Stephen Montoya
There’s a lot to be said about any institution that has survived as long as the Original Mexican Eats Café has. Just a mere seven years before it could hit it’s 100th, a bureaucratic issue over a lease has this Fort Worth institution shutting its doors at its current location for good at the end of March. It’s for this very reason I decided to beeline for this eatery and try its food for the first and possibly last time.
Upon my arrival I could see the parking lot was packed on both the front and rear of the restaurant. After driving around the block I found a parking spot near an old house on an adjacent street. This being my first visit to this establishment I walked around to the front entrance, not knowing there was one in the back. As I entered the reception area, I felt a sense of history and nostalgia. That and I knew this restaurant was 93 years old, which added to my hungry anticipation. I waited for a few minutes before I was sat in the bar area near the entrance. The Original was jumping with patrons coming and going like they were all attending a wedding reception or paying their respects to an old relative. That being said, the service was on point with the bartender doubling as my server. She brought me some chips and salsa and grabbed my drink order all while taking care of other guests without missing a beat. The fresh made chips were crisp and served along with a container of salsa that you could pour into a bowl after repeated dips. The salsa was good, but I thought the chips outshined it flavor wise.
The pressure to order was ominous since I knew I had one chance to get it right. So, with my expectations high and wanting to cover all of my bases at once, I ordered the sampler platter. This huge dish comes with Nico’s (jalapeno) poppers, three huge bean and cheese nachos, chicken flautas, and a fajita quesadilla for good measure. My-oh-my what a combination. Oh yeah — the plate also comes with a side of ranch for the poppers and some cheese queso for the flautas. The flautas were crunchy and golden brown and packed with chicken. Each bite crackled with small pieces of golden fried corn tortilla crumbs shattering all over my shirt and table. The nachos were also deceptively great. I say deceptively since they consist of only three ingredients: refried beans, cheese, and corn chips. Somehow the simplicity of this portion of the sampler comforted my taste buds like seeing an old friend in an unexpected place. The fajita quesadilla was packed with fajita meat, almost to the point of busting through the tortilla it was placed in. The poppers were a bit soggy for my liking, so I used them as an additional topping for my nachos.
Stephen Montoya
As I sat at my table trying the out the cuisine, I took mental notes on the atmosphere. I overheard a patron say it was Margarita Wednesday, so this could be the reason for the bustle, but it is a well-known fact, among locals, that this establishment has mere weeks before it closes for good. I figured everyone’s reason for being here during my brief lunch encounter was for this very fact. However, the patrons weren’t the only thing to study. I glimpsed the whimsy of almost a century’s worth of decorations and design in and around the entire restaurant. The entrance had a life-size cut out of Sean Connery as James Bond resting behind the benches were patrons wait to be seated. Another life-size cut out of Elvis stood next to the bar, which lined up next to a margarita machine. On the other side of the bar were photographs of a woman I would assume was the Original’s first owner Lola San Miguel Pineda.
The plaster clung to the walls like a thick smear on a bagel, which in itself is a testament to how long this place has been here. The ceiling looked authentically — well – original, with its art deco style metal ceiling tiles structured in a wavy line. It was as if I was eating with Franklin and Elliot Roosevelt’s ghosts, but I will chalk that up to an overactive imagination. The staff were poised and ready for the rush of people I was a part of for this first final visit. I was pleasantly surprised by the service and how thick the ambiance of history hangs so effortlessly in this establishment. The only thing I would recommend is to eat here one more time before the Original closes its doors on 93 years of history on March 31.
Holes in the Fort Rating Scale
Ambiance: Out of 5 – 4 (It was cool and authentic, but it was also very dated.)
Service: Out of 5 – 5 (This was one of the highlights of my visit to the Original.)
Food: Out of 5 – 4 (Those jalapeno poppers really sank the combo. However, the rest of the food was good.)
Price Point: Economical (most of the food on the menu is around $10.)
Do: go and eat here, it has mere weeks before it closes and relocates to the Original Del Norte, located at 1400 North Main Street. Even so it won’t be the same.
Don’t: forget this establishment closes soon.
(Holes in the Fort is an ongoing series that highlights some of the city’s best local food spots.)
