The Field Marshal of Cheese Enchiladas: Kerbey Lane, 01/11/08

I have had Dave's Enchiladas at Kerbey Lane before. I can say they were definitely better at two o'clock in the morning.

This was the first time I had ordered enchiladas at the campus location. We started out with an order of Cowboy Queso - queso, black beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo. It was as good as its reputation, although Kerbey suffers from the crappy, thick tortilla chip scourge.

The enchiladas, however, were not so great. They were dry, first of all. This is not acceptable (compare to previous photograph, of Angie's enchiladas). And absolutely smothered in shredded romaine - which looked pretty, but provided a rather paper-like sensation on the tongue while adding no flavor whatsoever. The stingy portion of ranchera sauce that was provided was also dry, more like a powder than the viscous orange sludge one expects, and became more and more spicy as the meal went on, almost obscuring any other flavors. For this reason, whatever cheese that was hiding in there wasn't really at the forefront (which is, of course, exactly where it should be).The comparatively generous dollops of sour cream were its only saving grace.

The side of black beans were quite tasty, and the guacamole was also more than passable. But I couldn't really get over my disappointment at the dry, hot, blandness of the enchiladas long enough to appreciate the sides. It was like a culinary trip to the Panhandle in August.

To cap off this lovely lunchtime experience, at the end of the meal our waitress (who, otherwise, was perfectly pleasant and competent) dropped the entire plate of enchiladas (half of which were still untouched) behind my chair, getting pasty sauce on the back of my pants and shoes, while all the patrons looked on in horror, having heard a eardrum-shattering CLANG! as the plate cracked into several pieces around my feet. A fitting end.

Undaunted, and lover of enchiladas that I am, I'm sure I'll give Kerbey's one more try - probably with a different sauce next time - but that's it. I give them two stars (instead of one) because the sides were good, and the plate was beautifully presented, and looked delicious - until I started eating it.

Rating: 2/5