Tradiciones

Tradicionnes rocks. Sure it has some compromises, but I consider them compromises in the name of authenticity. The things that make it rock is core mexican food that is absolutely awesome, a couple of mole dishes that rock the casbah, and a physical building that makes it feel like you’re in downtown San Antonio. The service is usually good, especially for Sunday lunches when we usually come here and order from the menu. Chips are always refreshed, and the tea stays full. My one pet peeve is that we never get silverware if we sit on the porch. It’s hilariously consistent!
But I stopped in this Sunday, and it was closed. Bummer. I called tonight, and there is no answer. Double bummer. Are you open Tradicionnes, or have you left us?

Let’s start by saying that «Tradiciones» no longer exists and now the place is called «Mariscos Vuelve La Vida». The Spanish translation to this phrase is «Seafood gives Life». Ironically, this is what this restaurant is missing… life. Made the mistake of taking some out of town relatives to eat here. One in the party had been here before when it was Tradiciones and fell in love with the patio and the «Mexicaness» of it all. Is Mexicaness a word? I don’t think so but I like it. We ordered fried tilapia, fried red snapper, two chicken quesadillas, one carne asada platter, one chicken burrito, one Modelo Negro beer and one margarita. All the dishes were accompanied by a fake yellow rice and refried beans. These have to be addressed first. I say fake yellow rice because they were trying to make the typical mexican rice but failed. The rice was plain, saltless white rice with a few peas in it. A mexican place that doesn’t know how to make a flavorful yellow rice? Shame, shame muchachos. What a flavorless scoop of I don’t know what! Really? I told the cook I would gladly come by free of charge and teach the cooks how to make really really good yellow rice but she just listened and then said she would tell the cook.
And now for the refried beans. Mushy, flavorless, saltless something. If I had had a blindfold I NEVER would have guess I was eating beans. Beans can be soooo delicious made with tender loving care and seasoned properly with garlic, onions and yes… something called salt.
Then for the carne asada, AKA, shoe leather. Thin slices of beef with NO salt or pepper, or any seasoning for that matter. Telling the waitress that it was overcooked and tough when she asked how the food was did not help. She just walked away. Was she muttering «that’s how we always make it» under her breath as she walked away? The two fried fish dishes lacked salt, were overcooked and a tad greasy. The quesadilla & burrito were passable but nothing worth a return visit. However, the MODELO NEGRO beer was EXCELLENT and that’s how this restaurant earned its ONE star rating.
BTW, the chips were fresh and plentiful. So if you want to go to a restaurant just for chips and water, you are good to go at this place.
MARISCOS VUELVE LA VIDA, contrary to its name, will be on its last legs shortly. We should start calling the EMT’s now and give it some mouth to mouth. It is going to need it.

It’s closed. They say for remodel. I hope so. It is a great place.
Call their number before going.

On the verge of just giving one star I, I figured on 2 only because I enjoyed the cool open interior of the main restaurant. As far as the food. That is one star.
While having just stopped in at the Ranch Market to pick up a few groceries, I was going to eat at the Market itself but decided to maybe try a place I had never tried near by instead. As I took my groceries to the car, I decided that since I had not yet tried «Tradiciones» I would give them a try.
I enjoy the food at the Ranch Market– tasty and authentic. Since they are connected I THOUGHT the food would be the same. Boy was I wrong! I don’t know who they have cooking here, but with all the great stuff they have next door it should be A LOT better.
The salsa should have been the first clue… it was just ok. Again, knowing what they make in house next door, made this salsa pretty sad. Wanting an Agua Fresca to drink and again knowing next door had like 7+ varieties, I was disappointed they only had horchata and pina here. I got the pina, which was probably the best part of this meal.
I was really craving some tacos, and noticed they only really offered them under the appetizer menu as street tacos. Also wanting to have a sopito, I thought WTH I will get the sampler platter and add a taco.
The platter came with 2 mini chimis, 2 mini taquitos, 2 mini cheese enchiladas and a soptio each of chicken and beef. All looked good when it came out. I enjoyed the taco first… the last thing I was to enjoy on this culinary outing. Then, digging into the chicken enchiladas, the sauce was a «mole». This was not a good mole… way too sweet, someones idea of a mole. Yes, just because a mole has chocolate doesn’t mean it’s a chocolate sauce. And the chicken, stringy bland kinda tough. Everything followed suit, bland not very authentic, someones idea of mexican food. It all reminded me of something I would get if in the Mid-​west somewhere and wanted Mexican food… not Arizona!
The only saving grace to this meal was that it was happy hour on a Saturday and the platter was ½ off and the taco was a buck so I left paying only $ 9 instead of $ 15.
While I will continue to eat at the Market… I will pass on TRADICIONES…*blegh*.

The atmosphere’s probably the main draw to this place for a slightly upper scale mexican restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, the food is pretty good but for all the attention to detail in the décor, i dont know, i expected a little more out of the food.
This is a good place to take mid western family members for a little southwest flavor since they wont know any better :) The market on Sundays is nice and the staff has always been accomodating. They have a huge banquet hall and the outdoor courtyard is the best seat in the house on a nice day. Full Bar! The deserts are great too.

I finally got to try Tradiciones today. This one has intrigued me for awhile because it is consistently rated as one of the best Mexican places in Phoenix by the Arizona Republic, yet Unilocal reviews are mixed. I kind of get that now.
First of all, when you walk in they have meat cooking over a wood fire, which is a really nice touch. Even as I write this, I still have a slight campfire smell on my shirt. The décor is more or less your typical American Disney-​like Mexican restaurant ambience, maybe a step above the norm. I was on my lunch at work so I could not drink, but I noticed Dos Equis on tap, which is always a plus in my book. The place is pretty large, so it would be a good destination for a group.
Service was very good and friendly. The prices were pretty decent for lunch, at least; I did not see the dinner menu. I had the carne asada platter with chilaquiles ($ 10.95) and my co-​worker had a burro. The food was good. It was not super great, certainly not one of the best in town as AZ Republic suggests, but certainly a step up from Macayos and other chains. I think this would be a good place to impress out-​of-​town relatives that are not ready for super-​authentic Mexican food. I’m not saying there is not authentic stuff on the menu, it’s just that there is plenty of the stuff people would be used to seeing at a place like Garcia’s.
I would almost bump it up to four stars just because of the nice smell, the good service, and most of all, the proximity to the Ranch Market – the most wonderful supermarket chain in Phoenix.

So I figured out why this place has 5 from one and 1 from another…
It is owned ny our friends up North. Yep The super nice yet bland group we call Canadians. They have created a tourist trap that appeals to tourist and lovers of SW crap.
LOL
Here is a copy of the business plan.
Lets create a super nice place that attracts people to it, eah? (cuz they end the sentence with a question)
But we do know anything about Mexican food?
Lets make it so neat just to be in the place that we will get by on our looks? Eah?
OKAAY… make sure the drinks are good.

SO… Unilocal led me to this place. I was bored and craving Mexican so I took a ride down town. Really classy place. A lot of time was placed into the décor and i liked the vibe. Went for lunch and the place is big and im not sure there was anyone else there. I had come to this place just because of the review that the one girl did when she asked «how come no one ever told me about this place?»
I feel the same.
Had a guac salad and I had a marinated chicken that looked like an El Pollo Loco chicken but it was much much much better. I think the menu said the chicken was cooked on a wood palate. Very tasty. Salsa was only weak spot as I didnt think it was that great. Other than that it was a great meal in a classy place, didnt break the bank. No reason not to go back.

BEST CARNE ASADA (GRILLED SLICED STEAK), HACIENDA-​STYLE HOSPITALITY. A MEXICAN FOOD EXPERIENCE IN THE THEME-​PARK STYLE.
–colorful, tasteful, vibrant ambiance in the country-​hacienda style; kudos to the designers with an eye for detail;
–dining room draws natural light from the delightful patio windows to the vaulted ceilings above;
–this place and the adjacent ranch market are a «must-​do» for tourists (bring your out-​of-​towners here);
–Don’t miss the Parrilla (grilled platter); one «portion» serves two; choose three meats and voice your tortilla preference;
–grilled vegetables include nopales (cactus), Mexican zucchini squash, jalapenos (consumed whole, took me to five hiccups before my stomach settled), and baby onion stalks (not the typical pile-​o-​fajita yellows);
–both rice and beans served family style, and perfectly flavored. I could just sit and eat bowl after bowl of those beans;
–juicy, perfectly cooked shrimp; «asada» goodness knows no bounds;
–guacamole is plentiful (no melon-​ball scoops of yesterday at $ 3/​ea here!) and freshly made to order; NOW THAT’S what I’m TALKing about !!!
–table salsa is spicy with lots of freshly chopped chilis and pureed onions; really good burn;
–try the horchata (rice milk and cinnamon sugary goodness) or any of the featured Aguas Frescas.
–no fuss over separate checks (and that was for our table of 10!)
–pork was a bit dry; is «gamey» possible in pork?
–server forgot our desserts and we gave up after 20 minutes (shucks! they were sitting right there on the pass!); the manager refunded us promptly and then packaged them to-​go.
After so many recent disappointments on rock-​hard rubbery shrimp, I _​finally_​found a place that grills properly, excellent marinade, and with the freshest ingredients. If you get the impression that you are amidst a food operation staffed by thousands, you are correct: several hundred are working in the kitchens next door making tortillas, cheese, asada, aguas and more!
If you don’t have a filthy-​rich Mexican relative with a hacienda (Mexican mansion) across the border, this may be the closest you’ll get without an invitation. The mostly-​abandoned courtyard is centered with a gigantic fountain, lined with what could be booths for a seasonal market, bodas, or other festival. In the corner a lush garden with a somewhat secret door leading to la sala, the grand room.
Don’t miss the Ranch Market next door; you won’t see retail food sold in this quantity anywhere else in town. Take your camera.

Scored 1 to 5 — 1 is worst /​5 is best
Also, for those that say «This is authentic» … yes, they are right, Authentic for Disneyland … dont get me wrong, it’s décor and looks and feel of the establishment is great and yes it is located to a Mexican Market but that doesnt make something authentic in my book. I have traveled all over in Mexico and this doesnt cut it. It is a great place to take a tourist… In regards to the food, yes, they have «authentic» choices, but it’s not stellar.
My opinion of Authentic is that the FOOD tastes like you are in Puerto Nuevo, Cancun, Mexico City and the flavor and smell is something you remember. Only the environment here was memorable. If you didnt grow up with mexican food then I am sure this will be fine for you, but if you know what a carne asada burrito should taste like then keep looking elsewhere.
**Atmosphere: 5
**Service: 4
(went on a Friday at 4:30pm before dinner rush)
**Margaritas: 5
**Food: 2
(Carne asada was your typical Phx gummy and tough meat that is passes off as carne asada at most restaurants here in this city. The carnitas was link some pork tenderloin, and too salty. Shrimp was very good, chips and dip was average, corn tortillas were excellent, beans and rice were average.)
**Mariachi trio: 5
(we have family that played for years, so we know good mariachis, and these guys were awesome.
**Price: 3
So Carne Asada in Phoenix is teh suck… I have yet to find something good…

Rating is for the food. I love the space, décor, the outdoor grill/​tortilla cooks, etc. However the food is simply blah. I was there when it opened and have been back about 8 times now and it seems the food is progressively more ho hum, which is odd since they aren’t serving blue hair seniors from Iowa.
I just returned from a meal with east coasters unfamiliar with good Mexican and they even thought it was bland. They also loved the whole look and feel… just not the food. It’s a shame, since this really could be a regional gem where you take visitors (and locals who rarely leave their burbs) and really wow them. I keep going back because the next door market is also one of those unique-​to-​PHX experiences. However Tradiciones is not delivering on the food. The menu sounds good. It looks good. It tastes like buffet fare — dumbed down for the masses. If only they brought in some recipes and/​or cooks from any number of divey but great tasting places nearby, it could be so much better… and that’s the shame.

I really wanted to love Tradiciones. Really. But I didn’t.
After weaving my way through the perplexing plaza that is in front of the patio in front of the restaurant (I saw a sign that said this NOT the entrance, but not one that said this IS the entrance), I finally found the entrance. The smallish entranceway opens into a grand space that is incredibly lovely with tons of bent steel and bright colors. I couldn’t believe that I was in the same building as the Ranch Market.
I was so mesmerized by the beauty of the location, and the display of a gajillion tequilas, and the music of the roving mariachis, that almost any food set before me would have been forgiven. Almost. The chips and salsa were okay, but my entrée was really disappointing. I ordered the spinach enchiladas and got a bland enchilada with barely cooked button mushrooms and hardly a shred of spinach! Seriously. I expected to bust into my little rolls to find a plethora of greens, but actually had to dig and search for a mere shriggle. And the beans and rice were mediocre at best.
But, I must confess, my partners pollo looked incredibly tasty and he said it was. I’ll have to take his word for it, because I won’t be going back to try again when I could just as easily go to La Tolteca for much better food.

Awesome and Authentic!
~I Loved this place just upon entering, beautiful fountain and courtyard, a row of souvenir vendors.
You definitely feel like you’ve left Phoenix, which can be a good thing!
I didn’t realize how huge this place was!
~Once we got inside, we were greeted and seated. Service was great.
~Fabulous chips and Yummy Salsa!
I ordered the Gringo Loco Enchiladas (see pics), which were stuffed with chicken, corn, black beans and cheddar cheese and smothered with your choice of red or green chile colorado… I chose red… Lucky for me I was served green by mistake, I didn’t want to say anything I just figured I’d eat it, and let me tell you I’m so glad I did… That was some of the best green Chile pork I’ve had and it was sooooo much better than the red sauce the Mr. had on his cheese enchiladas (my preference of course he loved his too)
Everything was perfect, unfortunately I didn’t have time to check out the market side but I have a feeling I’ll be back very soon!

Okay WHY hasn’t anyone told me about this place before?!
I think I just found my new favorite Mexican place in the city! and that says a LOT — I loves mah Mexican food!
Earlier today my mom and I were on our way to visit a relative when we decided to go have dinner somewhere, I wanted Biaz Market, but she didn’t want to try somewhere new. So I suggested Ranch Market and she agreed, as we parked I saw the sign that said resturant, and I thought this location didn’t have a deli like the one on the South side does — and we were confused. We chose to just give it a try. And we stepped one foot beyond the large corridors and it was so COLORFUL!
This is what I mean by the ‘hood being colorful, but here — you could actually SEE all the colors and it was beautiful. We wandered around and saw the cool stuff they have outside in a lil shopping area. But it was empty! We were worried that they were closed but trugged on ahead. waay in the back was the entrance of the actual resturant.
We were warmly greeted and seated right away because, at 4:30PM on a Tuesday — they were very empty… there were only 3 tables occupied in their very nicely decorated dining room which was very clean and even boasted a mural. Loves it! :)
our waiter brought us some chips and salsa but the salsa lacked a kick, it’s never hot enought me (that sounded dirty didn’t it?!) haha! So I asked for something spicer — he gave me a look of concern and said they had habenero sauce… BRING IT! I was excited… the H-​Sauce was KILLER! But oh — so — freakin — good! I loved it! i started mixing sauces and dubbed myself the Salsa Alchemist! :D
After an entire bowl of chips, our food was ready. I had the Sampler Appetizer and it was very good. My mom had the combination with a Red Tamale, cheese enchilada with rice and beans. My sampler appetizer was sooooo good! The Flautas were nice and crispy and the seasoned chicken was awesome and went better with the mild sauce. The mini beef chimi was the BEST damned chimi I ever ever had! I wanted to pack the rest of my meal to go and order a chimichanga and eat that! lol! I had to have my mom sample it and she loved it too! The Sopricitos were AMAZING! I never had anything like that before. The waiter explained that they were a very thick Corn tortilla topped with seasoned chicken, lettuce, tomato, queso fresco & tomitillo sauce. I will definatly go back just for this dish alone! And as if that wasn’t enough — the chicken enchiladas were very good, but the sauce was very deep… it had a very dark flavor. Almost too dark, I would have liked for it to have been a lil lighter in flavor. But it was still good.
My mom enjoyed her tamale but felt it was a tad too dry, she wanted red sauce but chose not too ask for it because she felt the enchilada sauce was way too strong for the tamale. She didn’t really like her chese enchilada and didn’t finish it. But she liked the beans and rice. and really enjoyed the automosphere as well as the chips and salsa.
Inspite those small faux pas, I’m still giving it the full 5 stars because the service was SO amazing. It’s been a while since I’ve had exceptionally great service. Everything was spot on…
To my fellow Unilocalers: you MUST go and enjoy yourself! However, they have crazy-​funky hours so look out for the signs that indicate whether or not they’re open. I hope more people give this place a go — with the economy the way it is, I’d hate for this place to close because no one’s going! And don’t be afraid to ask for the Habenero sauce, yes it’s melt your tounge atomically hot, but ask for an empty salsa bowl and start mixing the sauces and get your salsa alchimist on!

Nicely decorated, loud mariachi band, and female servers dressed in authentic Mexican dress. Had the baked seabass dish a la Veracruzana with the standard corn-​embedded rice and refried beans with cotija cheese. I asked for a side of white rice since I was allergic to corn, and a few minutes later I was handed a dish of, wait for it, white rice with corn in it… Server finally realized what I had meant and offered to get some red rice, which I was later charged for. No worries. Most likely will go back as there are other dishes that sound enticing. I must say, however, that I enjoyed ten, twenty times over the simple chicken torta I had chosen at the Phoenix Ranch Market on Central and Southern a few weeks back. That telera bread was just divine!

This resturant is part of the Ranch Market that it is attached too. I have been wanting to dine here for sometime, and finally got a chance to roll in and dine here.
For starters, this is as authentic as it gets. There is a courtyard area with outdoor seating and shopping. Colorful, traditional hispanic/​latino/​mexican culture shows here, and you feel like you’ve been taken to another country when you walk in. Colorful is an understatement. rich deep colors run through this location, along with beautiful traditions of hispanic culure cannot help but to seep into your bloodstream.
In the courtyard area, there is a grill that the staff cooks on. Women are in traditional hispanic clothing, and look beautiful while they cook. So much fun to watch, as they make tortillas, chicken, etc and be taken in by the action at the grill.
As you enter the location, you are greeted by the hostess, and taken to your seat. Beautifully decorated dining area, with a bar area, solid wood seating for parties of any size. Servers are all dressed again in the traditonal latino dresses, and while I was there on a Saturday night, there was also a mariachi type band playing.
They have a good selection of food, from Enchiladas, burritos and fajitas to mararitas and salsa.
I ordered the shredded beef burrito. The serving was ginormous, and HOT when the food came out. Even though we were seated immediately, there was two large parties dining ahead of us, so we had somewhat of a wait for our food to arrive. Thats okay, because we were so entertained with the mariachi band, it passed by quickly.
The food was delicious! Portions were huge, and I took home enough leftovers for a full meal the next day. you will NOT go hungry while dining here, and the atmosphere is contagous. You cannot help but to get caught up in the moment, with the beautiful colors, music, and lively atmosphere at this place.
I reccomend this place for everyone, as i think its one of the more «one of a kind» establishments in this town. You cannot help but to have a good time while eating here. An amazing place for locals and visitors alike.

After running around northern Illinois/​southern Wisconsin for a week, it was great to get back to the desert. Don’t get me wrong, I like cheese, brats and beer, but I was jonesing for some Mexican food. As luck would have it my lady was coming back from Austin so she snapped me up at the airport this past Friday night and we slid over here for dinner.
While I have shopped the market on many occasions, I had never made it over here to check it out for dinner. Given the lovely ingredients and numerous times I had eaten at the market I figured it would be a safe bet.
The aroma and sight of the mesquite grilled meats upon entering damn near brought a tear to my eye, I get that way around good smoked meat. Call me senti-​meat-​al. We sat inside as there was a wait for outside seating. After weather delayed travel I was ready to strap the feed bag on.
We were greeted promptly, served some thin warm chips and tasty salsa and ordered drinks. My favorite female ordered a margarita on the rocks, I had a Modelo. She loved hers, I savored the cold crisp especial brew.
To simplify we ordered the mixed dinner which included your choice of meats. We selected pork, carne and shrimp. All meats were nicely seasoned, the shrimp in particular had a smoky sweet flavor and was cooked perfectly. Included in this mini feast were grilled fresh tomatoes, grilled Mexican bulb onions, charo beans, rice, tortillas and stewed Nopalito. Plenty of food for two for around 24 bucks, with a good amount left over to pack up and take home. If I had a Mexican grandma (anyone looking to adopt me?) I would gather that the food would taste much like this.
Festive fun joint for a solid meal. My only point deduction was for the service, while friendly, it was a tad slow.

**UPDATE** No word from the management. guess I shouldn’t be so sensitive. The food there is pretty good. just wish that the Mister and I weren’t treated that way. forgive and forget? Take the highroad. at the yummy tortilla’s?.. dial a clich?! LOL! Perhaps I shouldn’t black ball this place any longer? Help me to over come!
Well, I never! LOL! Tradiciones. good food, good service, if you’re Hispanic. I sent an email to the manager with no reply and no surprise. I thought I would share my experience with you.
Dear Mr Braden,
I wanted to share our experience last night at Tradiciones with you. We have several friends coming in from out of town so the past Friday I had lunch and your wonderful restaurant. My friend and I had a exceptional time with great service (Mario was our sever) spot on menu items and overall were both very impressed. So I went ahead and made a reservation for a party of 15 with much excitement and anticipation. This type of excitement comes from years of dining and being a huge food enthusiast or foodie as my friends call me. This experience is in stark contrast to what happened last night.
My excitement carried with me the whole weekend so I decided to take my significant other there to have the same pleasure I had. Upon arrival we were amazed how busy it was and knew that a wait was imminent. After about 10 minutes I was able to make it to the front desk to put my name in for a table for 2. The hostess smiled at me and I told her ‘dos’, she raised her finger up to me and said «uno momento». Then she walked off and got another hostess, this was confusing as when she returned she started taking names of other guests and ignored me. Finally the new hostess asked me what I wanted. I told her I wanted a table for 2 she then told me that there was at least an hour wait. This was pretty obvious judging from the tens of other folks waiting for a table. Meanwhile the other hostess continued taking names then finally she added mine. I told her that we were actually here before the other guests the other hostess had written down. She ignored this and put my name on the bottom of the list. I’m not sure why she was acting like this towards me as there didn’t seem to be a problem with any other guest besides the fact that I didn’t speak Spanish. Our first instinct was to simply leave as it was perceived by us that we weren’t welcome here. We stayed as the atmosphere still seemed lively and the smell coming from the grills were intoxicating.
After walking around the courtyard and enjoying some of the vendor stalls there we decided to venture back in so we wouldn’t be missed. As we were standing there waiting I noticed that the patio only had a few tables and wasn’t very busy at all. So we asked the second hostess if we could sit out there. She came back several minutes later to tell us the patio was understaffed and she couldn’t seat us there though she offered bar seats instead. Perfect! We we’re sat at the bar and were both excited to try the Cilantro Margarita! We ordered then, I saw her mixing it up, my mouth started to drool. She then presented the drinks to us, cheers! The drinks were wonderful and I’m not a big sweet drink fan. I then looked straight ahead and saw our bartender enter an order into the computer. As I watched her type I was amazed to notice that she named the check «Dos Gringo’s»! Looking around I could tell she was referring to us as everyone else around us looked to have been there for a while. She turned around and I asked her «Dos Gringo’s»? She smiled and started laughing like I caught her doing something wrong. She tried to explain that she gives everyone nick names and didn’t make any apologies to us for the name.
Is it acceptable to call your non Spanish speaking guests Gringo’s? I felt this was very offensive as I have generally heard the word in derogatory terms. Though this seemed to make sense as the way were treated at the hostess desk, were we just not welcome here? I continued to stew on this experience all the way until this morning when finally I decided to look up the word gringo to see if I were off base for my feelings. This is what I found…
gringo (grĭng’gō)
. gringos Offensive Slang, Used as a disparaging term for a foreigner in Latin America, especially an American or English person.
This solidified my feelings so I finally did some soul searching and decided to share our experience. If this definition is the case we will no longer visit your wonderful establishment, perhaps this will make a others more comfortable? If you can please help me to understand the term and the way we felt leaving last night I would truly appreciate your time.
Kind Regards,
Foodiebear

Tradiciones fires on all cylinders like a Speedy Gonzales hot rod and I’m lovin it. I am a sucker for strolling mariachis, mamacita servers in red frilly dresses, festive digs and authentic and delicious Mexican food. Usually one or some of those elements are missing from your typical Mexican restaurant. It seems like not much to ask for, but I can’t seem to get it all at once in Phoenix. They even somehow manage to pull it off without seeming cheezy or contrived.
I’m not that surprised though. Tradiciones IS right next door to Phoenix Ranch Market, which was accurately described by Mr. K as Mexican Disneyland and is what Food City wishes it was. Since the entire strip is a renovated K-​Mart from back in the day, Tradiciones has taken over the old Garden Center space, which you’ll notice is now a cool plaza-​style patio with space for a band. It’s hard to choose between their inside or outside, but indoors is where you’ll find the lunchtime buffet if you’re in a hurry, and a high ceilinged dining room and more Mexican murals and colorful decoration you can imagine.
I was here most recently for a business lunch with suits and formality and all that mess.
Food highlights include the Bistec ala Mexicana simmering in a red caldo of veggies and sauteed beef strips (reminiscent of my mom’s btw), the pollo margarita simmered in margarita mix with chipotle ranch and queso fresco was ok, but the clear winner was the seafood enchiladas (shrimp and veggies in a lobster cream sauce) — simpler than how they do at Barrio, but every bit as good. I really enjoyed the fresh lemonade. This place also passed my Mexican litmus test of beans, rice and tortillas (they have to taste at least as good as my grandma’s). If a restaurant can’t master those staples, then it’s a hopeless effort.
The servers here are quick and courteous, but speak Spanish for the most part. The food was about a solid 4 stars, but the service, décor, atmosphere and just plain real-​ness elevate it further to 4.5 stars.

I’d been curious about Tradiciones for some time now and when two out-​of-​town guests flew in from back home, I thought, «Hey, take ‘em around First Friday for a tad and then head on over to Ranch Market, because that’s what, uh, anyone would do.»
We got there as the restaurant seemed to be near closing, but they still accomodated us, which is more than I can say for a lot of other places. Immediately chips, two salsas, and guacamole were placed at our table. Each salsa definitely was spicier than most other places, which to me got a big thumbs up. However, the entrees were just alright. The camarones rice plate & chicken fajitas both looked great being served, but the dishes lacked much flavor, which was too bad.
The service was excellent and I’ll just chalk this up to us being there right at the very end when the kitchen had already started closing. Definitely worth one more try to make a more accurate evaluation.