T-rex Mex

Cuisine: Mexican-American
Price: $
Coke or Pepsi: Coke
Separate Bar: Yes
Takeout: Yes
Address: 217 West Broughton Street
Savannah, GA 31401
Phone: 912-232-3466
Website: N/A

He says: This T-Rex is about to be extinct if something doesn't change

This place has had their name on the door for what has seemed like forever, but have just now gotten their act together to get it open (first red flag). A buddy at work told me Wednesday that he had gone there for lunch so I thought this would be a new adventure/blog post for Alicia and myself.

It has a very cool atmosphere down in the basement of a building on Broughton. SCAD students obviously had their way with the interior. Even the tables were painted (part of our table was done with glitter paint, which made me wonder if that was a health code violation). The colors are very bright with artwork on the walls and cool light fixtures. They also had good music, and more importantly, at an acceptable level. I hate restaurants with the music so loud that you can't converse with those around you.

First up came the tea, my first impression of the restaurant. It wasn't great. Seemed to be bordering on old. Entrees were limited as far as selection, and reminded me of my college diet - salads, burritos, quesadillas, tacos, nachos - and ranged from around $5-7. The menu was the sorriest wrinkled up 3 pieces of paper and stapled together in the corner. It looked like it had been through the washing machine once or twice. I didn't really want to touch them.

So on top of the tea being sub standard and the menu looking like I need a tetanus shot to go with it, our waitress didn't seemed really enthused about waiting on us. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for Brian from Office Space, but when we're only one of three tables in the whole place it can't be that bad...can it? It probably didn't help that she was the waitress/bar tender/and probably cook/microwave user.

I ordered a chicken burrito. Chicken, cheese, beans (in order of what should be most predominant in the burrito). What I got was a bean burrito. Beans, beans, beans, beans, cheese, beans, chicken, and beans. Terrible. Seriously, how do you mess up a chicken burrito? The bean juice made my tortilla so soggy that it basically fell apart as I ate it and ultimately turned into a train wreck. It was so terrible I didn't even bother taking a picture of it.

This woman knows how to make a chicken burrito.

Accompanying my soggy bean burrito was a ramekin of boogers that they insisted was "salsa". Even if this was "salsa", how do you expect someone to dip a large triangular chip into a bowl with a 1.5" diameter?

Needless to say I walked out of there horribly disappointed. I'd go as far as to say it is one of, if not the worst restaurant I've eaten at here in Savannah. If you want a burrito, I'd recommend Moe's. It's cheaper, better and they welcome you the second you walk in the door.

Taste: 0 noms

Plating/Appearance of Food: 0 noms

Service: 1 noms

Cleanliness: 3 noms

Atmosphere: 5 noms

Overall Noms: 1.8

She Says: The food is as confusing as the name

Here's a food code to live by (I think Celeste would be proud): if the name of a restaurant sounds like the owners put little thought into it, or just put words together that simply sound cool but mean nothing, chances are high that the food isn't going to be good. This couldn't be more true for the latest new "Mexican" restaurant in town, T-rex Mex. What does a T-rex have to do with Mexican food? Nothing. Yeah, sure, it rhymes, but so does Dr. Suess - that doesn't mean the Who's down in Whoville know how to make a kick-ass chimichanga.

Needless to say, I was thrown by the name before even entering the basement restaurant. The decor, which had a cool, Spanish-gothic vibe to it, made me forget about the name for a little bit. The exposed brick on the wall matched with brightly colored, morbid paintings made an interesting and artsy atmosphere for sure. It was clear that the owners spent some time on the design. I just wish they would have spent more time on the food.

When we got the menu, I was shocked, but not in the oh-my-god-these-dishes-sound-amazing way. No, I was shocked in the great-I'm-about-to-pay-for-food-I-could-make-at-home sort of way. The menu, which was extremely minimalist (which isn't a bad thing, as long as the food that's on the menu is something better than what a ten year old could make), only offered basic nachos, burritos, quesadillas and tacos. So there I was, in an artsy, Spanish pub-like atmosphere, named after a dinosaur, ordering Moe's cuisine ... from a waitress. Needless to say, I was confused. I didn't know whether they had just opened and didn't have a large menu yet, or if they just didn't care about the food all the way around. But I did know that paying $8 for nachos with salsa, cheese, tomatoes, and jalepenos on it (it was extra if I wanted chicken or beef) was ridiculously over priced. I could essentially get the same thing at Taco Bell, without having to leave tip.

To make matters worse, the food took twenty minutes to get there. TWENTY MINUTES! Will (who's no Bobby Flay in the kitchen) could have made me better nachos at home in half the time. I'm not really sure what took so long, but I'm guessing it wasn't the cooks because when I got my nachos the cheese was rubbery from standing under the heat lamp so long. I couldn't even finish my nachos, because I couldn't break through the cheese.

I wasn't please with T-Rex Mex at all, and I won't be going back. In fact, if there were RAZZIE awards for restaurants, T-rex Mex would win one for sure. Next time I want a burrito, I'll make sure to go to a place that focuses less on dinosaurs and decor and more on the food.

Taste: 0 noms

Plating/Appearance of Food: 0 noms

Service: 0 noms

Cleanliness: 5 noms

Atmosphere: 5 noms

Overall Noms: 2