Anamias - Bland City on August 16, 2009
Anamia's is a popular local place because of its sheer location, right between several middle-upper subdivisions in Flower Mound. The first thing you will notice upon walking in is how LOUD the place is. While there is a high ceiling, the tables and booths are jammed so tight that even an early lunch will find you screaming to be heard at your table, especially when they crank up the music. Yes, there is a ""patio"" if your thing is watching cars park in hundred degree heat - at least you can hear your conversation during a meal out there.
But the food is nothing to write home about. It is every bit like El Chicos combined with On The Border, except more bland. The service can be iffy - fine one day and listless the next. The cheese sauces are like Velveeta with one pepper per gallon. The traditional Tex-Mex is predictable, bland, without any range.
The alcoholic drinks seem to suffer from a wide variation - you will notice more people cozy up to the bar than going to booths, I think it is to insure the drinks are strong enough by directly addressing the bartender. The people-watching here at the bar is perhaps the most interesting thing about Anamias - the happy hour crowd is quite obviously where the boss takes the young assistant to get tanked before reporting in to the wife, and the beautiful people get especially loud vying for attention there. It can be quite the circus on a Friday evening, especially if you get a booth where you can see the bar clearly.
The overall impression here is - this place is the Mexican food version of the Chili's across the street (even though Brinker owns both Chilis and On The Border). Its a family place that seems to aim at being as bland and as crowded as possible. You could visit any one of a dozen places in Flower Mound - corporate and non-corporate - and find the same fare. Come prepared to find children and geriatrics screaming equally loud to be heard by their families and the service staff.
Mark Robbins
Pros: Watching husbands pick up chippies at the bar
Cons: Noise, food, noise, overcrowded, noise, bland!
more