Carlos O'Kelly's

Update: Carlos O'Kelly's is closed.

In a word: Sort of an Americanized idea of what an Irish pub would be like in Mexico if it served food and had access to processed foodstuffs.

The specs: #0065
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; Carlos O'Kelly's web site.

John ate the Santa Fe salad with a Corona.
JM ate the enchilada dinner with a lemonade.
Kayla ate the Santa Fe salad/quesadilla combo and a Pepsi.
Nichole ate the Santa Fe salad/quesadilla combo and a "Carlos Bock."
John gave Carlos O'Kelly's an A-; JM gave Carlos O'Kelly's a B+; Kayla and Nichole gave Carlos O'Kelly's a B- (see our grading rubric).

Latest Carlos O'Kelly's news and reviews

Obviously, we can't vouch for the whole menu, since three of us opted for the "Santa Fe salad." It was just OK: inexplicably watery, with a mild to boring dressing, thankfully served on the side. Kayla did reflect that with the marinated cabbage and black beans, this might be one of the most healthful salads she's eaten at a chain.

John was rightly annoyed that guacamole cost extra. While the quesadillas are fine as they are (think nonthreatening toasted cheese sandwiches), the salad would benefit from a more peppery mix of greens instead of dull iceberg lettuce as a foundation. Again, the kitchen management should really invest in a good salad spinner.

JM says the enchilada dinner was typical of chain Mexican food, in that it gets points for effort but doesn't really distinguish itself. He was the first to notice that  with respect to the complementary chips and salsa, we pretty much got what we paid for.

As close as we can figure, Nichole's "Carlos Bock" (which was OK) was the Irish part of the whole deal. All in all, Carlos O'Kelly's was less fun for a sit-down meal than for 2-for-1 margarita night with a deck of Lunch Money cards.

Comments

[John Sams]

Again, there's that free taco/nacho bar on Thursday nights. As per your mention, it's kinda processed-y, but it's free.

[rte]

Bravo! You captured my thoughts exactly; with a name like Carlos O'Kelly's, what feeling and cuisine is this restaurant trying to purvey?

Needless to say, I've been there once and have no intention to ever return.

[Kyle]

Closed. I meant to post here over the weekend, but got sidetracked. Unconfirmed Internet chatter indicates it was abrupt, and employees were not notified.