 surprisingly). My fiance had the tostada's and neither of us cared for them. The beef had a very weird flavor in it. The chips and salsa were great we thought. Really fresh crispy chips and salsa with just enough of a kick.
I'm not sure what everyone is talking about the service. I waited at the host stand for about 10 minutes waiting on my fiance, and the host made small talk with me and I was asked if I needed anything by about 3 different people. One we were seated, the host actually got the drinks for us because the server was just starting to take the table next to ours order. Chips and Salsa were brought out by the "chips and salsa lady", our server then took our food order, food was brought out by a dedicated runner it seemed, drinks were filled by a server from a couple tables over that just happened to see that our glasses were getting close to empty, and my table was cleared and the bill was given to me by yet another server. This wasn't because our server was slacking, he still checked up on us a couple times, it's just that they happened to walk by and helped out. That kind of teamwork looking out for each other goes a long way. So props on that. And this was in the middle of a weekday lunch rush with a full house.
We'll be back to try more on the menu.
Edited by A Achterhof on 11-11-11 05:45 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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DAB
enthusiast
Posts: 132
Loc: Allen
Reg: 03-18-05
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11-11-11 10:43 PM - Post#142174
In response to AA
We went last weekend and had good service and enjoyed the food. Nothing over the top great, just good Mexican food. Our server was good - when we were talking to him, he said the training staff had left and they were struggling in some areas. He said he sometimes had to wait a long time for the kitchen to turn the orders over and he was glad we had a good experience that night because not all his tables did.
Sounds like they have some kinks to work out. I think if you are a fan of the Austin location, you will love this place. If you don't have a connection, it might be a coin toss whether you are impressed or not.
For those curious who Matt is or the history of how this place got here, there is a detailed history of the place on the placemats at the table.
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rw
member
Posts: 427
Reg: 10-11-01
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11-20-11 05:13 PM - Post#142426
In response to DAB
Wen last night..30 minute wait was well worth it. Great service and the food was very good...will definitely go back. Loved the green enchiladas.
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denisew
Community Expert
Posts: 8759
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 02-18-02
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11-20-11 07:03 PM - Post#142433
In response to rw
We will have to try this restaurant soon. I saw a lot of cars there when we drove by last night, so that is definitely a good sign!
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