Until I found the piece of plastic.
Holy taco ... what is that?!
Judging from the thickness and size of the sheet of plastic that I pulled out of the bottom of my taco, I am guessing it was part of a plastic glove. Hey, at least we know the kitchen staff is wearing them, although this is not how I wanted to find out. When I first encountered it I thought it might be the skin from a tomato, but clearly it's not edible. I'm just happy I didn't eat it. This was one of the more horrifying things I've encountered since starting this blog, and needless to say I won't be visiting El Rey again.
Here's the thing I don't understand about Houston. In my short time here, I've encountered some really wonderful food. I've also encountered some truly awful things: the service at the Avalon Diner, the food at Taco Milagro, the, um, plastic gloves at El Rey. Yet these places not only stay in business, they seem to be BUSY most of the time. I truly don't get it. Do people simply get caught in a rut, eating at the same places because that's where they ate growing up? Are people truly too busy/loyal/afraid to try something new that they don't see how bad some of these places are? Or am I just catching a fair number of local restaurants on off days?
Whatever it is, keep this in mind: every time you frequent a restaurant, you're "voting" for it with your money. You're voting to keep that place open for another day, and you're voting against every other place you could have gone. Don't take that for granted. Vote wisely.
