Poblano Grill

[kevinpate]

... I don't like the paying for queso, why is this trend taking on?

To be charitable, what most places and customers consider free queso, isn't. It's simply a marketing gimmick. That stuff, though edible it may be, ain't queso.

I grant ya it'll do for a no extra charge dipping sauce. But, we all should be a wee bit ashamed we ever let ourselves believe, for even a moment, it should ever be considered queso.

Queso, honest, delicious, stick with ya queso, is worth paying to enjoy. For folks on a tight budget, go with it and sip water in lieu of a charged for drink.

[Dubya61]

To be charitable, what most places and customers consider free queso, isn't. It's simply a marketing gimmick. That stuff, though edible it may be, ain't queso.

I grant ya it'll do for a no extra charge dipping sauce. But, we all should be a wee bit ashamed we ever let ourselves believe, for even a moment, it should ever be considered queso.

Queso, honest, delicious, stick with ya queso, is worth paying to enjoy. For folks on a tight budget, go with it and sip water in lieu of a charged for drink.

I'm not calling you out. Your post makes me think that I might not know good queso. What do you call good queso? Your homemade? or have you had some good queso locally? Again, not throwing down the gauntlet and won't argue. Just want to know.

[Roger S]

I And, I have talked to people that visit here from all over the country. What I've learned is that Oklahoma is the only place that does the free queso thing... Everyone is amazed by it, but it is such a pervasive thing here that restaurants almost have to do it to compete.

I'm not sure that the free cheese jelly setup even carries much beyond the OKC area. I have not eaten at any Okie-Mex places in Tulsa but I can tell you that in Ardmore none of them offer any free cheese jelly.

Back in the 80's the complimentary queso, this was before it became cheese jelly, at Nino's used real cheese but sometime after the oil bust Okie-Mex places in OKC did everything they could to cut their food costs and stay in business. So I don't think you'll even find any cheese in the complimentary cheese jelly served today. It's been several years since I was in an Okie-Mex kitchen but last time I was the main ingredient was chicken soup base.

[ShiroiHikari]

Yeah, I don't know what that stuff is but I'm fairly sure it doesn't contain any actual cheese. :P I'd rather drink water and pay a couple extra bucks for some actual queso, but apparently I'm in the minority.

I usually don't consider driving all the way to Moore just for Tex-Mex, especially since Tarahumara's is like a mile from my house. So I've never been to Alfredo's, and had never heard anything good about Poblano so never bothered going there.

[so1rfan]

Depending on the time of day, if I'm in Moore I drive the extra ten miles or so to eat at Tarahumara. If it's late then we'll eat at Alfredo's. We tried both Ricky's and Poblano a couple of times, but why bother when Alfredo's is better.

[bille]

Yeah, I don't know what that stuff is but I'm fairly sure it doesn't contain any actual cheese. :P I'd rather drink water and pay a couple extra bucks for some actual queso, but apparently I'm in the minority.

I usually don't consider driving all the way to Moore just for Tex-Mex, especially since Tarahumara's is like a mile from my house. So I've never been to Alfredo's, and had never heard anything good about Poblano so never bothered going there.

And you shouldn't either, Tarahumara's is awesome and I probably wouldn't bother going anywhere else if I lived that close to them. Alfredo's is good but not that good, unless you just happen to be in the area.

Depending on the time of day, if I'm in Moore I drive the extra ten miles or so to eat at Tarahumara. If it's late then we'll eat at Alfredo's. We tried both Ricky's and Poblano a couple of times, but why bother when Alfredo's is better.

Ricky's used to be a pretty good bargain. When he first opened up and only ran one location and Ricky himself was there (not his a-hole flunky 'manager') most of the time the place was a favorite location of ours, especially considering the lack of other locations in Moore at the time. Now the food quality, quantity, and the service suck and we have no intentions on ever returning. That's sad, Ricky is a cool cat and we use to enjoy him waiting on us back at one of the original Chelino's locations so many years ago.

All the comments here about the faux cheese has me intrigued, the next time I'm at Tarahumara's, Alfredo's and Ted's I'm going to request the 'real' queso, the kind in which I should be charged for and see what they say. I'll comment back with my results!

[mikesimpsons82]

I want to comment on this... lol. I have been to mexican food restaurants all over the country. And, I have talked to people that visit here from all over the country. What I've learned is that Oklahoma is the only place that does the free queso thing... Everyone is amazed by it, but it is such a pervasive thing here that restaurants almost have to do it to compete. My suspicion is that Chuy's will probably even start doing the same thing at some point.

Wanna bet on that? Chuy's will never start serving cheese goo and I seriously doubt they'll offer their queso for "free", other than during happy hour like all Chuy's. The cheese goo phenomenon in Oklahoma truly blows my mind. The stuff is bland and tasteless. I guess Oklahomans just have to feel like they're getting something for nothing. I wouldn't go to Ted's, Alfredo's or Poblano Grill if the entire meal was free.

[s00nr1]

That's a shame considering Alfredo's is absolutely delicious.

[mikesimpsons82]

That's a shame considering Alfredo's is absolutely delicious.

If you say so. Unfortunately the Lord blessed me with a good palate.

[Easy180]

Might be mistaken as I was driving and looking back but I did not see the for sale banner this evening

[s00nr1]

If you say so. Unfortunately the Lord blessed me with a good palate.

Right. :/

[progressiveboy]

Chuy's is a great Tex Mex restaurant, probably the best in the metro area!

I love Chuy's. I eat at the one on Knox Street in Dallas. Great food, atmosphere! Chuy's should do well in Norman. I heard they are also scouting for a location in OKC? Quality is very good!

[bille]

Might be mistaken as I was driving and looking back but I did not see the for sale banner this evening

ooh, perhaps God's gift to Mexican food will land in Moore now too!

So excited,

[soonermike]

Any idea what's going on at this location? In the last week there has been a sign out front saying "Hiring Laborers Inside" with a semi trailer parked at the back of the building. They also re-coated the parking lot this week.

[MonkeesFan]

Wait a minute.... I remember I read that in another tread that Russell Stover's sold to Henry Hudson's and I thought Henry Hudson's was going to be built in place of Russell Stover? Did the plans fell through?

[bille]

Russell Stover's sold to a real estae/investment company in 09, that company sold it to another investment company last month. Do you know somebody that works for Mark's Group Corp ?