Muchacho — Restaurant in University Park

We had one of our most favorite and memorable dinners in years last night at Muchacho’s - Dallas celebrating our very very good friend, Chris Chen’s, belated Birthday with her husband and their kids.

The food, service, vibe and beautiful restaurant were all absolutely perfect. I could eat Tex-Mex for every meal and be happy and I group Tex-Mex restaurants into different categories in my head. Muchacho’s is far and away the leader in high quality Tex-Mex. Of course with, Omar Flores, the two-time James Beard Award finalist Chef/Co-Owner along with co-owner Sammy, it shouldn’t be too surprising that they blew the other high quality Tex-Mex restaurants out of the water.

The service was also incredible. The whole staff was amazing, but our server, Jose, was perfection. He was professional, friendly, happy, proud of his restaurant, he was having fun, and he made everyone feel special - especially the Birthday Girl, Chris.

Chris is an attorney, but she also went to culinary school so she knows the difference between good and great food and service. She was beaming the whole meal and commenting frequently about the exceptional quality and fine details of the food and service that most people probably wouldn’t pick up on which added to the enjoyment for Terry and me. At the end of the meal she also added that the server, Jose, was one of the very best -if not The Best- servers she had ever seen. That is one hell of a complement coming from Chris Chen. She doesn’t make comments like that very often. It’s the first time I’ve heard her say it in the 15 years I’ve known her and after having 100s of meals together.

The Mushroom Fajitas — Amazing! Vegetarians don’t have to settle with this entree like they do at other restaurants when they order. This vegetarian entree is a SHOW STOPPER not just an item to give vegetarians something to eat like the vegetarian options at most restaurants.

Beef & Chicken Fajitas looked to be just as good.

Desserts - exceptional. So incredibly flavorful and not just sweet like other restaurants.

Refried beans and rice - also incredible and not just a filler item thrown on the plate like other Tex-Mex restaurants.

Fish tacos appetizer - too pretty to eat, but we did anyway. Delicious

Chips & Corn Tortilla Wraps - delicious!

I’m probably forgetting something and Chris could add a lot more specific detail, but WOW we are so incredibly fortunate to have Omar Flores and his Muchacho Tex-Mex (Dallas & Southlake) along with his Whistle Britches (Dallas, Willow Bend, Southlake) restaurants here to enjoy. Go Now and Go Enjoy Often!...

Went with a family member and shared a few items: the queso fundido, the brisket sopes, and the molê enchiladas. Forgot our bartenders name but she was lovely to talk to when we did.

Queso fundido with chorizo was… okay. Okay flavor but it needs more oomph, and the skillet wasn’t hot enough to keep it super melty. I would say that it would do well with some piquancy, a little salt, and veggies like jalapeños, onions, peppers, anything. I get it’s cheese like the name implies but we found it to be two dimensional.

Brisket sopes were good! Could’ve been better. I’ve been in f&b for ten years and understand the need to make things picture worthy in the age where social media runs rampant, but just like a stacked, picturesque burger, these sopes were annoying to eat. The actual sope was too small and quite soft. A larger, more crispy surface area would’ve greatly benefited the delightfully generous potions of brisket. It didn’t have nearly enough pico, crema, and cheese for all that meat! The delightful, lightly spicy habanero salsa felt wasted. Drizzled all over the plate like an afterthought instead of on the sope where it should be. Would’ve really tied the whole dish together honestly but I understand the demographic they’re catering to in that area and get they may not like or be able to handle it. Shame.

Molê enchiladas were solid! Good spices and unusually acidic. Throw in some piquancy and a touch of sweetness and now we’re talking. Had fantastic pepper flavors and would be amazing with some chile de árbol. Rice was tremendous, fluffy, and you can’t beat some good ol’ refried beans with cheese.

Chips and salsa were great, the red one was the best. We just had a beer for the meal and a tequila to finish. It’s my second time there but my first review. I recall the ceviche being a touch sweet and pretty alright.

I like the place a lot and I like the ideas they’re going with the food but it feels like they’re cooking with one hand tied behind their back. I personally don’t believe in holding back on sazón. You find your people that way, and lose the unnecessary baggage that keeps you from being truly great.

No point in having a great vibe but no flavor. Hope...

I went this afternoon to place a to go order. I was totally ignored by the host, so I made my way to the bar to place my order where once again no one acknowledged me at least for 7 minutes. Even , after I inquiring a passing waiter about the process of ordering , no order was made - I was finally acknowledged. The bar tender once again left the bar without saying a word only to return 2 minutes later . This time she had a piece of paper with her . I wondered to myself if this was the first time the restaurant was executing a to go order. What was crazy to me that a restaurant that exeudes a higher end image told me that their food was pre made and that they could not adjust in switching the mole enchiladas to flour chicken mole . After placing the order , and paying in advance along with a twenty percent tip for a carry out order , I told the female bar tender that I would be in front of the restaurant . After waiting 20 minutes I saw , a to go bag that was sitting on a seat where patrons come and wait for tables., not the most sanitary place for to go orders.As I read the food description on the ticket and had confirmation that it was my pre paid food one of the waiters came and grabbed my personal property. I paid for this food and it was mine. He took it to the bar to see if I had paid for it rather than giving me the respect or asking me directly that that I had paid for it.HE ASSUMED I WAS STEALING THE BAG This waiter started arguing with me in front of other patrons for no reason. I noticed that while waiting that people that were getting attentive service were not people of color . The spirit in which management treats minorities at this restaurant as second class citizens was glaringly obvious to me and I urge people to spend their hard earned money at restaurants that value all people . I regret patronizing this establishment. More people need to be more diligent who they need...