El Potrillo — Almost Closed but Full On Service
We were hungry. You know the feeling. It was getting late (especially on small-town time) but we weren’t in the mood to cook at home and we wanted to sit and eat. We hit up El Potrillo on Main.
When we first arrived, I was standing at the edge of the bar and glaring over the bar to see what kinds of beer were in the cooler. A gentleman came up and seemed a bit incredulous… “What are you looking for?!?!” he asked in an odd tone. Then I realized he was a customer and not a staff member. I was in front of his stool and he probably thought I was being weird.
I glanced to the posted hours and saw we were only 35-40 minutes prior to closing – uh oh I thought to myself. This could suck. See, in California, if you show up near closing half the menu is unavailable and the service sucks because they just want you out of their way of closing.
Not the case at El Potrillo! They graciously sat us and offered to bring us some drinks. Heidi and I ordered margaritas and began to review the menu. I told our server we hadn’t been there before and asked for recommendations. He was descriptive and helpful. I was impressed at how we were being served so close to closing.
There was a Camarrones Diablo on the menu that caught my eye, but it had french fries in it. I like spicy, but I wasn’t sure about french fries mixed in my Mexican dinner. I inquired about the spiciness of the Camarrones Potrillo which was not listed as spicy, but had more of what I thought was a traditional Mexican meal.
To my surprise, in a heavy accent, my server said “Is no problem, you like a this (pointing at menu) but a spicy?”. I replied, “You can do that?”. We agreed and what came to our table was a more traditional shrimp dinner, but with a heavily spiced peppered oil on top that gave the whole plate more life. I was thrilled. Heidi’s dinner and Haydon’s dinner was also well-prepared… and they offered to bring us more chips and salsa.
Are you sure this place is getting ready to close?
As we began to wind down after this awesome meal, our server asked if we wanted more drinks or dessert. For a first visit – I am blown away.
El Potrillo – Round II
I gotta say, I was gunshy at publishing my review of El Potrillo from the first visit. It seemed too much of an anomaly to publish. It was too good.
This is a testament to this town. Every transaction, save two, have exceeded my initial expectations – and even those two stragglers were not overly negative… they just didn’t exceed.
We went back to El Potrillo at a more reasonable time. The place was poppin’ with diners at many tables. I thought to myself “Now I will see them in action.” They burst into action. We had three people helping our table. Chips and Salsa hit the table. Margaritas at the ready. Then things got authentic.
Our server says “Sorry… my English… not… not so good”. I joked and asked “Parla Italiano?” and then we volleyed back and forth a bit between English and Spanish. His personality and dedication to doing his best as a server was evident.
An older gentleman was shadowing him and confirming the messaging as this ballet of activity efficiently served all the tables in the house. It was a great experience as it felt inclusive and not like the younger server was inadequate.
Our drinks, food, and server attention were on point for the entire visit. I got a huge thing with melted cheese, shrimp, chicken, and beef with all kinds of stuff in it… served in a tall crock of some kind. It was tasty.
When we were getting ready to leave, I asked our young server how long he had been in the country. He responded by saying just 10 days!! In just 10 days this man came to our town, started a job, and is giving some of the best service I have received at a sit-down restaurant in years. Kudos to him and confirmation that the United States is still a land of opportunity.
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