A group of us from church ended up at La Hacienda on Glenstone for lunch on Sunday. I’ve been to La Hacienda once in the days before BWAD so this was a great opportunity to do a review.
We were seated right away and got our drink orders in while we all decided what we wanted. My selection this day was the “La Hacienda” plate ($9.39) from the Specialties menu. The La Hacienda is a combo plate with beef taco, beef enchilada, tamale and a chicken taquito served with the standard beans, rice and small salad stuff on the side. I don’t usually choose this type of meal at Mexican restaurants and I’m not really sure why I did this day. I would have probably ordered the “Giso De Res” but I had just had this dish at another place in town and didn’t want to chance a repeat of that disaster. Others in the group ordered Chile Verde, Chicken Fajitas along with some other combo-type meals.
A small bowl of white queso dip was enjoyed by all as an appetizer (they also offer yellow queso). The queso had just the right consistency but I thought could use a bit more spiciness. The table salsa was just ok – nothing special. We asked and were told a spicier version is not available. The chips were something quite a bit different than most places in town. They were down right yummy. The corn used to make them was a bit coarser ground than usual. I thought they tasted similar to Fritos while others thought they tasted more like Bugle snacks. Regardless, we plowed through several baskets during the meal.
When my “La Hacienda” plate came out it looked like just about every other combo plate in town. The beef taco came in a ready-made crispy tortilla – at least it wasn’t greasy. The beef enchilada wasn’t very exciting – tasting like the taco but without the crunch. The tamale was a disappointment – it had ground beef inside and not the tasty pork I was hoping for. It was served in a ½ corn husk which just got in the way. The chicken taquito was very small and not very satisfying. The rice was average. The only thing on my plate that was better than average were the beans – which were even better when used as a dip for the chips.
I don’t want to sound too critical of the “La Hacienda” plate though. I pretty much knew when I ordered that is was doomed to mediocrity. It wasn’t bad. It was pretty much what you would get just about anywhere else in town for this type of combo meal.
There is a funny story about the beans. My friend Steve’s son has a nut allergy so whenever we are out eating with him along Steve always asks if the restaurant uses nuts or nut oils in their dishes. When Steve asked this question of the main guy at La Hacienda he said that they use canola oil, then he paused and said that they use pork [lard I’m assuming] for the beans. That may be the reason the beans were better than average because everyone knows that lard rules!
I had a taste of the chili verde and they weren’t near as good as the ones we got at La Hausteca earlier in the week. The pork was tender enough, but didn’t have a lot of flavor. I thought the tomatillo sauce accompanying the pork was too tangy and not very well balanced. I’m glad I didn’t order it.
My wife reports that the fajitas were bland, the vegetables weren’t cooked quite enough and the chicken wasn’t even seasoned. When I looked at the dish, it appeared kind of dry and didn’t have much of that blackened goodness that fajitas should have.
The rest of the menu is pretty typical. There are 19 lunch specials between $5.39 and $7.99 – after 3pm you have to add another $1 if you want one of these. Dinners are in the $8 to $10 range. There was a specials board as we walked in advertising a 25 ounce house margarita for $5.99 and a 45 ounc’er for $9.99.
Service was pretty good during our visit and our meals came out fairly quickly. The glasses for the diet coke and water were very large and I only managed to go through 3 sodas on this visit.
The interior of the restaurant is a little tired with some sagging ceiling tiles. 
You get a surprise you when you sit down as you sink into the chairs more deeply than you are expecting – new cushions are needed.
There was one thing that kind of bugged me about La Hacienda. There is a sign on the front door instructing that “No outside food or drink are allowed”. I would think that a restaurant owner would be glad to have me spend my money there – even if I bring an order of McChicken Plugs in for a much-too-picky child to eat. Then there is the “No chip refills with appetizers” warning on the menu. If people mooching chips are a big problem, I would rather see something positive on the menu like “One free basket of chips with appetizer orders” – doesn’t that sound a lot friendlier?
There isn’t anything that makes La Hacienda standout in the crowded Mexican restaurant options in Springfield – the Fritos/Bugle style chips not withstanding. I’m not inclined to return.
1370 S Glenstone – (417) 887-3733
