Tortilla West

Pretentious people like to elevate their sense of self value and importance by making negative comments regarding the authenticity of restaurants based upon some loose connection they feel they have with a specific cuisine due to a previous locale they lived in, visited, or became an expert on by watching the Travel Channel or Food Network. I probaby chase the gustatory memory of a fine meal with a special someone in a special place as much as the next guy. At least I realize when that is what I am doing and don't downgrade the efforts of local eateries by trying to make them live up to my expectations that they rekindle feelings and memories of my past. A friend told me about a local restaurant with descriptions of agave reductions, extensive beer and taquilla lists and Mexican food without the typical seven ingredients arranged and rearranged in different combinations. I like Mexican food and don't really care if every citizen of Juarez, Mexico City or Mazatlan has all of the ingredients in their pantries. Mexico's cuisine started with local beans and corn as staples. Hardly varied enough to satisfy the complex and diverse tastes of a dining public. Chilis and heavy spices were added for flavor. The Spaniards added garlic, onions, cheese, wheat and more. Other influences from Europe, India and even China were added. If Norfolk Virginia adds it's own twist at a local Mexican eatery I don't imagine the Mexican people will lose their cultural identity. Tortilla West offers large portions of well thought out dishes at reasonable prices. (I think low prices but don't want them to catch on and raise them) The food is prepared well and served attractively. The service is always friendly, attentive, and efficient. I ordered the breakfast bowl for Sunday brunch and was quickly served an almost over generous and very tasty combination of grits, potatoes, eggs, cheese, chorizo and other savory breakfast goodies served in a tortilla bowl for under $9. Mine was accompanied by a Bloody Mary from the Bloody Mary bar which offered more than 20 additions including five varieties of stuffed olives, artichoke hearts, spices, sauces and special ingredients all for $2.50. The presentation of the additions was less than elegant but did I mention 20 ingredients and it was only $2.50? The wait staff was attentive, friendly, efficient and yet unobtrusive. I asked to speak with the manager with my only complaint, that being that despite living in Ghent, I had never heard of the place. I found the manager to be charming, warm, friendly and appreciative of my comments and suggestions. In the interest of being balanced, I have to say the atmosphere though comfortable, was more eatery and youthful hangout than the quality of the menu and variety of libations would suggest. I can only hope that as word gets out about the food, drinks, and service, there will be a few upgrades to the decor. Additionally, while I have never had or heard of anyone having a scary or unsafe experience there, the location's proximity to 'the docks' makes it feel a little shady but not much more than Orapax Inn a couple of blocks away.

My husband and I go to tortilla frequently. We bring frineds to the bar, and have family dinner on the weekends. We are a member of the ghent community. Recently, we've been going on sunday nights. We love the fact that we are always greeted warmly by the staff. The bartender makes us feel like a member of the family. She tells us about the wonderful brunch and bloody mary bar, but have yet to try it. When we dine with our family, we have great service. Our favorite server is Becca. We have a vegetarian family, and she always knows the perfect mral to order for us. She promt, attentive, and never ovebearing. We love tortilla because of the vegan and vegetarian specials. Everyone on the staff is unique, and makes the experience great.

i went there this evening for dinner with my friend and ordered coke with no ice.The waitress brought me coke with ice but i did not say anything and as i was drinking it i find a loooonnng piece of hair inside my glass...IT was gross and nasty ..i told the waitress but she really did not anything about it ..i mean she said i am sorry and that's all she did.My friend and i left immediately the place..I will never ever go there again...Not even get close to that place.

Comments (1)

GregNorfolk - 12/20/09
Well, let's see. The waitress made a mistake. That's unfortunate. You failed to correct the problem as if it weren't very important but then later decided to write it in a review potentially harming the business's reputation over something a staff member did that you did not feel was important enough at the time to bring to the attention of management or to the owner. I guess they failed to sufficiently cow tow, console you for your horrendous loss or what I imagine you were really after...give you something for free. What exactly did you want them to do? You said she apologized. Nobody really likes having foreign objects in their food or beverages but both 'gross' and 'nasty' suggest maybe you don't eat out much or are overly unrealistic about common problems which efforts should be made to avoid but which do happen. The FDA allows 5 or more Drosophila and other fly eggs or 1 or more maggots per 250 ml of canned fruit juice and 30 insect parts and one rodent hair per 100 grams of peanut butter. I sure hope you didn't get any Prell or Suave in your coke. Do rodents shampoo their fur? Let me ask you, are human hairs more nasty than rodent hairs? Are long hairs nastier or more gross than short ones? Is there a correlation between the length of the hair and the number of "O's" in the word long? If you will now, "not even get close to the place", I suggest that you have a severe hair phobia and probably could benefit from psychiatric care.