Another take on Coyote Blues in BR

After reading Afreaux's review my curiosity was piqued and I had to try it out. Here's my take on it:

Let me preface this by saying that we went with a large group (9) of people at 8:00.

Atmosphere:
While it was smaller than I envisioned, there is ample bar space and high ceilings that don't make you feel crowded or cramped; and even thought there were a good bit of people in the restaurant for a weekday, I didn't feel like we were packed in. There is an outside seating area and what looks to be the early start of something resembling a patio , I know it just opened, but there definitely needs to be more outside seating (maybe similar to the way Sangria's is set up). Other than that, the atmosphere is pretty standard stuff for a Tex-Mex (Louisiana-Mex in this case) place.

Grade: B+

Food:
There are some interesting takes and items on the menu; they even attempt a Churrascaria (argentinian meat tray), which one member of our party got and, I must say, it looked tasty. I had the seafood chimichanga and while it tasted good (nothing mindblowing), I was dissapointed at the overabundance of rice in the dish. I really felt that I was eating a rice chimichanga with crawfish (there were supposed to be shrimp in it as well, but I did not see any). I accompanied this order with some mashed potatoes and grits. The mashed potatoes were covered in melted queso...that's it; they were good, but, again, it was mashed potatoes covered with nacho cheese, how can it not be good? Without question the star of the show was the grits. They were delicious and, in retrospect, would have preffered a plate full of those. I also had a "Horny Toad" margarita, it was good, maybe not as good as Ninfa's, but could serve as an adequate substitute. My gf had the fajita quesadillas, and they were good; again the dishes that we got were not attempts to revolutionize the culinary landscape, but classic tex-mex fair and I take that into consideration; I am judging on taste and presentation, not overall creativity.

Grade: B

Service & Price:
This is where Coyote Blues failed to deliver and shot itself in the foot with me. It was 8:00, crowded but not super busy, and there were 9 of us, all of these factors I have taken into consideration; but when you wait 20 minutes after being seated just to get menus and silverware, it does not send the best opening message. I will attribute the waiter's lack of focus to his inexperience but for posterity's sake, let's run down the list:

When taking our orders, he forgot to inquire as to our sides and we had to flag him down to tell him. No big deal...

He forgets and has to ask us again. Okay

Screwed up billing for several of us and had to redo checks. Understandable with a group, but his inexperience showed.

*When I have to ask you for something (a to go box) 3 times in ~8 minutes, you are not doing your job! (I am not inferring that this is indicative of all the waiters/waitresses, rather that we may have gotten a n00b).

Now the bill:
The bill for everything for two people w/ 18% gratuity (for a party of 8+)was $48. Take out the 9 margarita and you're looking at ~$40, so $20/person which I'm okay with paying, but the food wasn't good enough for me to warrant paying $20 for a chimichanga. Overall, I think it's overpriced for what it is (a spruced up tex mex joint) and can get away with it due to novelty and inclusion of some non-traditional items (however it should be noted that these items are a rarity on the menue; there were maybe 6 or 7 items that you won't find at ninfa's, sangria's, etc.)

Grade: C-

My overall take:

I will probably give this place another chance and chalk this visit up to bad luck, working out the kinks, insert self rationalizing excuse here, etc. But don't go in thinking that Coyote Blue's is reinventing the wheel, it is what it is, a tex mex restaurant with a higher price tag. Now is that price tag warranted? That's for the patron to decide, for me...no.

Final Grade: (drumroll) :rimshot: C