Reviews

The Most Adventurous Review I've Ever Written On my way to Subway for lunch, I drove past the new Mexican place near the VA. I walk in and am very pleased with all the authentic Mexican groceries, piñatas, and their in-store, non-Tex-Mex restaurant. THANK YOU JESUS! I waited at the deli-style counter for awhile until a waitress emerged from the back. As I tried to get her attention, she disappeared and returned from the back with a guy that looked like he was in the middle of food prep. He was very kind, spoke English, and answered my questions. Aha! I get it! I'm TOTALLY in for AUTHENTIC Mexican food!!! I order, then sit down. The waitress brings my food and I ask in English where I get a drink. She looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights. Yes! An opportunity to practice some Spanish! Quenching my thirst depends on it!!! We converse in my broken Spanish, the guy from the back looks on and smiles, and I get a drink. SCORE! The food was nice and spicy. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and groom my beard. I went to unlock the door, and the lock didn't turn. I grabbed the handle, it was loose, and it wouldn't open the door. I played with the lock, and something seemed to slip. Turning the handle wasn't producing any action to open the door. I was stuck...but wait! I had my Leatherman! I could get out of this situation! I removed the screws from the handle, and the outside handle hit the floor. Surely it was enough to get someone's attention. I waited, nothing. I yelled, in Spanish, through the door knob hole. Nothing. I yelled again, in Spanish, nothing. I'm gonna die in a Mexican bathroom, one block from work, in the states. Think, think, think. I have a Leatherman! I looked at the wide gap in the door, then selected the longest blade from my tool. It took little effort to move what I needed to move, and then I was FREE!!! I emerged from the bathroom, and no one seemed to notice anything. Not even the door handle lying on the ground. The waitress walked up to me and handed me my check, so I handed her the door handle hardware. She looked at me like I had somehow vandalized the store, but I motioned and requested to speak to the man in the back from earlier. A different person came from the front of the store, probably sensing my frustration, and I told him that I was locked in the bathroom and had to get myself out. It was actually pretty funny. I'm sure they were embarrassed and didn't know how to respond, but had it been anyone else, they would have given them an ear full. Though I still had to pay for my food, I intend on returning. Hopefully I gave them enough fodder to tell their friends and family a funny gringo story for today.