Me & Julio — Restaurant in Fitchburg

This was our first visit to Me & Julio's, hard to believe we found it on a whim from listening to a local radio station praising the food and the team at Me & Julio's so we took the time to drive over and see what all the fuss is about - we are glad that we did. Me & Julio's is located on Fish Hatchery Rd - this was previously the home to Tomas Ballesta's L'Escargot and La Paella. Me & Julio's is the current reincarnation of this stalwart restaurant locaction, led by Mike Shaul. Mike took time to visit our table and talk about his personal journey as a restaurateur and introduce us to his diverse Tex-Mex style menu and the charming decor they've created in the space. Lunch was spectacular - she tried the shrimp enchiladas and I tried the Brisket sandwich. We got started with some deep fried dill pickles - perfect sized pickle chips and freshly made ranch dipping sauce. She loved the enchiladas and proclaimed the refried beans, "the best ever". The brisket was perfectly presented on a ciabatta bun with crisp cole slaw - I also tried the Boracho Beans - Black beans stewed in carrots and onions - delicious flavor. Of course we tried the 1/2 priced margarita's for the Tuesday special - delicious...oh, and almost forgot one of their signature offerings - a freshly popped bowl of popcorn was immediately brought to our table by our friendly server, Freedom, as soon as we were greeted and seated by our hostess Melinda. Kudo's to everyone at Me & Julio 's for the friendly service and delicious food and making our first visit fun & inviting - we are looking forward to our next visit - maybe a Wednesday to enjoy the Blue Gill dinner. Give Me & Julio a try, I know you'll...

We have come a few nights for trivia, lured by the $3 (now $4) margaritas, each time hoping for a better experience. I’m saddened to say that the food has remained below average at each event and the service sub-par. While it’s possible we’ve just had bad luck, I get the impression that many of the wait staff are either over-worked or just don’t have the patience to deal with those folks coming in after 7:30pm. Tonight we ordered nachos which were delivered cold (and simply not tasty in my opinion - it seemed like a ton of lettuce and cold cheese). Our waitress hounded us in an effort to leave her shift as soon as possible, (“Are you done yet? No?”, “Can you give me those plates? I have to clear your table before I can leave” - while we were still eating - and “can I take those?” - regarding the full water glasses we were drinking from). Not to mention the last time we came and our waitress left without transferring us to another server (before we had been served food), and we were ignored for about an hour, despite our efforts to flag someone down! I know that everyone has bad days, but we’ve had too many bad experiences here. Perhaps this is limited to trivia nights and a busy crowd, but I would not bring family or friends here again.

*Edit: I’m appreciative to management reaching out and think it’s a good sign if folks are open to feedback. This review was just my...

TexMex food is tough to get right to begin with, but this restaurant really massacred the recipes. I'm usually not this passionate with critiques, but when I say the food was disgusting, it was disgusting. The best way I can describe it is: this food was made for ppl with no knowledge of sazón or good food. Maybe that's why this restaurant is in the middle of a community with very little minorities living within its vicinity. I'm sure any true TexMex enthusiast would laugh at the idea of calling this place "authentic" or "delicious." Great service. Ok, atmosphere. Again, very little "color" among the patrons - those that were present during my visit were all Caucasian and older (50).

In response to the concern of minorities and racial background: it does have a lot to do with expectations. Authentic food attracts those who traditionally eat said food since they are aware of what it should taste like and if it's delicious AND AUTHENTIC, would return. Needless to say, having zero patrons of TexMex/latino heritage at your restaurant implies the opposite. I don't make the rules, I simply observe the obvious.

Menu items: combo fajitas, rice, beans, tortillas, popcorn. No Authentic flavor present. There was no sazón or traditional TexMex flavor. Why popcorn!? It truly was disgusting food that only those who enjoy Rice n roni or...