Carlos Mencia’s Maggie Rita’s

First, Five Stars for the premise alone:
«I’m Carlos Mencia. Even people who think that Dane Cook is funny think that I’m not. I’ll start a chain of Mexican restaurants that bear my name. Never mind that I’m not Mexican and that my given Christian name is Ned Mencia.»
Mr. Mencia’s chutzpah takes my breath away. Howver, Mr. Mencia’s chutzpah does not translate to good Mexican food, if I’m to take other reviews at face value. One of the more glowing reviews states that Mr. Mencia’s place is great, in part, because the prospective diner does not have to deal with crowds. That suggests, to me, that more people watched «Mind of Mencia,» which was tough enough to swallow. Tougher still are the fajitas, which, according to another reviewer, caused his jaw to ache even a day after eating them.
Needless to say, I can’t wait to see what next springs forth from the mind of Carlos Mencia.

I am not quite sure what kind of ocd people made the reviews below but this place was AWESOME! The happy hour has incredible prices ($ 4 premium margaritas, etc.) The serice was great. It was empty but the place is new. Give them a break people. How can any business succeed when nobody gives them a chance from the get-​go? We didn’t wait that long forour food. We had queso as an appetizer which was delish. The fajitas for 1 looked like fajitas for 3 at any other mexican foodplace in houston and was priced extremely well. I believe it was $ 18.99. The food was not bland at all. The beef fajitas were very well seasoned and tender. Anyhow, I love this place. My boyfriend loves it as well and he’s usually a tough food critic. We hope it stays. I will actually be having an event here with about 23 people. That’s how much I liked it.

I’d actually give it 1.5 stars, so I rounded up just because the service (our waiter) was good.
Now for the actual review:
The wife & I decided to stop for dinner as we were passing by, to try the «new» chain.
Mistake.
They just started the changing the chain over from Ninfas to Maggie Ritas. This location started 4 – 6 weeks ago. That’s enough time to get real menus and not photocopies blah. The inside looks like a place that is under construction, without actually being under construction. The check in station smelled of old urine. The smell is still in my nose at the table. Awful 70s era faux spanish paintings on the wall.
The parking lot was only half full, Little Pappassitas across the street was overflowing. The dining room was 90% empty. Bad signs, but we persevered.
As I said, the menu was photocopied. (Yet their special drink/​appetizer/​dessert menu on the table was leather bound and nicely done). The menu was heavy on the tapas, and heavy on the prices. Little Papassitas is just across the street, and they are less expensive! (that is something seldom said).
The complimentary chips, salsa & tomotillo dip are good. Spicier than the norm, but tasty. Those give me hope.
I ordered a chili chimichanga with ground beef (they call it something else), My wife orders the chicken fajita nachos with black beans instead of refried.
We start to wait for the food, and I decide to check out Unilocal on the iphone and see if the «new» place is listed. 2 1-​star reviews. Ooops, why didn’t I look first like I usually do. Oh well, we’ll see if we have a better experience.
The waiter keeps my ice tea and the wife’s diet coke filled. That’s a good plus.
Almost 30 minutes later our food finally comes out. That’s a long wait for such simplistic meals with an almost empty restaurant.
Pluses: very hot, very large portions
Minuses: food was kind of generic on taste, almost bland.
My chimi was lightly fried like the menu said, and I likes the shell. The chili topping was bland, like a store brand canned light chili. The meat inside was over powered by the refried beans that also seemed to have from a can quality. The spanish rice with the meal was equally generic. The guac was also. See a thme here?
My wife’s Nacho’s were nice. Each «nacho» was a half circle from a corm tortilla, covered in black beans, cheese, and fajita chicken. Not alot of chicken, 2 – 3 dice sized chunks per big nacho. The chicken was fairly bland also, like a frozen meal chicken. The black beans were good though.
Overall the food was ok. Nothing exceptional, and certainly not worth the prices they charge. Even Café Adobe, which has fallen in my favor in the last decade, is a better choice. I’d also rather go to Los Tios (which I like).
Overall our experience was not terrible, but I’d pass it by for plenty of other better area options.
Addendum: We ate late (9 oclock or so by the time our food got to the table), and I did not sleep well all night. Tried popping antacids and guzzling water, but no dice. Arrrgh.

The final nail in the Ninfas chain’s coffin.
We went in here late one night since we were Ninfas fans and couldn’t make it to the one on Navigation in time. The chain Ninfas have been steadily deteriorating over time, but I wasn’t prepared for this.
I ordered a Ninfarita and the waiter simply said «we have a new menu now». I was taken aback and got a beer instead. Then I noticed the menu said «Carlos Mencia’s Maggie Rita’s» even though the outside of the restaurant still had a Ninfas sign.
We ordered anyway to give it a shot, and the food was terrible. My $ 17 fajita tacos were burnt to a crisp (a day later my jaw hurts from eating them) and my buddy got cold chili con carne on his burrito.
Give this one a pass.