Saturday, July 5, 2008

REVIEW: La Parilla Mexican Restaurant

Tonight, my mother and I decided to give this new mega-Mexican restaurant in town called La Parilla. It has pretty nice architecture and it looks more upscale than most of the other Mexican joints in town. Plus, it's nestled in front of the Target shopping center, so when you eat there you feel like you're actually in a bustling, successful metropolis!

First off, I'm not sure how many more Mexican restaurants Dothan can physically contain. We have like 144 La Bamba's and like 137 Old Mexicos. And that's on the Circle alone. You can't step outside without being draped in the permeating smell of chimichangas. And yet, despite there being so many of these restaurants, you can't deny their charm. Nothing says "authentic Mexican cooking" like having your food prepared by real, live illegal immigrants!

Unfortunately for La Parilla, being a more upscale chain-style business, hiring illegals is unheard of, so having your food cooked by Seth and served to you by Ricky will have to suffice. Needless to say, I was worried about the quality of the food when I was greeted by smiling caucasian faces.

So anyway, my mom and I had a seat and the first thing we noticed was that the fucking lights weren't working. I had to use my cell phone's screen as a lamp so she could read the menu. This problem was partially solved later, when we were bathed in flourescent light as what appeared to be backup lights cut on. 90% of the spot light bulbs appeared to have blown out, so these ruined the "mood lighting" when they cut on and made everything look blue. Regardless, we could see now.

One other problem with the atmosphere was the pure shittiness of the acoustics inside. Sound carries massively in there, and the sound of people talking was unbearably loud. I could barely hear my mom sitting across from me, but I could hear someone on the other side of the restaurant talking about having chicken stuck in their braces. If you go to La Parilla, know ahead of time that you are going to go deaf. It's louder than Hell, and I imagine you can't get much louder than Hell.

Anyway, I had to ask the manager for a refill since our waiter stopped showing up, and when we finally got our food, my mom's fucking burrito was cold and bland. My fajitas, however, were the fucking shit. I nearly had a full-on tortillagasm. The steak was tender and cooked to perfection and the flavor was great.

If you want good fajitas, go to La Parilla.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere and the mediocre service made the overall experience pretty unenjoyable. So Dothanites, if you want good Mexican food with an authentic atmosphere and an enjoyable experience, go to La Bamba near the Medical Center or Old Mexico near Westgate. They still own this town, and probably will for all eternity.

Overall Score:
6.7/10

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