I stopped back in for lunch at Monon Food Company with a friend the other day because it was super convenient. After my first visit, I planned a return trip, but this was actually my first time back. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that they now do table service, which is something I mentioned in my first review—that I thought that table service would be nicer if you are sitting down to dinner. However, our service was so slow, by the time I left, I was rethinking that position.
My friend and I shared the Hawaiian fish tacos (because last time someone had recommended them) and the jerk chicken tacos (we had one of each). (The jerk are $6.95 for 2 and the Hawaiian are $7.49 for 2). Seriously, these things have only gotten larger since my first visit, and they were quite large then. Now, you physically cannot eat them like a taco. They are so overstuffed you pretty much have to eat them with a knife and fork.
I preferred the Hawaiian taco of the two—it was full of shredded tilapia at the bottom, and there was a fair amount of fish. It was topped with lots of shredded cabbage, Monon barbecue sauce, and mango salsa. I appreciated there was a little heat in the salsa, but the mango balanced it out. It also just seemed juicier of the two, because there was a lot of tender fish as well as the sauce.
The Jamaican jerk taco was topped with jerk seasoned chicken, lots of shredded Romaine lettuce and another salsa (it said papaya, but it had just a few pieces of papaya and mostly other things—a fair amount of cucumber if I am not mistaken). This was really spicy, which is the point of jerk chicken I guess, but the weird thing was when you got down to the meat (you can’t even see it in the picture), it seemed almost like it was mostly seasoning and not very much meat, so the spice really started overwhelming things. This one also seemed overall much drier. To me, it needed some other kind of sauce or something.
The ingredients are exceedingly fresh, and this is a good place to go for a lunch in which you don’t leave feeling bloated and gross. I would likely get the Hawaiian taco again, but would pass on the jerk flavor. The most annoying thing was the fact that it was impossible to get our server’s attention. I finally had to flag down another server to ask her to please get ours for us so we could pay and get out of there. Luckily I was enjoying catching up with a friend who I don’t get to see very often, or I would have been annoyed. So maybe I was wrong the first time, and maybe for lunch, since people are generally in a bigger hurry, they should go back to counter service. Or maybe we were just unlucky. Who knows?
Monon Food Company
6420 Cornell Ave.
Indy 46220
317/722-0176
Meridian has excellent fish tacos. They use small corn tortillas but you get four plus they use grilled fish.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... we eat in there 3-4 times a month and have never had a problem with the service.
ReplyDeleteI have also found the service to be horrific (been twice now) and the size of the tacos frustrating- great flavor, but SO HARD TO EAT.
ReplyDeleteindybrian, oh yeah? I don't think I have ever had the fish tacos at Meridian. Sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteBethanyrx, sounds like you have been lucky and Tucan Sam, you not as much.... :) I can't say if the service thing is a consistent problem, but it was bad enough last time to leave a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak.
Sorry to read about your slow service experience. However, I've been many times from the getgo, during peak and off-peak hours likewise, and I can't recall having slow service. Then again, I don't write restaurant reviews which tends to lend itself to scrutinizing otherwise over-looked details. Then again x2, you know slow service when you see it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the food, I've tried 2/3 of the menu and I've always enjoyed the experience. I understand your thought on over-stuffed tacos. Mostly because one thinks of a taco as being readily available to eat without having to think, "Where do I begin?". I certainly expect a quick, mess-free lunch if I dare to eat Tace Bell, but I quickly forgive this sentiment when dining at the likes of MFC. I simply fork-out the superfluous items and then pick up the rest in typical taco eating behavior. All is good and I walk away satisfied.
I won't bother defending slow service, but the food portion, flavor, and presentation is obviously a personal matter. It just goes to show you can't make everyone happy.
As always, I appreciate your blog and candid illustration of your dining experiences. You can find me on twitter @DavidsMark.
GloveBox, I appreciate your comments and am glad to hear that hopefully the day I was there was an abberation in the service. Honestly, I do not tend to "over-scrutinize" service and rarely mention bad service unless it gets to the point that is starts to really annoy me (which it did). I am actually much more easy going when I dine out than you might think.
ReplyDeleteAs for the tacos, I am glad you enjoy them, but I question the need for "superfluous" ingredients. And I hardly think you can say the only easily handled tacos come from taco bell (which by the way is a place you will not find me dining). I have had many good, non-fork needing tacos around town. I do agree that dining is a personal experience, and obviously a lot of people enjoy the food at MFC. This blog is just an expression of my personal experience and I always love to hear other people's in the comments as well (or through other blogs or wherever). So I appreciate you taking the time to write.
Yeah, Taco Hell was perhaps a bad illustration. I was merely using it for the sake of familiarity. Whether or not you and I like TC, I think we can agree most people can relate.
ReplyDeleteMy comment about over-scrutinizing simply comes from the thought, "If I were a restaurant critic, blogger, or whatnot, I'd be on the lookout for (blank)". Since I'm not, I don't. ;)
Bin Appetit!