by Sue Barry

It was a Friday night in late September. Vacations were over. College classes were in full swing. And, people were going out for more hardy fare. Unfortunately, Carlos and Charlie took the night off.

Now we know that Carlos and Charlie are fictitious characters created to give this Mexican restaurant a bona fide canteen feel. But, something was truly amiss the night of our visit. It started when I overheard a waitress frantically telling the hostess to not give her any more tables, that she can’t keep up with the ones she’s got. It ended with us getting the entrées we ordered but no utensils to eat with — just an excuse that they were so busy, they ran out of clean silverware. (Utensils finally came, but a little coordination would not have hurt.) It was busy, but not that busy. Tables turned over quickly, but given that there are no reservations, no lines formed.

I have dined at the Carlos & Charlie’s restaurant in Lancaster several times over the past few years, with no bad experiences. I wondered how the Carlos & Charlie’s in Mt. Joy could produce such different results. Consistency is key.

Not everything, however, was bad that Friday night. Although, for a place where a pinata takes the form of a liquor bottle, drinks were slow to arrive. What wasn’t slow to arrive were the baskets of chips and salsa. Crispy chips met chunky, fresh tasting salsa with a kick in every bite. Touted as having the “best wings in town,” by having won first prize in the first Lancaster County wing fest, we had to try the hot wings ($6.25). Loaded with sauce, they were slightly crisp with a heat factor that defines hot. I would not consider them the best in that county, however, they were very acceptable. The refried beans that accompanied some of the entrées were as they should be.

The best choice of an entrée that night happened to be Fajitas ($12.95). Sizzling, flavorful, and tender was the beef fajita selection, served with the traditional red and green peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and Pico De Gallo were at your disposal as a topping after you placed the filling in the warm tortillas.

Tomato Bisque ($3.75) did not fare as well. Appearing as an understudy to French onion soup, a molted brown crock arrived at the table billowing over with three cheeses — muenster, provolone, and cheddar atop croutons. Once the crown was pierced, however, the soup itself was not the best. The slices of red onion were not cooked enough and the consistency of the soup with its cream and bits of mushrooms and tomatoes began to break up.

Aside from the aforementioned fajitas, our remaining orders had the flavor of kicked up sodium — the chicken, shrimp, and veggie Enchiladas Monterey ($10.95), cajun marinated steak in the Burritos Ranchero ($10.95), shrimp, chicken, and hot Italian sausage in the Shrimp New Orleans ($12.95), and a Crab Quesadilla appetizer ($5.95). This is the kind of consistency that is not good. No surprise, even the wings ordered with Old Bay were too salty, considering the ingredients in the Old Bay seasoning.

A San Francisco Spicy Chicken Sandwich ($7.95) with the wing sauce, grilled onions, American cheese, bleu cheese dressing, and lettuce on sour dough bread lacked luster. When one member of our party chastised me for expecting a decent Caesar side salad at a Mexican restaurant, I quickly informed him that Mexico was where the original Caesar salad was created. Yes, I expected a good Caesar salad, not a salad where the dressing was breaking up. Maybe it would have been better had we not gotten the utensils.

Dessert? Not this time. We were just ready to leave.
You might ask if it is fair to base a whole review on a single night visit to a restaurant. Possibly not. But you do it don’t you?

Carlos & Charlie’s Checklist
Entrées - $10.95 - $13.95

Average Dining Time
60 minutes

Location
Main drag

Parking
Parking in rear

Handicapped Access
Rear

Exterior Appearance
Mexican style

Initial Interior
 Bar

Reservations Necessary
Not accepted

Preferred Dining Attire
Jeans

Wait (to be seated)
Little

Wait (for service)
Delays

Lighting
Subtle

Meal-time Music
N/A

Dining Area Appearance
 Stucco Mexican theme

Noise
Fine

Climate
Fine

Tables
Sante Fe style table covering

Chairs
Banquet style

Booths
High, wooden

Table setting
None

Your meal
Salty

Automatically served
Chips and salsa

Cocktails
Beer

Soups
Tomato Bisque

Salads
Caesar side salad

Main Course
Enchiladas Monterey

Desserts
N/A

Coffees/Teas
N/A

Staff Attitude
Rushed

Staff Appearance
Casual

Hospitality
Harried

Cleanliness
Clean

Wash Rooms
Clean

Crowd (Qty)
Full

Crowd (attitude)
Laid back

Food (portions)
Large

Overall Service
Harried

Payment Accepted
All major Credit Cards

©1990-2003 Copyright ScotGiambalvo.com. “MODE Weekly™”, and “MODEweekly.com™”  are trademarks of Scot Giambalvo.
All rights reserved. Copying content from this site without permission is illegal. Linking to this site as if it was your own is just plain rude.
Click here for usage/link permission.