Ted's Cafe Escondido

[Dustin]

I went to the one next to the outlet mall a while back... It's still too expensive, but the food was surprisingly REALLY good! I hadn't been to one in a long time and the last time I did, it was the original and it wasn't that great.

[Easy180]

I like Ted's but there are so many other just as good options out there without 45 minute wait times.

[catch22]

Ted's is awful. I have no idea how people can eat that crap.

Well we all have different tastes. I personally like Ted's, although it isn't my first choice.

[kevinpate]

Yea. The more places there are for the masses to go to a Ted's, the more seats will remain open in places with better chow.

God bless America

[Jeepnokc]

Yea. The more places there are for the masses to go to a Ted's, the more seats will remain open in places with better chow.

God bless America

Comments like this make me miss the "like" button

[SoonerDave]

Well we all have different tastes. I personally like Ted's, although it isn't my first choice.

I think the quality at Ted's varies greatly from location to location. We had stopped going to Ted's some time ago (on S. Western) due to a pretty drastic change in prices (up) and portions (down), especially in light of other offerings. We've made a couple of visits here in the last few months and its...ok. We much prefer Mama Roja's, but its waaaay too far across town for just a "hey its Friday and I'm too tired to cook so lets go out somewhere close" supper.

One thing that struck me about Ted's after having not been there in some time was how their menu had really shrunk and some of the atypical offerings weren't even on the menu anymore, very generic. I'm no Mexican food aficionado, so I'm probably not the best person to ask on that anyway

[Bullbear]

I think at some point it just became the "Thing" to like and rave about. I don't think the food is horrible but Its certainly not something I crave or ever suggest but I will go along if someone is dead set on it. That being said I haven't been to a Ted's in several years. My main complaint is I enjoy a comfortable dining experience. I have always hated how many people they Jam in there and I feel like the table next to me is part of my Dinner party. This is one thing that will quickly turn me off.

[traxx]

[soonerguru]

The original on 63rd was quite good when Ted Curtis ran it. It's a shadow of itself now that it's part of the HSRG monolith. Either way, even at its best, the Tex-Mex at Ted's paled to the old-school El Chico of bygone days and about a hundred other places in Dallas, Ft Worth and Austin.

[ctchandler]

The original on 63rd

Soonerguru,
You lost me, where/when were they on 63rd. My first visit to Ted's (and I thought it was the only one) was at the former Cocina De Mino (they moved further North on May) at NW 68th and May.
C. T.

[Sancho]

The original on 63rd was quite good when Ted Curtis ran it. It's a shadow of itself now that it's part of the HSRG monolith. Either way, even at its best, the Tex-Mex at Ted's paled to the old-school El Chico of bygone days and about a hundred other places in Dallas, Ft Worth and Austin.

All tex-mex joints, whether in OKC or DFW or any piss ant town in between, taste exactly the same.

[sooner88]

The original on 63rd was quite good when Ted Curtis ran it. It's a shadow of itself now that it's part of the HSRG monolith. Either way, even at its best, the Tex-Mex at Ted's paled to the old-school El Chico of bygone days and about a hundred other places in Dallas, Ft Worth and Austin.

It's not owned by HSRG anymore is it? Either way I agree. I wish we had something that was close to what I've had in Houston, DFW, etc. I'm hoping that Barrio's will fill that gap.

[Stew]

Teds is way too popular for me to like it.

[Roger S]

It's not owned by HSRG anymore is it?

It's owned by Ted's Cafe Escondido Holdings Inc which I've also seen referred to as The Beekman Group which partnered with Hal Smith in 2013.

[sooner88]

It's owned by Ted's Cafe Escondido Holdings Inc which I've also seen referred to as The Beekman Group.

http://www.thebeekmangroup.com/portfolio

[SOONER8693]

Teds is way too popular for me to like it.

Sounds like a Yogiism. Reminds me of when Yogi said, "no one goes to Coney Island anymore, because it's too crowded".

[corwin1968]

http://www.thebeekmangroup.com/portfolio

That link shows Dunkin Donuts being part of the beekman group. I wonder what happened to the plans for 11 new locations. Every time we see new commercial construction in our neck of the woods, my wife or I will say "hopefully it's a Dunkin Donuts!". We only go there for the caramel iced lattes but they are worth the trip.

[sooner88]

That link shows Dunkin Donuts being part of the beekman group. I wonder what happened to the plans for 11 new locations. Every time we see new commercial construction in our neck of the woods, my wife or I will say "hopefully it's a Dunkin Donuts!". We only go there for the caramel iced lattes but they are worth the trip.

Looks like they own an acquisition group that includes Dunkin Donut franchises in New York and South Carolina

[TheTravellers]

Soonerguru,
You lost me, where/when were they on 63rd. My first visit to Ted's (and I thought it was the only one) was at the former Cocina De Mino (they moved further North on May) at NW 68th and May.
C. T.

I could've sworn that the Ted's on 68th/May was purpose-built for Ted's and they've been the only occupant since it was built (I used to live on 67th between Ross and Miller and that used to be the field we used to play ball in).

[Martin]

apparently the location was built in '84 as the may cafe and cocina de mino took over sometime in '86. ted's opened in '91. -M

from 8/10/1986...

[SoonerDave]

Man, Cocina de Mino brings back a few memories. Good place, but knew someone familiar with the place internally and warned there were "business problems" within..and sure enough, there were. Amazing how one place somehow manages to emerge in a community, get really popular, then just one day, they're *poof* gone.

Someone else can possibly refute/confirm, but Alfredo's down in Moore and Mustang was actually started by someone related to (brother?) the "original" Ted and presumably uses a lot of the original Ted's recipes. Our family does tend to prefer it to Ted's...you don't feel quite as shoehorned into the place as I do at Ted's sometimes...

[ctchandler]

I could've sworn that the Ted's on 68th/May was purpose-built for Ted's and they've been the only occupant since it was built (I used to live on 67th between Ross and Miller and that used to be the field we used to play ball in).

The Travellers,
No, I ate at Cocina De Mino for several years before they moved. Then I enjoyed Ted's when they took over.
C. T.

[TheTravellers]

Mea Culpa, we moved from there in 1982, and apparently didn't go back between then and 1991... Wonder what May Cafe was like, must not've been great to only have lasted a year or so.

[ctchandler]

Mea Culpa, we moved from there in 1982, and apparently didn't go back between then and 1991... Wonder what May Cafe was like, must not've been great to only have lasted a year or so.

I can tell you that they were always crowded (lines outside) for lunch. It was on our weekly rotation. I think they moved to expand, but don't quote me on that. By the way, they were there four years, not "a year or so".
C. T.

[TheTravellers]

I can tell you that they were always crowded (lines outside) for lunch. It was on our weekly rotation. I think they moved to expand, but don't quote me on that. By the way, they were there four years, not "a year or so".
C. T.

Interesting, thanks for the info. And I said "year or so" based on Martin's post that said they opened in 1984 and Cocina de Mino took over in 1986.