Buffalo Thunder Iguana Cafe & Cantina - Restaurant Review

Buffalo Thunder has a casual dining restaurant called the Iguana Cafe & Cantina.  The atmospher is what you would expect from a casual dining restaurant at a casino.  When you first enter the area there is bar area on your left, with a bartender, where you can eat, drink or both.  On the right is another area with a counter seating area.  As for tables and booths, there are three levels.  The upper area that includes the counter and bar area has a few tables.  The next lower area has several booths, and the bottom level has several tables and booths along with a stage area for performers.

We were seated at the lower area for our meal.  It took at least 15 minutes for the waitress to visit out table and take our drink order.  Most of our table opted for non-alcoholic drinks.  After another 20 minutes we motioned for our waitress and asked her if she could bring our drinks and take our order, another 5 minutes and she did bring our drinks and take our order.  During this time we watched as several frustrated customers simply gave up and left.

Our order consisted of a Salad, chicken wings, an enchilada plate, Fajitas, and a few other items.  Why am I not going into detail, you may ask.  Because while the food was good the service was so poor that by the time we got any of our food we were so frustrated that none of the food could be enjoyed.

After waiting an hour for our food, we asked our waitress when we could expect it and also to refill our drinks.  She never refilled any drinks and after approximately 10 minutes she brought us food that was at best luke-warm.  When she brought the food we asked her what happened to our salads (these should have came out first).  Her response was she would bring them in a to go box.  After another 30 minutes, we had to wave down another waitress and ask her to get our salads, the check, and a manager. This waitress was much more attentive.  She got our salads and several to-go boxes right away.  The manager showed up after a few minutes and we explained why we were so disappointed.  He was very respectful and discounted our check and took off the forced 18% gratuity (this is for tables of 6 or more).  He also said he had been fielding several complaints that night regarding our waitress.

Overall the experience was frustrating, but we give props to the manager that handled our complaint in the manner he did.  I really can not say that the food was at all remarkable and I am sure our opinion of the only the food is marred by the lack of service.  For this meal we were in the restaurant
for more than 2 hours.  I will not be going back anytime soon.

Sirphey, Los Alamos New Mexico - A Review of This Unique Restaurant

An interesting restaurant in Los Alamos had popped up on my radar and I have been anxious to try it.  There are not that many options in Los Alamos and so when something this unique comes along it really build excitement.

Sirphey, located at 1793 Deacon Street, Los Alamos, NM, is a non-typical restaurant in where there is no front house.  There are stools and a small bar type area along the walls of the small front room that you can sit and read while you wait for your order to be brought out.  The food is all take out and the menu changes daily.  You can either pick it up or have it delivered if you are in their delivery area.   What I really liked is their web site (https://sirphey.com/).  On the web site you can view the food being served that day along with a description.  From the online menu you can build your order and choose when you want it delivered or picked up.  The times to choose from are in half hour increments. Between 11 am and 2pm the food is hot, after that the food is chilled and packaged for reheating.

Speaking of packaging lets talk about the that.  According to the website the packaging is Eco-Friendly (https://sirphey.com/ecofriendly) and the delivery times are timed so that the food is delivered in a way that the driver can make multiple deliveries at one time.

So what did we think of the food and overall experience.  We were mixed, but we all agreed on what we liked and what we did not like.  Here is what we ordered:

Two Orders of Gulab Jamun @ $3.75 an order

One order of Kolhapuri Chicken (with Naan) @ $8.50 an order

One Chicken Toscano @ $9.50 an order

One Mango Lassi  @ $3.00 and order

Our order totaled $30.58 with Tax.

We had never experienced Gulab Jamun and I am not sure I was impressed.  It was not bad, I would even say it was a nice level of sweetness.  It reminded me of a slightly wet and rubbery doughnut hole.  It tasted fine, for me it was a textural issue.  Not something that I would order again, but not something that I would tell others to not order.  Also since this was the first time any of us had experienced this dessert we have nothing to base it off of.

Gulab Jamun

The order of Kolhapuri Chicken  with Naan was absolutely wonderful.  Everyone who sampled this agreed that this was a absolutely wonderful dish and we would order over and over.  The Naan was also perfect.  I like curry in small amounts and normally shy away from dishes with curry.  This dish was so well balanced in flavors it actually was by far one of the best curry dishes I have ever had.

The Mango Lassi was also a big hit with everyone.  I loved that it was not overly sweet and very creamy.  The mango was a perfect intensity.  Even at $3 for a small drink I have found myself wanting to stop in just to get this drink.

Photo is from Sirpheys Own Website

The Last of our order was the Chicken Toscano.  I would not say that this was bad, but more bland.  This was the one dish that no one chose to finish.  What flavor it did have did not seem Italian.  This was agreed on by everyone who tried the dish.  Everyone also agreed that this was a miss and no one would order again.

Over all I would say that Sirphey is a place that I will visit again, for the convenience and for the Indian food.  I am not sure I would try any of their Italian dishes again.  I do think I will be revisiting them in the coming months and if I do I will do a updated review.

 

Welcome! Travel, Food, and Adventure is my Passion.

 If you are reading this, you're reading my very first blog post.  Thank you!  

I decided to start this blog with the purpose of sharing my love and passion for New Mexico and my love of travel.  Technically this blog is going to be about events, destinations, and food of New Mexico, but I know there is a whole great big world out there waiting to be discovered and so how could I just stop with New Mexico. 

My family and I have a certain passion for traveling and so I would love to share this passion with you.  Also selfishly would like to plug my Travel Agency "The Great Escape Vacations".  Because of my passion for travel and experiencing new things, it only came naturally to open my own travel agency.  So if you are looking for a vacation, tickets or even just a hotel room you can contact me at 1-800-690-3128 or visit my web page at  http://thegreatescapevacations.agentarc.net. 

1-800-690-3128

If you have specific events or places you would like to have reviewed please do not hesitate to leave a comment. In the next week I will be posting my first review.  I will be reviewing a unique restaurant concept (At least new to me).   This restaurant, Sirphey, has eliminated the front of the house, in fact the restaurant is exclusively delivery and takeout.  They also have a daily changing menu with recopies from around the world.  So look for my review to come about this new and innovative restaurant.  https://sirphey.com/