Denton
is crawling with Mexican restaurants – all
types, corporate, mom and pop, Tex-Mex, old world
Mexico – the competition is fierce. This
week we headed out to Casa Galaviz (the old world
variety), near Lotus Chinese on Elm. Casa G has
been on the scene for a long time, but I have only
been once. The last time I went was a most unfortuitous
event; you see, for years a group of faithful early
morning risers (among whom Kevin and I were a part)
had been going to Mi Casita for breakfast tacos.
One morning our very own Connor “Barracuda” Berry convinced
us to go to Casa Galaviz, betraying our allegiance
to Mama and Papa Casita. The
outcome was disastrous and to show Connor our gratitude,
he received a dog pile in the parking lot. Needless
to say, I did not return to Casa Galaviz again
until today. I woke this morning and thought, “Today
is a day for second chances and I am going to start
with Casa Galaviz.” After all, nothing could
be worse than the TA – Travel Center. 
I
should also mention that there is still some
tension between Kevin and Gloria about last weeks
pick. There are those who believe that these
two will never see eye-to-eye about a restaurant
again; but in the theme of second chances I am
more optimistic.
After
ordering at the counter, I went to the table
where Kev and Glo were already sitting
and Kevin looked panicked. “Salsa
is extra, I am not happy.” We turned to
the topic for discussion: What’s up with
primary delegates? Despite Kevin’s best
efforts to figure out how Dean has more delegates
than
Kerry, including some ciphering, he still has
no idea what’s up with primary delegate
votes. The best we could come up with was the “superdelegates.*” Of
course we also discussed Janet Jackson’s
recent Super Bowl “exposure” – general
consensus was that the whole thing was an MTV
stunt. Come on, these are the same people who
brought us “Till
Death Do Us Part: Carmen and Dave"!
Kevin’s
meal was the first to arrive and we were all
relieved to see that the plate came
with a personal cup of salsa. Kevin determined
that the salsa came in small containers because
it is as hot as the earth’s molten core.
Kevin, Russ and I all ordered tacos ala cart.
The various meats
were like playing the lottery, some were winners
and some were losers. See the Lotto Taco Table
for more details about who ordered what. The
most notable feature was
the
clearly
homemade tortillas, very tasty. Overall, the
tacos were generally good, the potato and beef
was
the scariest looking,
in fact it led Kevin to point at it and say with
some reluctance and consternation, “This
is the one that I am worried about.”
Lotto
Taco Table |
What
|
Who Had It |
Description |
Lotto
Results |
Carne Guisada
|
Russ,
Kevin |
Pork
in a greasy gravy. Kevin's favorite. |
$50 |
Carnitas
|
|
Roasted
pork, little seasoning, but oh so tender.
Henry would have liked a sauce or some spiciness. |
Jackpot |
Barbacoa
|
|
Roasted
beef, over cooked, dry, fatty, no seasoning. |
$3 |
Beef and Potato
|
Kevin |
Frightened
Kevin, meat unidentifiable. |
Bust |
Chicken Taco
|
|
Boiled
Chicken, no flavor. Did come with lettuce,
tomato and cheese. |
$3 |
Gloria’s
supreme nachos seemed
to have lived up to their name, despite arriving
late,
which agitated her slightly. She was quick to
give away her guacamole and announce that it
would be community property. Seems her father
told her that guacamole was baby feces and ever
since she has been unable to eat it – such
a shame. Anyway, Gloria did observe: “I
appreciate their attentiveness to my reduced
cheese request.” At the end of the meal,
Kevin and Gloria had a moment of reconciliation – hopefully
the dark days of Eatin’ Out are behind
us.
The
atmosphere was reminiscent of someone's past,
we spent a fair amount of time examining the
family
photo
albums on the walls, seems as though some one
in the family was in "Earnest
Goes to Camp", "CHiP's:
Mission to the Country" or some other
80's movie. There were also a number of pictures
of a guy who
is sort of famous, only we are not sure who
he is - maybe someone on the "West Wing" or
on "LA Law" - who
knows? In a sea of choices, Casa Galaviz
has little to offer. If you want traditional
Mexican in Denton go to
El
Pariente
on Bonne
Brae. Russ
noted that El Pariente is choice because
"in addition to a great lunch you can get lots
of other stuff." No
more second chances. 
*
More on Superdelegates: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4147124/
