By Daniel Hembree
Upon entering Coyote Blues I noticed a very large and vibrant dining area bustling with people left and right and yet there was no wait, which is a nice turn of events to most dining experiences. We were quickly hustled to a table on the far left of the dining area and sat at a small table near the window. As soon as we sat down the noise sank in.

Droves of people sat in all directions chatting amongst themselves and dueling each other for the spotlight. With no sound proofing in the place, we immediately became displaced in the sea of voices echoing in all directions.

After a few draining moments our server approached the table and I am guessing started to introduce herself.  If only we could have heard her, I would have felt more at ease. We yelled our drink order and began to sift through the menu.

Trying to start polite conversation was all but impossible through the sea of noise, but we managed to ask a few questions about the menu since this was our first time. We were rebutted with confusion and despair as we finally convinced our server to inform us of the interesting technique used on the menus them self. All of the most popular items are printed in blue she told us. Great at least this narrows down the options.

I ordered the all beef fajitas while my wife tried the seafood chimichanga. They looked interesting enough on the menu and were some of the more modest prices available. The Chips and Salsa were fresh and delicious and made it possible to bear the confusion of chatter while we waited for the entrees.
After only 10 minutes our food arrived which had us both very shocked that on such a seemingly busy night the kitchen was able to pump out our dinner so rapidly.

My fajitas were delicious although I do enjoy bell peppers with my sautéed vegetables and all I received was a mound of overcooked onions.

Unfortunately I cannot say the same enjoyment came from my wife's plate. The seafood chimichanga was just awful. I am a huge fan of pepper, but if you start to sneeze upon raising the food to your mouth I believe a bit too much was used. The mashed potatoes were pasty & dry and had tasted like they'd been left out all day. I could not even stomach her cheese corn grits. Something about the taste of them was just not right. This offset her appetite and we sent the food back. She could not stomach another dish so we thanked our server fondly and paid our dues to the house.

On our way out we did have a chance to talk with the manager who, until we were leaving, made no attempts to come to our table and apologize for the food. He did inform my wife her choices were bad and to try other things, although I must admit I would not eat it, she was very much looking forward to trying that dish. We were also informed that sound proofing for the dining area would be arriving within the week.

While the colors of the restaurant and display of food are vibrant and unique; the food, cost, and level of noise left us feeling ashamed for coming. The prices of the food are outrageous and with the level of service the only decent price was the some of the fajita choices. I would like to try this establishment again perhaps only truly if they make the dining area more enjoyable to actually be in.

Food Rating:

Service
Service was okay. Not too great, not too horrible. I've seen more attentive wait staff, but I've also experienced others who could not care if you were there. The staff were not overly knowledgeable of the menu and while the manager was overly polite, I didn't seem that he cared too much for his customers’ experience.

Service Rating:

Atmosphere
Looks great, minus the fact that they kept the kitchen open like the former Lonestar was and did not replace any of the equipment. Everything looks as old and outdated as it previously did. Perhaps this explains the quality of our food. The noise was just too much to bear. With every person raising their voices over each other to ensure they are being heard, it kept growing and growing. It reminded me of a high school cafeteria. I was just really hoping some crotchety teacher would come out yell once and the crowd would hush.

Atmosphere Rating:

Coyote Blues
2450 South Acadian Thruway
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
(225) 329-2055
www.coyotebluesfreshmex.com‎