The Setting: This restaurant is housed in a bungalow just off of Decatur’s city square. Porch seating, indoor seating and large group seating on the lawn. Two good-sized squares of lawn border the entry walk, we take in the quiet surroundings and think this is great. We sit happily on the porch and take in the gorgeous evening. The smells from the kitchen are quite tempting.
Five minutes later there are approximately 10-15 small children yelling, sceaming, and playing on those pretty patches of green (This yelling, screaming, and playing lasted the entire duration of our visit.). About 5 minutes into the yelling and screaming (and unfortunately for us AFTER we’ve placed our order) we notice a sign near the patches of grass labeling them kid’s areas. I don’t know if this is a party, group event, or weekly occurance. But, this is one KID-FRIENDLY restaurant. You’ve been warned.
The Staff: Our server was very friendly. She was definitely busy and maybe a smidge distracted.
The Food: This is where the real bad luck kicks in. Now, the scent of yummy food was in the air and we see tasty morsels arrive at other tables (most notably an order of golden brown plantains drizzled with cream — we should have ordered these). But, unfortunately, we ordered:
Duck Carnitas — (extremely well-done chunks of duck tossed with barely sauteed onions) This was quite difficult to eat. The chunks of duck had very little moisture.
Tamale — (pork with red mole) The pork was tender, but, the mole had very little flavor.
Chile Corn — (The menu states fresh corn tossed with spices and butter. But, if it was fresh corn, it was seriously overcooked.) The first bite was incredibly salty. So, salty, that I couldn’t identify the citrus juice used… lemon or lime? My guess is lime.
Black Beans — There was very little flavor going on. Just the garnish of cilantro and onion added flavor.
Habanero Salsa — The taste was pleasantly spicy, but, the consistency was far too watery for our taste.
Maybe we were stuck in a bad luck rut last night. But, sadly, there were far too many misses for this first visit to tempt us into a second. Maybe someday… if we’re feeling lucky.
El Tesoro
129 Church Street
Decatur, GA 30030
