Caliente — Restaurant in Houston

I walk into a Mexican restaurant for dinner with my wife. We notice that the place is surprisingly empty and just 3 tables were occupied. We quickly realized that there’s just one person taking care of the entire restaurant. He walks to us, takes our order and does the same for the table adjacent to ours. 15 minutes later, John (the waiter) walks to our table:

John: I’m sorry for the delay, would you like something to drink?

Me: No problem, can we get a couple of beers?

John: Sure.

He goes to the adjacent table where there’s a party of 4 and apologizes to them too. 30 minutes later..

John: I’m really sorry, there’s an issue in our kitchen and all the orders had to be redone. Your food will be out in a few minutes.

Me: Sure, that’s okay. We can wait.

John: The beer is on me, free of charge. He goes to the adjacent table and it’s clear that they’re not very amused with the delay. One woman from the party speaks up in a rather rude tone and claims that it’s ridiculous to wait for over 45 minutes for a simple Quesadilla. She suggested that if the restaurant can’t manage with one server they should either shut down for the night or hire more people. Having listened to an earful, John politely apologized again and handed a $20 bill to each member of the party as a token of apology. They accepted the cash with no hesitation and promptly walked out. My wife and I look at each other with disbelief as John walks past us with a smile on his face. We are served the food eventually. It was as delicious as it can get.

John: How was the food?

Me: Impeccable. Some of the finest Tex-Mex I’ve had for a while.

John: Glad to hear. Let me clear the plates out for you.

Me: Sure. Can I have the check please?

John: I’m sorry, there’s no check for you tonight.

Me: What do you mean?

John: It’s not acceptable to wait 45 minutes at a restaurant. The entire meal is on me.

Me: No Sir. I cannot leave without having paid for the food. I saw what you did at the other table and I’d hate for you to lose money for what seemed like an unfortunate circumstance that could happen to anyone.

John: That is very kind of you. But I cannot expect my customers to pay when the service is below par.

Me: But..

John: I run this place. Today most of my staff had an emergency so I had to wait all tables. I thought I could manage it and I would’ve too if not for the kitchen fiasco. Lesson learned I guess. Me: (shocked and confused) Please let me pay. We all have bad days and I know how I would react if I’m not paid for having a bad day at work. The service and the food was by no means below par. John: I’m very pleased to hear that, thank you. But I won’t be accepting any payment from you.

Me: Then what can I do to show my gratitude?

John: I’d be glad if you visit again. Having said that, John quietly walks into the kitchen. My wife and I walk out utterly shocked and humbled by this experience.

For the sake of closure for all readers, the restaurant was ‘Caliente’ in Houston, Texas. John was a fictional name used to describe this experience

Well, This is not my story but I read this answer...

UPDATE: I decided to give this place another chance and they blew it again. Just received a catering order of breakfast tacos for my job and right away I noticed the chorizo taco's were wrong so I called the restaurant and was told the chorizo I was expecting was the not the kind they serve. I said I would not have ordered it if I had known that (seriously, you need to specify that on your menu!!) which prompted the lady to say, 'well now you know for next time.' No ma'am, there will not be a next time. The bacon and sausage tacos have a pitiful amount of meat.... two little pieces of sausage and maybe a half a slice of bacon??? Some of the tortillas taste like they haven't been cooked all the way and there were about 10 grapes in the cantaloupe tray..I mean the 'fruit' tray. I'm almost more disappointed in myself for trying this place again. The only saving grace is that I didn't have to pay for this.

If I was rating by food alone, this would be 5 stars. The enchiladas are probably the best I've ever had. The problem though, is that I've ordered from here via Door Dash 6 times this year and each time the order is wrong in some way. The only reason I've kept ordering is because of the quality of food but I just can't order from them any more because I'm paying for items I'm not receiving.

Yesterday, we ordered fajitas for 2 and received the most pitiful accompaniments and no tortillas. How do you forget to put tortillas in an order of fajitas for 2?? Also, the carne asada wasn't even sliced. So, essentially we just had a steak dinner with a tiny side of old gauc and pico and I say old because they did not taste the freshest (The carne asada was great, though). It was delivered together with hot food so that's something I could forgive....if that was the only thing wrong. As it is, it's just another reason not to order from here again. Dine-in or delivery, we spent $70 (not including tip) and I expect to get...

We've been here 10 times in the past 2 years and never had a bad experience. There is no doubt that at least with my dish, the food was as good if not better than Pappasitos.

I got the Cabo Combo for $13 off the lunch menu, and subbed out the chicken for the pork in the sour cream enchilada recommended by our waiter Travis (who was FANTASTIC btw). The sauce on the enchilada was nice and creamy, and the THICK (deliciously amazing) flour tortilla housed some very large chunks of the pork. The fajita was fresh off the grill and still sizzling as my HOT plate arrived. The beef fajita was divine, tender and had perfect seasoning (not Lupe's perfect, but thats a different breed altogether). The cilantro rice was soft and fluffy, and the refried beans were so good. I should have been full but i just kept dippin my chips in the refried beans cause it was delish.

Pros: The food and service were great!

Cons: When you walk in the first time, you really have no idea what to do. My companion and I walked up to the counter and were told we can just take a seat anywhere. We saw multiple groups come in and do the same thing. There should really be a sign that says "Please seat yourself" or something to that effect. The other con, is that my plate took about 15 minutes to come out, which i found odd as this was touted as a "quick" service restaurant. It was fine with me because i had the free chips and salsa to munch on while waiting. Travis, the other waitress, and the owner all came over at various times to let me know it would be out soon, which i found humorous yet comforting. Something probably went wrong in the back... who knows. They were communicative and thats why i didnt give a strike.

I will...