Z'Tejas Grill

When I was a young teen in Arizona, Fashion Square hit the money and became an icon for desert opulence when Z'Tejas and several other big name restaurants moved in. I loved Z...the big open patio, the casual service and they had the best Cesar salad with ruby trout. it was dressed beautifully with Parmesan crisps. It was the best damn salad in existence.

The girl and I were in SCP and we decided to hit Z'Tejas. Our waiter was slow, brought the wrong drinks, and disappeared. A food runner brought our appetizer over. Surprisingly the chips looked like someone sat on them. We were starving and just tried the find chips big enough for dipping in the cheese sauce (tasted like spicy Velveeta) Much later, our salad arrived even though we asked to have it served with the appetizer. The girl took a bite of the fish and said it was dry. Yes at 5 she knows dry over cooked fish. She took a mouth full of the salad and spit it in her napkin. She said it tasted weird.

So I looked it over. No more fresh lettuce - this came directly from a bag of pre-cut lettuce at the grocery store. I took a bite of the fish and agreed that it was over cooked - but edible. I took a bite of the salad. Instantly, my mouth was coated with what felt and tasted like Crisco. This was some bad salad.

Our waiter never came back. Unfamiliar waiter came over and we explained that the salad was greasy. He came back with another quickly and served the dressing on the side. That is where the salad went to inedible. It had the flavor of liquid shortening.

Our waiter never addressed the situation, the manager never addressed the situation.

Ah Z...what happened? You used to be a good restaurant. Everything was plated well, looked appetizing and was made with fresh ingredients. Now I'm better off grabbing a salad off the shelf at Albertson's. At least the cashier asks "Did you find everything you need?".

South Coast Plaza
3333 Bristol St. Suite 1876
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: (714) 979-7469Fax: (714) 979-7486