Las Delicias II: Old Favorite No Longer Lives Up To Its Former Reputation

Las Delicias started out as a single-location, family-owned restaurant in 1976. Originally, Las Delicias had a reputation for stellar Mexican food, with a menu containing everyone's favorites: huge meaty burritos, cheesy enchiladas, crisp tostadas, perfectly spiced tamales, and flavorful margaritas. The food was great, the prices were low, and the portions were large. This winning combination made it a local favorite and allowed Las Delicias to successfully expand to its five current locations.

Unfortunately, dining at Las Delicias II is no longer what it used to be. Today, it is the definition of hit or miss. When the restaurant is having a good day, the service and the food are pretty good — though, the rug could still use a good vacuuming.

When they have a bad day, it really shows. The service is indifferent at best. Portions are still huge and the food comes out fast but, don't get your hopes up. Usually a short wait for dinner is a good thing: the sign of an efficient kitchen. However, in this case it means there is absolutely no chance any of the food on your plate has been made fresh. With one bite this will be absolutely confirmed. The tortillas in the enchiladas and the breading of the chili relleno were so dry and chewy, despite being smothered in sauce, they were obviously stale. Regardless of price and quantity no one wants to eat food that has obviously sat somewhere for a long, long time.

The rest of the food on the plate is lukewarm at best. Don't bother trying to send it back to get reheated, it will come back cold the second time too. And watch out if you bring your children: the beef used in the children's tacos was so spicy it was near impossible to taste anything else for a full five minutes after taking a bite. While many adults enjoy spicy food, not many children can stand volcano-level heat.

If you feel like playing Russian roulette with your dinning dollar you can take a chance and visit Las Delicias. You may be rewarded with a decent meal for an ok price. Or you may have an experience that makes certain you will never return.