On the morning of Sunday, January 3, Anne and I woke up and got our things in the car. I don't know about her, but I was very sad to leave central Texas. But at least we were not yet leaving the warm weather. No, we drove south about an hour and then east on I-10 toward my uncle's house in the suburbs of New Orleans.
Interesting fact. Look at a road map of the United States. I-10 stretches from the west coast, through Houston and New Orleans, all the way to the east coast. (I-95 on the east coast does the same thing from north to south. It goes from Connecticut all the way down to Miami, Florida.)
The drive to Houston was about two hours, so we left at around 8:30. This would be our last chance
for a long time to get a +Taco Cabana fix, so we didn't want to pass the last location before lunch. As it turned out, the last location we would pass was on the east side of Houston (at 13455 Ih-10 East Freeway, Houston, TX 77015) and we were there just at 11 o'clock. We stopped the car and entered the restaurant with mixed anticipation and sorrow.
The line was short, but it took forever to get through it. I think the cashier was new. I thought it was strange to have a new cashier at the register on a holiday weekend (or on a weekend at all), but I could see four other workers there, so maybe she was being supervised from a distance. I don't know.
Fortunately, Anne and I were experienced with the menu from our two weeks in the Austin area. We did not dilly dally with our orders. We knew just what we wanted and the words to use to make our order simple for the cashier. In reality, it only took a few minutes to get through the line. Then, number in hand, I found an almost clean table and went for salsa while Anne headed to the restroom.
I must be meant to stay in central Texas because there was some serious bad juju going on during our trip across the Texas-Louisiana line. You know now that I enjoy writing positive reviews about places I like and I really like Taco Cabana. But I was very unhappy with my Taco Cabana experience on January 3. I have never seen a Taco Cabana in such disarray as this one was... and at 11:00 on a Sunday morning. First, as I already mentioned, most of the tables were dirty. I had to scout around for one that did not look too bad. Also, the floor badly needed to be swept. I know that is supposed to be done before close at night but at 11 am there were napkins and trash scattered around the floor.
Then, remember the picture of the salsa bar in Waco? Nice, right? That is because we were there early in the day and the "FRESH salsa bar" is stocked anew, first thing in the morning. Not so with this one in Houston. The salsa crocks were virtually EMPTY except for the vestiges of salsa on their sides and in the inside bottom rims. I managed to scrape up just enough to mostly fill one of their tiny plastic salsa cups so that I could dip my taquitos into it, but I would have liked a little more for my chips.
Then Anne came back from the restroom and told me that both stalls were out of paper when she got there. Another woman got the cashier to fetch some more toilet paper and Anne got the benefit of her request. But after using it she discovered that there was neither soap nor paper towels! (When I heard this, I was very glad I decided to eat before using the facilities.)
It was about this time that I looked into the kitchen to count the number of workers and see how many cars were in the drive through lane. All four of the kitchen workers I counted were gabbing and laughing. The cashier was the only one who looked to be working and she was moving pretty slowly. In the 45 minutes we were there, she got the napkins off the floor and the tables cleaned. I am not sure about the salsa bar because I finished eating before she got to it, and the bathroom was still out of soap and paper towels when I used it after my meal. (The garbage can was also overflowing with... yes... paper towels.)
Many years ago, I used to cashier at Taco Bell. At the time, my restaurant was the only fast food Mexican place in an area with a lot of hungry, Mexican, construction workers. I easily did $500 to $1000 (cash) per weekday lunch shift and if my restaurant had ever been as chaotic as this Taco Cabana in Houston was at 11 o'clock on a Sunday morning, I would have felt utterly humiliated -- and that is what I have to say about our experience at the Taco Cabana. I am embarrassed for the management of this location. So embarrassed, in fact, that I did not take a photo for this blog. It was just that bad.
Leaving Taco Cabana behind us, we continued on the road to the Texas-Louisiana state line. There we found more bad juju. (I am telling you, central Texas wanted me to stay!)
I like to stop at the welcome center when I cross a State line. It is somewhat of a habit (although I do not stop when entering Wisconsin because I am so familiar with the Wisconsin entry points that I have other places I like to stop). It is a nice break from driving and a sure restroom stop. Welcome centers usually have decent bathroom facilities in addition to a stack of free State maps. Some welcome centers, like the ones going into Texas and Illinois, also have brochures for things to do, a dog walk and a play area for children.
Entering Louisiana, there was a sign that said "Welcome center at exit" some number. It was a few miles down the road, but we decided we could wait a few more minutes for the bathroom and a break from driving. When we got to the appropriate exit number, we got off the highway with confidence. After all, the sign had said the welcome center would be there. Well, there was something there but it was not a welcome center. At least, I think it was not the welcome center. On the shores of beautiful Lake Charles there is a somewhat smelly, outdoor, public toilet with... you guessed it... NO TOILET PAPER. I'm telling you. It was just a bad juju sort of day.
(Needless to say, we drove on to the nearest truck stop. I think it was a +Love's. Those are always nice stops.)
Interesting fact. Look at a road map of the United States. I-10 stretches from the west coast, through Houston and New Orleans, all the way to the east coast. (I-95 on the east coast does the same thing from north to south. It goes from Connecticut all the way down to Miami, Florida.)
The drive to Houston was about two hours, so we left at around 8:30. This would be our last chance
for a long time to get a +Taco Cabana fix, so we didn't want to pass the last location before lunch. As it turned out, the last location we would pass was on the east side of Houston (at 13455 Ih-10 East Freeway, Houston, TX 77015) and we were there just at 11 o'clock. We stopped the car and entered the restaurant with mixed anticipation and sorrow.
The line was short, but it took forever to get through it. I think the cashier was new. I thought it was strange to have a new cashier at the register on a holiday weekend (or on a weekend at all), but I could see four other workers there, so maybe she was being supervised from a distance. I don't know.
Fortunately, Anne and I were experienced with the menu from our two weeks in the Austin area. We did not dilly dally with our orders. We knew just what we wanted and the words to use to make our order simple for the cashier. In reality, it only took a few minutes to get through the line. Then, number in hand, I found an almost clean table and went for salsa while Anne headed to the restroom.
I must be meant to stay in central Texas because there was some serious bad juju going on during our trip across the Texas-Louisiana line. You know now that I enjoy writing positive reviews about places I like and I really like Taco Cabana. But I was very unhappy with my Taco Cabana experience on January 3. I have never seen a Taco Cabana in such disarray as this one was... and at 11:00 on a Sunday morning. First, as I already mentioned, most of the tables were dirty. I had to scout around for one that did not look too bad. Also, the floor badly needed to be swept. I know that is supposed to be done before close at night but at 11 am there were napkins and trash scattered around the floor.
Then, remember the picture of the salsa bar in Waco? Nice, right? That is because we were there early in the day and the "FRESH salsa bar" is stocked anew, first thing in the morning. Not so with this one in Houston. The salsa crocks were virtually EMPTY except for the vestiges of salsa on their sides and in the inside bottom rims. I managed to scrape up just enough to mostly fill one of their tiny plastic salsa cups so that I could dip my taquitos into it, but I would have liked a little more for my chips.
Then Anne came back from the restroom and told me that both stalls were out of paper when she got there. Another woman got the cashier to fetch some more toilet paper and Anne got the benefit of her request. But after using it she discovered that there was neither soap nor paper towels! (When I heard this, I was very glad I decided to eat before using the facilities.)
It was about this time that I looked into the kitchen to count the number of workers and see how many cars were in the drive through lane. All four of the kitchen workers I counted were gabbing and laughing. The cashier was the only one who looked to be working and she was moving pretty slowly. In the 45 minutes we were there, she got the napkins off the floor and the tables cleaned. I am not sure about the salsa bar because I finished eating before she got to it, and the bathroom was still out of soap and paper towels when I used it after my meal. (The garbage can was also overflowing with... yes... paper towels.)
Many years ago, I used to cashier at Taco Bell. At the time, my restaurant was the only fast food Mexican place in an area with a lot of hungry, Mexican, construction workers. I easily did $500 to $1000 (cash) per weekday lunch shift and if my restaurant had ever been as chaotic as this Taco Cabana in Houston was at 11 o'clock on a Sunday morning, I would have felt utterly humiliated -- and that is what I have to say about our experience at the Taco Cabana. I am embarrassed for the management of this location. So embarrassed, in fact, that I did not take a photo for this blog. It was just that bad.
Leaving Taco Cabana behind us, we continued on the road to the Texas-Louisiana state line. There we found more bad juju. (I am telling you, central Texas wanted me to stay!)
I like to stop at the welcome center when I cross a State line. It is somewhat of a habit (although I do not stop when entering Wisconsin because I am so familiar with the Wisconsin entry points that I have other places I like to stop). It is a nice break from driving and a sure restroom stop. Welcome centers usually have decent bathroom facilities in addition to a stack of free State maps. Some welcome centers, like the ones going into Texas and Illinois, also have brochures for things to do, a dog walk and a play area for children.
 |
| Lake Charles Welcome Center? |
(Needless to say, we drove on to the nearest truck stop. I think it was a +Love's. Those are always nice stops.)
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