Hot Tamale Cafe

Hot Tamale Cafe
13815 Fribble Way
Midlothian, VA 23112
804-595-0138
www.hottamalecafe.com

I recently bought a Groupon for the Hot Tamale Cafe, thinking what better way to try a new place?  I probably never would have gone here if not for the Groupon, simply because of their location.  It isn't a bad neighborhood or anything, it just isn't an area that I typically visit, and also they're kind of hidden behind a couple of other businesses.  But, Groupon in hand, we located the restaurant and went on in.

The decor was nice - typical bright colors and Tex-Mex themed, and the music was enjoyable (at least for our group) classic rock - Eagles, Eric Clapton, etc.  The menu was interesting.  This is the only place I've seen where the various fillings are listed with prices and you choose the way you get them - burrito, chimichanga, quesadilla, pizza (50 cents less), or bowl.  The list of fillings looked delicious, but as Mexican restaurants go, they were a bit overpriced - ranging from $8.25 for beans or vegetables to $12.95 for scallops and shrimp.  They also serve steak, seafood, burgers, and more.  Their menu can be found here.

I opted for one of their taco combos - three tacos with two sides for $8.95-$9.95.  My choice was the Guaca Tacos - Grilled chicken, fresh guacamole, chopped onion, fresh cilantro and white cheese in three soft corn tacos and two sides for $8.95.  I ordered mine in white flour tortillas instead of the soft corn.  I was expecting the typical seasoned shredded chicken, but instead the chicken had been grilled (maybe, it had no grill flavor) and chopped.  It had no seasoning that I could taste and it was overdone.  The tacos were served warm, but not hot enough to melt the shredded cheese.

If you don't specify, the taco combos come with Southwest Rice and Charro Beans.  I had never heard of Charro Beans so I asked how they were prepared.  Our server said they were "pinto beans that have been cooked."  Just cooked?  I think I'll pass.  And since I'm not a big fan of commercially cooked rice of any variety, I chose to get refried beans and pico de gallo as my sides.  Now, I've never heard of pico being served as a "side" - more like a condiment.  But I was served a 4-6 ounce bowl of pico.  The beans were also served in a bowl - no cheese, no sauce, no flavor.  No, I take that back - they tasted like burned coffee.

The kids weren't in the mood for Mexican, so they ordered burgers.  Neither one ate more than half.  Like the chicken, they were overcooked and dry.  Macaela tried to make hers better by adding refried beans.  I guess she didn't taste the beans first.

Lace couldn't decide what she wanted and felt most items were overpriced, so she got a Tex-Mex Combo.  They have a List A and a List B, and you can choose two or three items from A or B for $6.95-$9.25.  This price includes rice and beans, or your choice of two sides.  There was no option for one from each list, so Lace asked if this was possible and was told that would be okay.  She chose the cheese quesadilla and the chile relleno (pronounced rell (like bell)-enno by our server) and asked for refried beans, no rice.  The server asked if she wanted her chile stuffed with cheese or potato, she chose potato.

The quesadilla was slapped on a bare plate alongside another plate with two bowls of beans and a tiny chile relleno.  Seriously tiny, like maybe 3" long.  I've never seen a poblano that small, except baby ones still on the plant.  And everything was served totally plain - no cheese, no sauce, no garnish, no condiments.  And the potato-stuffed chile was full of corn.

I'm not sure how they are cooking - nothing had grill marks, and the quesadilla was white.  We packed up our left-overs to take home to the dog.  He enjoyed it!

As we were leaving, I asked for a menu to take home.  They couldn't find any.  Lace said she didn't give the place long and we all agreed.  Imagine my surprise when I got home and looked up their website and discovered they've been open for eleven years!  How does a restaurant stay open that long serving food that bad?  Was it the chef's night off?  Or should we have been clued in by the fact that there was not a single Hispanic person in sight?