El Forastero Mexican Food — Restaurant in California

I'll post the email I just sent to the address on El Forastero's site and let it speak for itself.

I'm writing to complain about the service at your location on Folsom Blvd. I walk in. There's a sign telling me the specials for each day of the week, all at a lower price than their standard pricing, hence why they are specials of the day. I order the special for the day today. I'm charged the regular price, which is roughly a $3 overcharge. The cashier doesn't give me the drink that goes with it. I ask for the drink and get it. I go to the soda machine, no ice. I go to the salsa bar. No salsa. I wait for my food and instead of calling them out by a number on the receipt they are calling the orders out by one, not all, but one of the items within each meal, so there's constant confusion at the front counter as to whose meal is whose. The worker ends up calling out an order and making direct eye contact with me, so I go up and grab it...not my meal. I'm already out the door so I don't bother going back in. It's Mexican food, it's hard to screw up Mexican food...or so I thought. I ended up with a carne asada meal. But instead of the tacos being pre-made there is just a slab of what looks like carne asada that must have been sitting out and drying in the sun for 12 hours and the flour tortillas are separate. Whatever, the tacos aren't pre-made, I can make them back at the office while I'm trying to do my job. I can deal with that. However, the meal should have also come with rice and beans. Those were there...kind of. There was about 2 tablespoons of rice and 3 tablespoons of beans. The meal actually looked comical inside the to-go box. By comical I mean it looked tiny and disgusting.

So not only did I not get what I ordered and was overcharged for what I ordered, but I didn't even get a moderate serving of any part of the meal. And even something as simple as a salsa bar wasn't being handled by the staff. The total was $11.50. For that much (not including tip) I can go to a sit down restaurant and get higher quality food in larger quantities. Basically, if I try to order anything more complex than a simple taco I'm in for a shitstorm. This isn't the first time I've been overcharged for a special of the day, but typically I at least get what I ordered and in larger quantities. I'd attach a picture of the food as I got it so you can see what I'm talking about, but I don't feel the need to waste any more time on this.

I know where I am. I'm in a Mexican food join on Folsom Blvd. I'm not expecting a 5 star meal. But this isn't even worthy of 1 star, which will be reflected when I post my review of the establishment online. I work right down the street and I'll also be letting my co-workers know to avoid the restaurant. Get your staff's act together. Maybe pay them more so they care more? I don't know. That's your...

I used to LOVE this place, which is why I'm giving 2 stars instead of 1. I'm pretty health-conscious and always felt like it's the only fast food place that serves real, simple, and good food. Very convenient when I don't have time to cook my own rice and beans, and it makes a great breakfast meal. I'm vegan, so I always ordered a whole bean and rice burrito. It was SO good even by itself, but the last 4 times I went there, there was a really weird, chemical-like flavor to the rice. It tastes how disinfectant/sanitizer smells. I don't know what's going on with that, but I decided it's not safe to eat anymore, especially since I'm pregnant. I gave it a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th chance, and finally decided I'm not going to keep gambling my money on the chance that it's gonna be better next time. It's really too bad. I hope the owner/manager sees this comment and does some quality control/investigates what's causing the strange flavor. Occasionally, the beans are WAY too salty too...to the point it burns my lips, tenderizes my tongue, and makes it impossible to eat. Lastly, it's really concerning that styrofoam containers and cups are used. It literally never breaks down in the environment and leaches into food/drink that sits in it, causing reproductive harm to men and women. I know it's cheap, but it seems like after all this time of the public being aware of the harms of it, that businesses wouldn't be using it anymore. It really makes it seem like the owners are putting cost-saving and profit over the health of the community and the environment, which is not okay. Business owners and managers have a responsibility to the people and communities they serve. PLEASE address these things, if not for us, for the long-term success of your business. I'm someone who would be a loyal customer if it weren't for what, in my eyes, are huge issues. You're missing out on a lot of money...

I ordered the Chicken Salad with extra cheese for a nice low carb meal. No problems with ordering. The food was good. The chicken was quite tender and juicy and perfectly seasoned. This was my first visit here and will probably be my last. Unfortunately, they do not have any low carb drinks without caffeine. And the salsa bar was unlabeled so it was impossible to know which hot sauce was which. So I sampled them all. Above average flavor on some. Some were not as much to my liking. But we all enjoy different things. Overall a adequate mexican food restaurant. But be warned - open 24 hours does not mean they will serve you after 10pm. If you drive a high profile vehilcle you cannot fit thru the drive through and they will NOT take your order...