Tequila's Mexican Restaurant & Bar: Great Mexican Food or Latest "Black Hole" Victim?

Have you ever noticed those buildings that seem to be whirling vortexes of failure, sucking whatever businesses start up there into oblivion after a few months?  And it doesn't matter what kind of business, either....  There is a location on Stop 11 Road (if you're not in/from Indy, I'll have to explain the Stop roads system to ya.  It's a weird historical thing) just east of Madison, that began life as a fast food joint of some kind, 'cuz you can see the remnants of an old drive-thru window, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. It's been a Mexican restaurant like 4 times, a buffalo wings place twice, and an Asian grocery twice. It's a Chin grocery now, although having not been by there in a couple days, it may be closed again.

Well, Tequila's, in the strip mall at Madison & Edgewood,  is in sort of the same kind of location:  It began as Hennesey's Bar & Grille (don'tcha just love that final "e" they added onto to Grill to make is sound classy?), then was Tonix Bar & Grill, then it was Shigg's Diggs Bar & Grill (which lasted like 5 or 6 years and might have survived had the managing partner not sold out and gone back to South Dakota.  I mean, how bad did it have to be here that he longed to return to the Badlands???), and now it is Tequila's, although when it first opened it had menus labeled "El Dorado Mexican Restaurant" which was itself a defunct venture in another black hole in the old Steak 'n' Ale (wasit?) at 21st and Shadeland.  I don't know if Tequila's owner was the previous owner of El Dorado or if they just bought menus from there-- the place seems to be kind of cobbled together from auctions of other bankrupt restaurants' equipment. When it first opened there were no barstools, but now they have 4 of them in a fancy sort of ultramodern upscale style (with a cushy kind of suspension, like the driver's seat in a big ole' Kenworth) and 2 more-pedestrian models that look like they came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond's showroom.  The bar and dining room nevertheless are fairly comfortable, even if the place is a little dark.  I kind of like that, really, after the bright colors and Playskool type furniture they have at other Mexican restaurants like El Meson.

Will all that said (HEY, WAKE UP THERE!), the food at Tequila's is quite good.  Our first visit on the day they opened was a train wreck, but 3 subsequent meals have been really satisfying. I don't really know what makes good salsa, but Tequila's has some of the best, and the chips it comes with are fresh and warm.  All of the food is fresh and tasty, with generous portions and NO skimping on embellishments like guacamole and goat cheese. The service was attentive, too, and they usually have at least one waitress who has won a wet t-shirt contest or two (not that I was lookin', dear! Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop pinching me!)  The drink prices are decent, with specials like import beers for 2 bucks and mixed drinks for $4.  My Skinny Margarita (tequila & soda with a twist of lime, so named because it has no carbs. Seriously!) was in a decent-sized tumbler (which looked like the kind of glassware you'd buy at Old Tyme Pottery) and was pretty darn stiff, made with Sauza tequila and not the Bellows El Cheapo stuff most places use.

The problem with Tequila's is that THE FOOD IS THE SAME as any other good Mexican joint!  It may be authentic and may taste good, but there isn't much difference in the food from one to the next.  I know, I'm overstating it: the Burrito Joint, at Tibbs & Morris, for example has really authentic roadside stand-style Mexican food that is tasty and somewhat different, and if the wheels aren't stolen off your car when you come out, you might actually prefer it to the more upscale places.  But that is one of only a few exceptions to the rule that Tequila's tastes like El Sol de Tala which is like El Meson which tastes like El Jaripeo and Little Mexico and all the other freakin' authentic places, which doesn't include Mi Amigos (which you know must be run by Anglos or they would've named it Mis Amigos.  Maybe it's supposed to be Mi Amigo's so they can butcher the grammar of two languages simultaneously) or Roscoe's Tacos because those two are by no stretch of the imagination authentic, no matter how good their food may be.  My challenge to all Latino restauranteurs, as if they'd ever read this, is to take just a little step off the beaten path of traditionality and MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT.  In the words of Frank Bartles & Ed James, thank you for your support.

UPDATE, 10/05/2011:  THE BLACK HOLE PHENOMENON CONTINUES-- TEQUILA'S IS CLOSED!