The Jalapeno Tree — Restaurant in Longview

It's not often that you have to put one of your favorite places into the category it never fails to disappoint, but the jalapeno tree and most specifically the service and attention to details is now firmly ensconced in that steel trap niche! My last visited or shall I say I last got take out there back in April of 2022 and at the time I posted that I had some problems with the service and some things that they didn't take care of that they said they would you know basically looking me in the eye saying it was done and it wasn't done. The same thing happened today on a takeout order pick up! First the order that we got was incomplete, and not only incomplete but incomplete to the point of not being the order that we ordered. We specifically asked the person taking the orders and basically the front person for pickup orders to make sure that everything that comes with the order was in there. We reminded her of our last visit and she assured us that under no uncertain terms would anything be less than ideal about this order! After getting home with it because you can't open this thing up in the car especially a new car unless you want to take about a thousand to $1,500 off the resale value of the interior, half the order was not there and I'm talking about the condiments, the extras that go on the El Dorado steak fajitas, utensils napkins and salsas! Plus, bacon comes on the El Dorado Jack fajitas and there was none! When we pick the order up we double check with the lady and and made absolutely sure that everything was with the way it was supposed to be! Ordinarily, I would take responsibility for this oversight, in that I didn't do my diligence by double checking before I left the restaurant! However, no less than three times did we ask and we're assured that everything was as it was supposed to be! It was strictly a lack of follow-up and absolutely no attention to details! And it wasn't like that it was extremely busy although this is Friday it just wasn't that busy to wear they were pulling their hair out trying to get everything out the door! They just didn't care and that's a plain as I can put it! So thank you jalapeno tree for lowering my expectations and never failing to disappoint! If you want good food and aren't particular about how much you get what you get for what you pay for then this is the place for you! If you've been a long time loyal customer and you expect that they will pay attention to what they're doing then you should look elsewhere...

So generally the service is good and the green sauce is usually very good, the food however leaves a lot to be desired. This review is not based on one visit, but on several - I don't eat here often. To start off with my wife and I ordered a takeout lunch from the Longview store during the covid shutdown and the receipt showed us being charged a "Convenience Tax". Last I knew only certain governmental bodies had the power to levy a tax, so I'm pretty sure that's illegal but maybe I'm wrong.

Secondly, I was in the Marshall store and ordered chicken fajita enchiladas. What I received was some very processed looking cheese enchiladas with strips of grilled chicken laid over them. So that's basically a kids meal item that just happens to have chicken on the plate. That doesn't make them chicken enchiladas at all. In fact, if you google "chicken enchiladas" and click on images, everything there looks better than what Jalapeno Tree serves. None of them have the core name item "chicken" just laid on the top like an afterthought.

So fast forward about 2 years to a few nights ago, at the Kilgore store ( I said I don't eat here often). I messed up and ordered the same thing. Chicken Fajita Enchiladas, they always sound good but I had forgotten my previous experience. I got the same sad, super processed looking cheese enchiladas with chicken on the top. I just sent it back and we left. The green sauce was thick and tart instead of creamy like it usually is. The salsa was the absolute strangest salsa I've ever had. It was like a water-thinned tomato paste with a little Mexican seasoning in it. It had no texture of any kind, nothing. Both were like something they threw together because they ran out of the real stuff. It was all kind of gross. This is Texas, we have real Mexican and Tex-Mex food here. You can't just pass off plated tv dinner level stuff and call it good. You have...

Where do I start... No chips and salsa from seating. Drinks...ordered 2 teas. Waiter forgot who had what...we had 2 sweet teas, lemons on side....duh...1 sweet tea each....duh. Waited 40mins before waiter notified us he'd forgotten to put our order in. 20plus minutes and order shows up. But no spoon for soup. He cant find spoons. Wth? He forgets us and moves on to next customer. Guy cant multitask. I lose it a little across the room and simply say "hey!.... SPOON!" ... OH YEAH he says. Brings us a PLASTIC WARE SET FOR TAKEOUT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? NO METAL SPOONS IN THIS PLACE? I LOCATE THE MANAGER HALFWAY ACROSS THIS LARGE RESTAURANT AND ASK HER FOR A METAL SPOON WHILE HANDING HER THE PLASTIC ONE. SHE GOES IMMEDIATELY TO KITCHEN AND BRINGS ME ONE RIGHT BACK. ... LATER SHE BRINGS ME MY TICKET. I IMMEDIATELY PRESENT MY CARD TO HER SO THAT I CAN EXPEDITE US OUT OF THIS EXPERIENCE. AFTER ANOTHER LENGTHY DELAY MR DISTRACTED BY ANY SQUIRREL, HUNGOVER, UNABLE TO FOCUS WAITER RETURNS WITH MY CARD (AFTER CHECKING WITH HIS OTHER TABLES WHICH WEREN'T EVEN READY FOR THEIR TICKETS). CHARGED MY CARD FOR HALF OF MY BILL, NO BALLS ENOUGH TO SAY SORRY). REGARDLESS OF THE REDUCED TICKET THIS WAS THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. I'VE BEEN TO JALAPENO TREE MANY TIMES AND AGAIN THIS WAS THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER I WILL NOT RETURN TO A JALAPENO TREE EVER AGAIN. I'D RATHER TRY TO GET FOOD ON A SUNDAY AT CHICK-FIL-A... IT...