El Agave — Restaurant in St. Peter

November 22' I've been coming in here for years and have always appreciated the service and food...up until today. It's been a couple months since we've been back so I was really looking forward to it. Wednesday night, exceptionally busy, but the servers are fast and attentive. When I dine out, I almost always order something different each time, but here, it's always the seafood chimichanga. I fell in love with it and crave it regularly.

Understand when I write this, it's with love and disappointment. The service here has always been strong, and in light of my disappointment, the manager didn't charge me for the unfinished plate. So why the low rating? Here we go:

• Chips and salsa. They switched to a bagged chip and either a commercially made or just very old salsa. Both were unpleasant and bitter. • Soda. Just a simple foundation lemonade. But it was so watery, I was both thankful for the diet from sugar and disappointed in the lack of lemon. I was thirsty and had two watery drinks. • Price. The cost of my dish increased by 20% since last time. Economics. I get it. • Main Course. This is where it really hurt. As a former prep cook, I understand the process and method behind many dishes. They create a seafood mixture hours beforehand so they can quickly prepare the dish. Nothing wrong with that. What was wrong was there filling was burnt and dry. The chimi shell itself was perfectly fried, crispy, yet soft, and coated with white queso per usual. So how did the interior, which wasn't greasy or compromised by the shell, manage to have rock hard shrimp and dried out pollock? The manager offered a replacement or refund, but proclaimed it would be the same as always He's probably right this time because the mix was old and dried out, or it was precooked, then refried, to speed up there process. But it wasn't like this before. Not even close.

I get it if your cook made a mistake and they need to replace a dish with fresh mix, but don't treat your customer like a fool. The manager needed to investigate the process and figure out why this happened. Instead, he basically said, "This is the way it is. You're never going to get the same delicious experience because we've cut too many corners now."

I returned for a good experience and three corners were cut. This is not acceptable El Agave. As you continue to compromise, you'll continue to lose customers. It's the erosion of restaurants and it happens every day. Prove to us that you can fix these mistakes and I'll come back and bring friends. Don't, and my disappointment will travel like the wind. It's the nature of our business.

UPDATE 2/24/2023 At my wife's request, we dined here again. A big part of me wanted to give that seafood chimi another shot, but I just couldn't. So I went with something easy and safe: the California burrito (Positive note, the chips and salsa seemed freshly made again.). Unfortunately it only took five minutes, I kid you not, for the food to arrive. I'm all for prompt service, but that didn't make sense. I'm hungry, so I dig right in and my first bite is a hard piece of room temperature, overcooked steak. I push that side and continue, only to come across another, and another. Additionally, the queso was thinned out. Who does that?! What we have here is the same thing I experienced last time, a preparation nightmare. So you have cold or room temp ingredients sitting in wait for the customer rush and you still serve it WAY after reasonable expiration. This is not okay. You've been around for years and you've done a fantastic job up until 2022. I understand you need to make cost-saving measures, but that shouldn't never come at the expense of quality and respect for your customers. If you take pride in what you're doing now, you are fools.

We won't...

I'm from Arizona, and I'm picky, but I can say that El Agave is really good. Other places I've tried in MN have tasted like they're serving Mexican food in Minnesota.

I ordered the El Dorado, which is a chicken quesadilla, a chicken chimichanga, and a chicken flauta all together. They didn't cook the Chimichanga as crispy as I would have liked, but they remade it without giving me a hard time about it and it was delicious. The chicken was marinated in flavorful juices - not so much to make things soggy, but enough to avoid being dry.

The chips and salsa are some of the best I've had. The salsa isn't hot, just flavorful. The chips are thicker like I prefer, and they were served warm and fresh.

I don't take the time to review many places, but every time I come to MN, I'm going to try...

I order a Margarita with a shot of Patron, the patron came in a tube, I figured it would empty as I drink my drink. Close to the end of my drink I noticed it wasn’t going down. 🤦🏽‍♀️. I didn’t realize I needed to mix it myself. That’s an important detail they should tell you when they bring you the drink. My husband ordered a regular Margarita. I ordered the #9 One enchilada, one flauta, and one taco. I asked for chicken in my enchilada and pork in my taco, it was an extra charge but worth it. My husband ordered 3 Quesabirria tacos. The food was good and service was good. I’d stop in again if I wanted Mexican food. The price is good for the amount of food you are served. Maybe next time I’ll try something else and I’ll wow me. Looking forward to my next visit, next time...