tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post7635970167514150103..comments2024-03-28T14:04:21.377-04:00Comments on Broken Chains: Don Pablo's Last StandZap Actionsdowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07435622162129525099noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-9690110084168887302024-01-04T13:13:48.774-05:002024-01-04T13:13:48.774-05:00The best item on the menu was their chicken nachos...The best item on the menu was their chicken nachos... I copied the ingredients from there menu once and made it home... it was just as good as at Don Pablo's... I think for the last 15 or 20 years of Don Pablo's that is all I would eat there... The plate was so big I would share with the woman I was with and that would be that...Nicholas Nixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-43906898140549667822023-12-30T23:09:35.377-05:002023-12-30T23:09:35.377-05:00Don Pablo's was my very first job in the 90s. ...Don Pablo's was my very first job in the 90s. I bussed tables and absolutely loved the atmosphere and staff. They had the most delicious green chili steak burger I loved to get on my breaks and would snack on the tortillas after rolling my silverware at the end of the night. Oh the nostalgia. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-85346716563431839902023-11-02T19:50:58.978-04:002023-11-02T19:50:58.978-04:00Well I absolutely loved the don Pablos in Lexingto...Well I absolutely loved the don Pablos in Lexington, KY and wish it was still open. That's what prompted my finding this article tonight to see if there was a don pablos anywhere open still.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-67748747109137379742023-02-11T18:58:33.158-05:002023-02-11T18:58:33.158-05:00I worked at Don Pablos one winter. I use to stand ...I worked at Don Pablos one winter. I use to stand at the back door and smoke and every one in a while a mouse would run in the door past my feet. And people wondered how we got black rice crispys in the old chip hopper.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-76769209869472284462021-04-01T17:22:04.713-04:002021-04-01T17:22:04.713-04:00Don Pablo's (in Lexington, KY, no less!) was m...Don Pablo's (in Lexington, KY, no less!) was my go-to restaurant in the late '90s/early '00s. I adored it. The salsa was fresh, vibrant, and made in house. I did a lot of globetrotting as a student, and, anytime I returned home after a months-long stint abroad, Mom would pick me up at Bluegrass Airport and ask me where I wanted to go eat. It was always Don Pablo's. After awhile, she just stopped asking. I'd get the El Matador combo and, as someone else pointed out, the sopapillas (seriously, I've never had any like that before or since--where can a guy get them???). Then, somewhere around '03 or '04, something changed. I noticed the salsa was...off. Not terrible by any means, but not nearly as fresh as before. There was definitely a ketchup-y undertone. The fantastic colors of red onion and cilantro were more muted. That was beginning of a long, steady decline. If you caught Don Pablo's at their nadir, I'm sorry for that. That's truly not how it used to be. The closest thing to Don Pablo's in their prime these days is Chuy's. Chuy's is great, but still...not quite there. Sigh. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17284249999255284031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-28162647935413519132021-03-06T20:54:14.596-05:002021-03-06T20:54:14.596-05:00Don Pablo’s on 82nd st. In Indianapolis was absolu...Don Pablo’s on 82nd st. In Indianapolis was absolutely phenomenal back in the 90’s. The food was fresh, they uses cloth napkins and the flautist were to die for. Everything tasted great and the place was packed. However; over the years the food quality, restaurant cleanliness, service, and subtle nuances began to deteriorate. This was my wife and my favorite restaurant. If only we could go back in time into the 90’s...Friendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06904205323629331304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-11422799363251259672021-01-01T18:33:16.736-05:002021-01-01T18:33:16.736-05:00I once ate at a Don Pablo's in Lafayette, Indi...I once ate at a Don Pablo's in Lafayette, Indiana of all places. The Purdue college crowd apparently loved it. The wait was close to 90 minutes and the food was very mediocore. I thought at the time that they were a Midwestern chain given the food quality. My cousin loved the Norwood location. Seems like they put a lot of money into their buildings.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06379146200198278276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-21185660739733260372020-11-12T04:56:16.020-05:002020-11-12T04:56:16.020-05:00I moved from San Diego, CA to New York City in 198...I moved from San Diego, CA to New York City in 1980, and I can tell you the "quality" of Mexican food in NYC back then was sub-Taco Bell. There was a "Taco John's" on 5th and 40th, and couple overpriced "Mexican Fine Dining" places that specialized in laughably inauthentic Mexican food and fishbowl-sized margaritas. <br /><br />About a decade later, "Taco Fresca" Mexican fast-food places started opening up in the strangest neighborhoods in Manhattan, with authentic-tasting Cal-Mex food...and all-Chinese staffs! I never found out how on Earth that came about (the only thing weirder was this wonderful bagel place on 106th and Broadway, run by a Chinese family), but I was mostly too relieved to have decent affordable Mexican food to care, really.<br /><br />I don't know if it was Taco Fresca that shamed the competition, if enough Californians and Texans moved to NYC like I did, or if a sufficient Mexican population decided to take up residence in what used to be called "Spanish Harlem", but New York Mexican food's gotten a lot better in the past four decades. There is, or was, this great hole-in-the-wall taco place on 111th and Amsterdam that didn't even have a name outside of "Tacos", but made the best soft-shell corn tacos I've ever had. DrDarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14975058460852702618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-12654352367674566872019-06-25T15:58:59.690-04:002019-06-25T15:58:59.690-04:00¡Oh, ya has vuelto! ¡Bienvenido!¡Oh, ya has vuelto! ¡Bienvenido!walbehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14048958498432773461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-69254136284032772742019-03-31T10:12:45.767-04:002019-03-31T10:12:45.767-04:00I remember eating a FEW lunches at Don Pablo's...I remember eating a FEW lunches at Don Pablo's in Phoenix during the 90's. After moving to western NJ, I got so excited to see a Don Pablo's in Wiilow Grove, PA around 2003 or so. Not the same food at all.<br />Apparently, people in the east prefer hamburger in their chimicanga's over shredded beef. Chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09003913586529673928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-60097135204813658952019-03-28T16:22:17.838-04:002019-03-28T16:22:17.838-04:00my wife and i ate at the don pablo's in grand ...my wife and i ate at the don pablo's in grand prairie, texas (now closed permanently) about 2 years ago. the food was, as usual above average and the service even better. the one item we always looked forward to the most when we ate there was the sopapillas with brandy butter sauce. i loved that sauce. if you were to drizzle that sauce over a pile of fried paper towels i would eat the entire platter full. <br /><br />such a pity.mathman_mr_thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384102522408922858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-44006456489581116562018-07-31T13:25:39.413-04:002018-07-31T13:25:39.413-04:00I'm hard pressed to think of what the biggest ...I'm hard pressed to think of what the biggest full service Mexican chain restaurant is these days. Maybe Chuy's or On the Border. It definitely seems like the independent places have filled the void left by Don Pablo's and Chi Chi's. Zap Actionsdowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07435622162129525099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411374383982984063.post-20545479271917423232018-07-30T10:07:45.604-04:002018-07-30T10:07:45.604-04:00I really liked the Don Pablo's in Palmer, PA. ...I really liked the Don Pablo's in Palmer, PA. It closed abruptly several years ago, not long after the nearby Chi-Chi's had also done so.<br /><br />Like you, we are fortunate to have a local, authentic Mexican restaurant.Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15715828143573266669noreply@blogger.com