Schooled by Tijuana Flats

School was always very interesting.

Most of the time, you don't really pay attention. However, every once in awhile a subject comes up in discussion that you know you are the expert on. The teacher, in an attempt to "challenge" the class and will ask a general question to you and your classmates.

Being the all-knowing genius that you are.....you raise your hand. Stretch it high to the sky, lift your self out of your seat. You HAVE to be called on. You KNOW the answer.....stretch stretch, finally the teacher calls your name.

You answer the question.....(pause).......the teacher looks at you and says, "I'm sorry, that's not entirely correct." or "I'm sorry that's not the answer I was looking for."

Have you ever been "that kid"? Usually since you were the only genius raising your hand to answer the question the rest of the class turns around and gives you a smirk with a subtle chuckle that says, "way to go dumb dumb."

Today. I was that kid.

You may recall, if you're a regular reader that I went to Tijuana Flats about 5 months ago and made outrageous claims that they are "all talk" and their food isn't any good. You can read the post by clicking here.

I had the opportunity to go to Tijuana Flats again today and had a slightly different experience.

As usual, the manager greeted us at the door, offered us menus and asked if we had any questions. Today, like last time I was impressed with the concentrated service - something you don't get at either Chipotle or Moe's. Usually you are welcomed with a nod, or a verbal grunt of "welcome to Moe's".

Last time I made the mistake of trying to compare a burrito from Tijuana to a burrito at Chipotle. This was a bad idea. I don't recommend you try it either, if you want a burrito go to Chipotle.

I reviewed the menu, which can be fairly overwhelming and decided I would go with a safe choice that is difficult to mess up: Quesadillas. Someone also once told me that the Quesadillas were the best thing that Tijuana Flats serves, so I was feeling pretty good about it.

Another person I was with went to the edge and ordered something I had never heard of before: Flautas. What the heck? Recalling my last experience I stayed with my choice and did not move off the beaten path. If these Flautas were a disaster, I was going to let her suffer, not me.

Last time I was at Tijuana I didn't get a drink - man did I miss out. They have giant, beautiful cups - that don't sweat. Their ice is shaved. We haven't discussed ice here too much, but ice design is the key to a premium beverage. Tijuana does it right with superb ice which compliments the cup beautifully. Not to mention they have $2.50 draft beers.

We sit down, our food is served by the cashier, and as we eat throughout the meal she stopped by two more times to see if we needed anything and to check on our food. Again another restaurant attempt to blur the lines between fast food, fast casual and casual dining. Soon you will see this category breakout into more sections: fast food, casual fast food, fast casual, and polished fast casual - Tijuana is moving towards polished fast casual and Chick-Fil-A is already at casual fast food. These categories will be defined solely by service standards and atmosphere.

After about two bites in, I started looking enviously towards the plate of pork Flautas: two lightly fried flour tortillas, rolled tightly and loaded with your choice of meat and cheese. Basically imagine mini deep fried rolled tight tacos - stuffed with pulled pork. BOO YAH!

The person I was with stepped away to use the restroom - and I stepped into her (not my wife) basket of food.

Suddenly my decent Quesadillas looked like grilled garbage compared to these magical fried sticks of Mexican happiness. Then - like a beacon of light in the darkness, it occurred to me. Tijuana Flats isn't bad, its just tricky. You have to understand the menu, know the process and become a Tijuana Flats elitist to fully appreciate and benefit from eating there.

Not all of the food is good. The chips are good, the queso is good, the Flautas are good. My other friend got pork nachos and they were awful. In fact, the manager came over and because she was disappointed he brought her out an order of Flautas. Nice.

So what did we learn today?

I gave Tijuana Flats a second chance and they schooled me. They showed me what made them famous and now I get it. We can't compare them to Chipotle because they are an entirely different concept.

My advice?

Study up, learn the lingo, and visit Tijuana Flats. When you do, enjoy the service, get lots of refills and be sure to order the Flautas.

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