2014 U-Pick Adventures continue with Danielle’s pick to Mexican Radio. Mexican Radio is the new kid on the block in the Downtown Schenectady Area. I was so eager to go that I went before this adventure and had one of the worst experiences ever.
When I went there the first time, it was their grand opening week. My niece wanted to go out for dinner and I suggested we go to Mexican Radio since it was talked up so well during its construction and renovation of the Old OTB building. We went there at around 7 PM and the head waitress told us that there would be a two hour wait. My niece and I didn’t care; we decided to see a movie in that two hour time period. 45 minutes later they called me and left a message saying our table was ready, unfortunately we were already at the movies and we weren’t going to leave. After the movie we headed back over there and explained that we got a call about an hour ago. One of the waitresses rudely said, “We don’t hold tables for more than 5 minutes.” And then I told her that it was supposed to be a two hour wait, we went to see a movie and they called me 45 minutes later. And as looking around, we could easily see open tables enough for two people. Another waitressed piped up and said to seat them.
We get seated and I ordered white sangria, which tasted pretty good. I decided to order the Guacamole Grande, which turned out to be a poco plate of “homemade” chips and “homemade” guacamole and salsa. My niece and I decided to order a Carne Asada Fries which comes with either rice and beans or salad, we opted for house salad. When the order came I was given a Caesar salad and the portion size was relatively small for the amount I paid. When it came to dessert, we both went with an ole time favorite, fried ice cream. What we got was not even close to what fried ice cream is supposed to be; we received a ball of ice cream rolled in toasted coconut.
It came time to paying the bill, so I was paying with my card and my niece was paying with cash; which we explained the situation to our server, Brandi. Brandi goes to take care of the bill and my niece tells me, “Uncle Kevin, I think she’s doing something wrong with your card she keeps swiping it.” I reassured my niece that it’s probably nothing. Brandi returns with our receipts and I tell my niece, “nothing happened; see here is my slip for the amount I paid for.” We left and I brought her home and then I returned home to check my bank like I always do at the end of the night and see that I was charged for both the entire order and also what I intended to pay, I quickly e-mailed Mexican Radio, in which Amber told me there was nothing she could do to release the funds as faster, but I had a free entrée waiting for me when I returned…
The following are out of 5 Points and reflect August’s experience.
(5) Customer Service - Meaning how well they assisted me in my needs.
I called Mexican Radio Friday evening to place my reservations for our group. They handled it quickly and pleasantly. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were seated swiftly by the head waitress and given water. We even had the option of sitting outside or inside, since 2/3s of the party was cold, we opted for sitting outside much to my distaste due to insects. When it came time to paying we asked our server, Rachelle, to split our bill and she was more than happy to do so.
(4) Decor - The atmosphere of the place.
I remember when the building was the Old OTB building, it’s changed a lot and in a good way. It’s very beautiful; the only thing I would change is the outside paint job.
(4) Food & Drink - How well the food tastes, their selection of drinks
This time around, I decided to go with red sangria but I should have stuck with a favorite. It had a not in a good way, interesting taste. For appetizer I went with the Bocadito Radio Roll Ups, which are flour tortillas stuffed with beans and other Mexican goodies, deep fried and drizzled with their crema sauce which seems to be sour cream and lime juice. Entrée wise I went with Plantain Rellanos, you get two plantains cut in half and stuffed with a filling of your choice topped with more of the lime crema sauce, and this is also served with a choice of side salad or beans and rice. I opted for beans and rice, which the rice was a bit hard. Dessert, I almost hesitated with ordering because of the past experience, but I went for it any ways. I went for the fried ice cream. This time around the fried ice cream was actual fried ice cream and not a ball of ice cream rolled in toasted coconut.
A couple side notes: This is the first time I have ever gone to a Latin restaurant and never received complimentary chips and salsa; you do have to pay for them. Also, I did see the Grande Guacamole dish that other customers were ordering and it didn’t look anything like the small dish I received the first time I went.
(4) Price - Here I am not grading my cost, but by the quality of the food I get for the money I spent. (Example: I pay $5 for a hamburger that I could make myself.)
The quality of the food I received was very good and more upscale than what I first received.
(4) Presentation - How things are presented. Food, Drink, Staff, etc.
Uniforms. Check. Food presentation. Check. Drink presentation. Check. I would only change the outside area where they have a small server station which shows a bag full of dirty napkins and dirty dishes. It takes away from the beautiful work they did and also becomes a magnet for the insects which should be taken care of better.
