Rest in Peace, Mexicana Rose...

On Friday, Deb, Mike and I went to lunch after running some errands. We drove by this little Mexican restaurant. Having previously gone to said restaurant, I blurted out (in a very excited manner), "They have all-you-can-eat tacos on Mondays!" Which got us thinking, wouldn't it be great to go there for YAM? Because seriously, young adults tend to like things like all-you-can-eat Mexican food.

Then I went on a retreat.

I returned and watched the end of the Eagles game at a friends house (yay Eagles!), and lo and behold, Deb was there! And she had made some fabulous little flyers about our forthcoming taco adventures. I asked her a simple question, "Did anyone check to see if they do in fact serve all-you-can-eat tacos on Mondays still?" No. No one had. The nasty monster we call doubt barged into the room.

Hmm...investigation into the taco situation would be necessary. And then the Eagles won, Rock Band ensued, and the potential taco predicament was nearly forgotten.

There was no further investigation until the following afternoon. I was in the area, so I drove by the place. Few signs are dreaded more than the one I saw in the restaurant window. "Space Available."

No. It couldn't be. We drove by it on Friday. This was MONDAY! How, how could this happen?!?

Unlit cactus and sombrero lights still hung from the overhang and posts. Salt and pepper shakers could still be seen waiting patiently for the next customer.

But the next customer would never come. The Mexicana Rose Cantina was no more.

Well, this called for a backup plan. We didn't know who all was planning on attending the dinner, so there was little choice but to meet up there and then head somewhere else. Not too bad of a plan, except it was like 2 degrees outside (at least it felt like that. I think the actual temperature was 26 degrees warmer). We waited and waited. Three people came and went ahead to plan B- the wings place down the street. A few more minutes pasted.

Deb's phone rang.

The wings place - closed. I haven't done any further investigation into that situation, but I sincerely hope it was just closed for the night (although it was only 6:15ish), because I really like that place.

Plan C - The Rustic Grill.

We piled into the car and headed across the street. As we passed the front of the Grill, I breathed a sigh of relief. The sign was lit up. The lights were on inside. And people were there! Now, we did realize the possibility of people only being there because it was the only thing open in the area. But finally, a place to eat (we were all very hungry by this time).

I tried their Smoked Capri Panini. It was deeee-lish.

And it ended up being about the same price as the all-you-can-eat tacos that we didn't get to have.

Moral of the Story? If you are going to plan a spontaneous eating-out experience, try to do it when it is warm, because waiting in the cold in front of a closed restaurant isn't as much fun as you might think. And you look kind of shady just standing there, waiting.

~Jen