What I'm Eating: Acapulco Joe's (No offense, but...)

I'm going to preface this post with the fact that I am by no means a professional food critic or a culinary chef.  I'm just a girl that worked in the service industry for over 10 years in multiple genres of food and have eaten a variety of cuisines.  So when I feel compelled to share an experience, good or bad, I have the knowledge to back it up so it is nothing personal. 

Saturday was a fairly nice day.  There were ominous storm clouds lingering around in the distance but the temperature was nice and perfect for patio dining.  There are so many places to choose from in downtown Indy including several I've never made it around to trying.  We were originally going to go somewhere around Mass Ave. but I suggested Acapulco Joe's.  It is nearby and we are almost always down for Mexican.  It has been around for forever and I drive by it frequently.  I went to Google it and look at the menu but to my dismay, they don't have a website. Strange. Even La Hacienda has a well run website.  No worries, it's Mexican.  I'm sure it has everything I'm used to....

So we drove over there.  When we walked in, it was pretty dead.  The decor is very colorful with large murals throughout but pretty dated and in need of lots of renovations.  The bartender got on the loud speaker and shouted: "Corona!" (this happened a couple over times during our time there).  I assumed he had just gotten a tip which is sometimes used as gimmicky flair in lively, fun casual dining places but seemed odd since it was practically a ghost town inside.  A server greeted us and when we said we'd like to sit on the covered patio, she just handed us 2 menus and told us to seat ourselves.  There was a large party already outside as well as several other tables of 2 or 3 people.  The location is great; right on the corner of Illinois and Vermont and their covered patio is very large.  We were greeted by 3 different servers at 3 different times who all asked for a drink order (communication lapse?).  I decided to refresh myself with iced tea (tasted old even though it was only lunch time) while D got a house margarita.  Someone brought us a basket of tortilla chips.  Hey, wait! Where's the fresh house salsa?  I looked around and saw no one else had salsa either.  The chips were cold and slightly stale.  There were 2 squirt bottles with different sauces on each table that I guess we were supposed to use instead of salsa.  One was roasted and spicy, the other was smoother and sweet.  Nothing to be excited over.  D refused to try them and questioned the last time the bottles had been rinsed out and refilled.  Good question.  We went ahead and quickly ordered food since we were both starving.  D went with his usual Chimichanga and I selected the chicken fajitas.  Because of the dismal chips and lack of salsa, we contemplated cancelling our order and just going somewhere else but I was too hungry to do so and I wanted to see this visit to the end.  Our food came up quickly.  The fajita skillet was sizzling hot which is always fun to watch but also brought attention to how much excessive oil the mixture was saturated in. 

Still sizzling and popping

Plenty of fresh toppings

I was excited about the large mound of shredded cheese that came on the side with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole.  I thought it also came with rice and beans but our server explained it came with either the toppings OR rice and beans.  Um, ok....moving on.  I used my usual method of fajita assembly (see here) minus the refried beans I usually use.  At this point, I was just hoping that Acapulco Joe's entrees would deliver and sadly, they repeated the muted tone of just, plain bad.  D's chimichanga was just alright. 

He's not impressed

He went with the chicken enchilada that is topped with a red, chili sauce ("like the topping put on a chili dog" and a liquidy, nacho cheese.  He ended up eating most of it.  My chicken fajitas were nothing special; drenched in oil, under-seasoned. and mostly lifeless once the sizzle died down.  The guac had absolutely no salt.  I ate 1 assembled fajita to quiet my rumbling stomach.  I asked for a box to take the chicken back to Little Miss B which she ate later with no reservation.

I immediately voiced my opinion of the food and experience to D.  My frustration with Acapulco Joe's covers many different angles: 1) They have a great location and large space however they are in major need of a makeover; 2) They charge just as much money as any other Tex-Mexican restaurant around yet they don't serve salsa with their chips (which were gross anyways), they don't serve rice and beans (a very low cost side) with their fajitas, AND the food is bad 3) The staff was pretty unprofessional and unfriendly.  They basically came in wearing street clothes except for Acapulco Joe's t-shirts.  There was no semblance of uniformity.  They were also allowed to smoke on the patio while on duty or at least while wearing their work shirt.

While we were waiting around for our check, we were approached by a bum trying to solicit money or a cigarette but his plan was foiled by a gentleman sitting with the large party who came over and quickly identified himself as the owner, telling the guy to keep on moving.  I appreciated that he stepped up and handled that situation professionally.  I also realized that he or someone in his party probably overheard me complaining about the meal.  If he wasn't with his family or friends, I would've have introduced myself and told him face to face what I thought about his restaurant.  If ever there was a restaurant that needed to be on Kitchen Nightmares or Restaurant: Impossible, it's Acapulco Joe's.  I can just hear Gordon Ramsey now ripping the place a new one and going berserk with who's in charge.  There is such potential there being that it's the only casual Mexican restaurant directly downtown.  I don't know if they've just given up or what but I can't imagine that place staying open much longer.  What I think was missing most were Mexicans themselves.  The staff was a mix of everything but Mexican and maybe that's why there was little influence on the food or pride in the Mexican heritage splashed all over the walls.  The whole place is a corny, even a tad bit offensive, Americanized interpretation of Mexican food.  I can say that I've checked it off my list and will never eat there again unless they make some drastic changes.

The Verdict: Out of 5 stars

Location/Atmosphere: ***1/2  Located downtown at the corner of Illinois and Vermont.  Needs a face lift.  Lots of outdoor (covered) patio seating.

Service: *1/2 Our waitress was ok but most of the staff was under dressed and some took smoking breaks out in the open

Food: 1/2 Probably the worst Mexican-ish food ever; complimentary chips but no salsa

Will I eat there again: No way, Jose!





Acapulco Joe's


365 North Illinois Street Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-637-5160