Average Southwestern Food
Written: Aug 06 '02
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Pros: Great service; wide selection; decent prices
Cons: Food is not especially great
The Bottom Line: A good place if you're really hungry and not looking to impress any gourmands.
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| jentnews's Full Review: Canyon Cafe |
You can’t judge a book by its cover.
This old adage was reinforced about two weeks ago when my fiance, my sister, my mother, my aunt and myself visited Canyon Café for my mom’s birthday. She was visiting me in Texas that week, and my aunt thought this restaurant would be good. Having seen the place from the highway a couple of times, I thought it looked nice and assumed the food would be good. However, I didn’t find that Canyon Café’s fare lived up to the impression it gave with its ambience.
APPEARANCE
Canyon Café looks very nice from the outside, with big gas-powered tiki-torch-type columns outside and a medium-sized patio where you could enjoy the sunset while dining. The inside is also nice, decorated in traditional southwestern style – lots of warm tones and soft lighting. A dessert tray displaying the night’s various confections waited by the hostess stand. The tables were spacious and the chairs comfortable – not crowded like many franchise restaurants.
SERVICE
Service at Canyon Café was excellent. Our party was seated promptly, no waiting, and a waitress appeared at our table quickly to tell us the night’s specials and take drink orders. She seemed knowledgeable about the menu and was able to make recommendations. She also dropped off some breadsticks with southwestern dipping sauce, which I’ll talk about further down in this review. When our glasses became empty, they were refilled quickly, and the food was served hot and without a lot of waiting. None of the orders were wrong. All in all, I don’t have a bad word to say about the customer service. But…
FOOD
We were not, however, entirely impressed with our food. My fiance and my mother got Skillet Enchiladas, which are essentially chicken enchiladas on multicolored tortillas served with a lot of sauce in a sizzling black skillet. These were okay, but there was a LOT of tomato flavor to them – it seemed like some kind of cross between Italian and Mexican food, which was not a pleasant combination to me. I ordered the Margarita Shrimp Tacos, which were comprised of breaded and fried shrimp on white and orange flour tortillas and the restaurant’s Margarita Slaw. The shrimp and tortillas were fine, but I disliked the margarita slaw, which was a little bitter for my taste. I think it had a lot of red wine vinegar in it. My aunt got Portabella Mushrooms and Spinach Quesadillas, which were excellent. All of these entrees were served with Mexican rice and black beans, which were neither especially good nor especially bad. My sister got a Canyon Classic Burger and fries, which I think were the best of all the entrees we ordered. The hamburger tasted like it had been cooked on someone’s backyard barbecue grill, and the fries were good too.
Before the meal, we were served breadsticks with a spicy pink cream cheese dipping sauce. I liked the breadsticks and the cream cheese sauce was unusual, not bad at all.
We didn’t order dessert, but there seemed to be a good selection on the dessert tray, such as cheesecake, regular cake and chocolate brownie offerings. The bar also offers a wide selection of “signature margaritas,” blending tequila with blue curacao, raspberry liqueur, and the like.
PRICE AND LOCATIONS
Canyon Café has 14 locations, most of them in the Southwestern U.S., but there are also locations in Georgia and Washington state. Prices range from about $7.99 to $19.99 (for the salmon, steak and other expensive stuff). For detailed info, visit http://www.canyoncafe.com.
ANALYSIS
Canyon Café serves unremarkable Southwestern food that’s good for a casual Friday night dinner. Those who don’t like this type of cuisine have few options except the hamburger and cheeseburger, so avoid it if you’ve got picky eaters. The price is typical of most restaurants and a pretty good deal for the sizable entrees you receive. Visit if you’re hungry, but not if you want an absolutely fabulous dining experience.
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Avoid the Margarita Shrimp Tacos. The Portabella Mushroom and Spinach Quesadillas and Canyon Classic Burger are terrific!
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
jentnews
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Location: Texas, USA
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
A struggling writer, tryin' to make it in Texas.
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