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DINING OUT: Save our restaurant, readers plead

BY PETE TITTL, Contributing columniste-mail:
ptittl@bakersfield.com | Sunday, Jul 17 2011 06:00 AM

Last Updated Sunday, Jul 17 2011 06:00 AM

Occasionally I get called in like a restaurant superhero in the hopes that a favorable review by me could save someone's favorite restaurant. Unfortunately I don't get to wear tights and a cape, although I do apologize for planting that image in your brain over breakfast.

Two readers recently wrote about a humble northeast Bakersfield restaurant that is a favorite of theirs, the Original Hacienda Grill, located near the old East Hills Vons that's being swallowed by the Walmart next door.

Marsha Parr called it a "gem" and said the "food is excellent, authentic and varied. The service is very friendly and helpful and fast. The ambiance is comfortable and kitschy. I have been there about 6 times and have never had a bad meal, and neither have my 'companions.' I am afraid they will not stay in business, because the place is usually empty. This is partly due to the construction of the nearby Walmart off of Mall View Road. There are places to park near the restaurant, and if you enter from the east, you don't have to drive through the parking maze that is Walmart. They deserve to stay in business, and I thought that if you wrote a review, it would attract different customers. Please, please consider this, as we have so few options for really good restaurants on our side of town."

Parr went on to praise the "tasty vegetarian options: pot beans cooked without the ham hock, and veggie enchiladas. Shrimp mojo de ajo is great, as are all other dishes. Fish tacos are grilled tilapia, and fresh. Enchiladas suizas are excellent." Her friend Schifra Walder also wrote in as a former eastsider who moved to Springville six years ago and confessed to being shocked at the mall's decline. She liked the fun mirrors inside the restaurant.

All I have to say is that sensitive English teachers who seem bred to cringe at abuses of the king's language might not find that atmosphere so charming. A permanent wooden sign near the door says "Please have a sit."

A hand-lettered sign involving a certain type of coupon had so many misspelled words that I was seized by a need for a good red Sharpie. Avert your eyes if such miscues offend you. I did enjoy the mirrors used in the dining room to make a small space seem larger.

The menu has a lot of everything, from combo meals to seafood and fajitas, and we tried to get a representative sampling. I chose one of the specialties, the "roll grill" tacos ($10.95), while my companions selected the steak fajita burrito ($9.25) and the chili verde tostada ($8.25). If this were a baseball game, we'd say the kitchen is batting a sizzling .667.

The best choice really was my tacos, which I think featured that ability to make appealing vegetarian entrees praised by Marsha Parr. The entrée offers one steak, one chicken and one vegetarian grilled taco. The latter was the best, with onions, tomatoes, green peppers, cheese and even a few florets of broccoli mixed into the minced filling. Exceptional. The steak was solid, lean carne asada, and the chicken was breast meat mixed with cheese. The beans were notable for a pale color, some whole and some refried, and an honest taste not overly dependent on fat.

My companion's burrito was a massive creation, and the fajitas inside were praiseworthy for the nice mix and proportion of vegetables (red and green peppers and onions) and the way all the ingredients had been completely cooked together (the onions dark from caramelizing). The only flaw if you excuse the outsized portion was an untrimmed fat bomb he ran across right in the middle of it. Someone trimming the beef got a bit sloppy.

My companion's tostada was a disappointment. Now I know it seems like I'm Will Rogers when it comes to chili verde, in that I've never met one I didn't like, but this version of CV, while it had some heat, just seemed simple and dull. It was the only thing we sampled I wouldn't order again.

(It was somewhat similar to the salsa served with the chips, which also seemed to be missing some key ingredients -- cilantro, for example, would be nice).

Service was cheerful but absent for long stretches. Contrary to the reader reports, the restaurant was moderately busy late on a Sunday night.