on the border mexican restaurant chain

any body try them yet? i tried their food at ath montgomeryville penna location seemed pretty good, a little bit on the spicy side. but nothing specatcular.

made a mistake, they are at neshaminy mall exit off rt 1 north

We had two here in Fresno/Clovis area... they went outta business before I had a chance to try em!

I've tried On The Border twice. Each time was a disaster. The first time our order took 40 minutes, and when it was served everything was cold. The second time (I wanted to give them every opportunity to make good because the location was convenient) our food not only took forever, after waiting 20 minutes to get a chance to order, but when it came it was not only cold, it bore no resemblance to anything that we'd ordered. I do not mean the food didn't look like what had been ordered, I mean that we hadn't ordered what was presented.

Never again.

There's one a few blocks away from me. I go maybe once a year for their nachos and a beer. They have a pretty good HH spread. I don't go there for serious Tex-Mex though...

Went to the OTB in Rocky Hill, Connecticut last nite @ 5:00pm. It was mostly empty. After 10 minutes with no service, I went up to the hostess to try to place our order. She was too stupid for words. The only way to get waited on was to order take out by cell phone from the table. Walked out right after that. Tried the Dakota steak house next store. It was a nice suprise.

I forwarded the thread reference to the OTB PR department. Maybe they will take the hint and do some work on the service side of the business. Or maybe they can explain to all of us why the place seems bent on self-destruction.

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen

I forwarded the thread reference to the OTB PR department. Maybe they will take the hint and do some work on the service side of the business. Or maybe they can explain to all of us why the place seems bent on self-destruction.

That would be Brinker International. 'Nuff said .

The one nearest me also closed before I could try it, not that I was in a hurry. I bought a quart of their salsa at Sam's and thought I'd never use it up. I took it in to work and left it in the fridge.

Memo to self: impulse buys at warehouse clubs can really be a bad idea .

Never had a good experience with them. The waitstaff is not knowledgable about food ingredients (important as we have a food allergy in family) and generally has an air of discontent.

Rather hit a mom and pop anyday, but even where that is not possible OTB is still off my list.

Hola!

On the Border is owned by Brinker Enterprises which own a lot of restaurants like "The Olive Garden" "Chilis", a Chinese outlet, and a Cali-Mexican style place (too lazy to look up).

I (like everyone else) would rather go to a local place, but the food is good and creative if you go to one with good service. I don't understand why the service should be shat anyway, a good server can take care of four tables and make more than 15-20 dollars an hour and up. Either your waiter was a newbie or lazy.

OTB, as well as Brinkers has a entertainment-dining theme, and when they pull it off, it is good.

Finding good local ethnic food is not that hard. I lived in Jackson Mississippi, and on one street were two local Tex-Mex place ran by Mexicanos, plus another small place ran by Nicaraguans. The good place shared a parking lot with Wal Mart. The Nicaraguan place was good too. Then there is OTB. I want to go to a local place where people are actually from Latin American nations to cook me "south of the border" fare. OTB stays in business.

Senor

quote:

Originally posted by senor boogie woogie


Hola!

On the Border is owned by Brinker Enterprises which own a lot of restaurants like "The Olive Garden" "Chilis", a Chinese outlet, and a Cali-Mexican style place (too lazy to look up).

I am pretty sure that Darden owns Olive Garden (along with Red Lobster, Smokey Bones, and a few others). Macaroni Grill may be the italian place you were thinking of that is in line with Brinker.

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by senor boogie woogie


Hola!

On the Border is owned by Brinker Enterprises which own a lot of restaurants like "The Olive Garden" "Chilis", a Chinese outlet, and a Cali-Mexican style place (too lazy to look up).

I (like everyone else) would rather go to a local place, but the food is good and creative if you go to one with good service. I don't understand why the service should be shat anyway, a good server can take care of four tables and make more than 15-20 dollars an hour and up. Either your waiter was a newbie or lazy.

OTB, as well as Brinkers has a entertainment-dining theme, and when they pull it off, it is good.

Finding good local ethnic food is not that hard. I lived in Jackson Mississippi, and on one street were two local Tex-Mex place ran by Mexicanos, plus another small place ran by Nicaraguans. The good place shared a parking lot with Wal Mart. The Nicaraguan place was good too. Then there is OTB. I want to go to a local place where people are actually from Latin American nations to cook me "south of the border" fare. OTB stays in business.

Senor

I live in Jackson now and the place near Wal Mart is Cozumel's and I agree
its essentially a great mom and pop operation if it is a huge building. I was first there one cold rainy winter night and famished and I did NOT leave hungry or disappointed. Their home made salsa was heavy with cilantro
which I personally love. The OTB location near there to the west has its days of being mediocre to superb. It all seems to depend on the time of day
and the server you get. A lot of chain places have specially trained setup
crews with great experience and expertise and they are sent in to a new
store to get it opened, set up and going well for about 6 months or until
some profit goal is reached, then they're sent on and a local crew of
waitstaff and managers and chefs who've been in training since opening are
then in charge and that's why at almost precisely a 6 month point, many
good new restaurants take a nosedive although many do not. The Brinker chain does include Macaroni Grill nearby rather than Olive Garden as some
one remarked earlier.

The one on the North side of Tucson had a great outdoor patio - covered with high pressure misters to keep you cool in the Summer.

That and a few margaritas were a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Went to the one here in Cherry Hill, NJ and was VERY disappointed!

Have not returned - but would return to the Tucson location if ever in the area again.

I went to one in the Atlanta area and had an experience like the one Michael had... cold food, bad service, even the margarita's were terrible. Give me a humble burrito stand any day.

Chains tend to go this direction. I used to go to what I think was the origional location on Knox in Dallas. It was great back then. I also went to a location in Memphis a few years ago that was good.
Joe

There is one under construction in Escondido at this very moment. Just what we need here! Guess the 2 taco shops on every corner aren't enough Mexican Food access. We already have the "real deal"--La Tapatia--which has been an Escondido institution since 1937!!!! Why OTB had to build a whole new building across the parking lot from the 5yrs+ empty Red Lobster building is another mystery...

Interesting - the only time I've been to one we also suffered horrible service. I can't remember if it was in Euless, TX, or Fort Worth. At any rate, when we finally did receive our food, it was so completely forgettable the only thing I can recall was that my margarita (just one - so no, that's NOT the reason for my forgetfulnes!) was served in a really pretty glass.

One of my co-workers and her fiance ate at On the Border last night and both woke up sick in the middle of the night. I'm not saying for sure it was any kind of food poisoning, but probably wasn't just a coincidence, either. I have eaten at OTB twice without incident. I just don't think the food is very good, though. The one closest to me is always packed, so they must be doing something right.

There used to be On the Border restaraunts here in San Antonio,but they pulled out.I ate at one here and it was alright,but there are so many TexMex and Mexican places here in town,why go there.

I only tried this place once and vowed never again. Everything was pretty greasy and flavorless. The empanada's were the only decent thing I tried, but not good enough to go back for.