A group of five friends descended upon Juanita's after encountering a >1hour wait at Rio Grande. Both restaurants were busy due to CU's home game against Nebraska (circa 2005.. where's the Judy's Book entry for CU Football?). The Juanita's hostess quoted a 20 minute wait for seating in the main dinning area. We asked to wait in the bar area. A booth had recently been vacated, but not cleaned. The five of us could fit in the booth (with an extra end chair), the waitress and a buser for the area quickly cleaned the booth. Better yet, the waitress asked a table of two to move to the booth to allow the five of us to sit at two 4-tops. We ended up at a pair of connected tables near the bar within minutes of arriving at the restaurant (vs. >1 hour at Rio or ~20 minutes in Juanita's dinning room).
Once seated, the rest of the dinner was served fantastically. Our waitress juggled multiple requests, partying Nebraska fans and an overwhelming bar environment. She kept the chips, salsa and margaritas flowing while the kitchen attempted to keep up with the crowd.
Our collective dinners were fine. One chicken chimi seemed to be missing the chicken, but the quality of the other four dinners were well above what would be expected at the Rio. Once again, ordering from the daily special menu was very rewarding.
We will continue to frequent Juanita's and the Rio Grande, but whenever SUPERIOR service is provided, it should be recognized.
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