From the mouths of babes

One of the favorite haunts of the Erwin/Hagemann/Harkins clan is El Indio Mexican Restaurant. I think Rick and I went there on New Year's day about 3 years ago because it was the only thing open (and mexican food cures all my hangovers) and it's been a love affair ever since.



To set the scene and explain the glamour that is El Indio, this place used to be a Pizza Hut. In order to distract you from that fact, they painted the inside every color of mexican neon that they could get their hands on. To save $ on table cloths, they took a page out of the Mexican Martha Stewart magazine and shellaqued posters of wolves to the table tops. In order to show that they are "with it", we noticed there was a Twilight poster now on one of the tables. I am guessing that's where the romance happens at El Indio. Tres chic.





But we love El Indio because you get the real-deal mexican experience. On top of great food, you also get confusion regarding your order due to language break-downs, shameless flirting with the ladies (though one time they did ask me if I was pregnant, though I am trying to convince myself that it was because I ordered water instead of a beer), and all the chips and salsa you can get your hands on.



A shadow has been cast over El Indio in recent trips. Apparently they have opted to hire a new guy. New guy is not fun/outgoing like all the other El Indio fellas. He does not speak a word of english and generally seems like he hates being there. I will call him "Senor No Bueno", or SNoB. Well, we get SNoB for the second time last night. He's already annoyed with our table of 7 and giving us attitude. Then, Chloe strikes. I mentioned before that Chloe's a bit obsessed with teeth (reference the county fair where she kept gesturing to the carnie with meth mouth every time she went around on the carousel). When SNoB turned after taking our drink order, Chloe proclaims "I see gold teeth on that guy!". Yes, SNoB has gold rimmed teeth (are you getting the visual on this place yet?). Needless to say, things went from bad to worse after that, and to show his agression towards the girls, he "forgot" their order. Thankfully for them, it's hard to hide mucus in chicken nuggets and fries....

When it came time to discuss the bill, I explained the concept of tipping to Chloe as her mother was making statements that she wasn't going to tip. Ever-concerned Chloe stated, "but if we don't tip him, how will get get the rest of the gold for his teeth?". While she may not respect his ability as a server, Chloe does respect a person's right to accessorize.