Carlitos II

I googled Caldo and found Carlitos ll our first time eating here.
Th food was delicious and hot so my husband and I were pleased.
Our waiter was attentive and pleasant the restaurant was nice and clean with plenty of seating.

This was my very first time at this place.
I'm a huge fan of whole in the wall kind of places and this place very much felt like that type of place.
I was enjoying the vibe as soon as we walked in.
My bf and I placed our order, the steak and shrimp dinner and beef enchiladas, and we both asked for no salad, absolutely no lettuce in English and Spanish.
My bf just doesn't like anything green, and I just can not digest lettuce.
I love lettuce because I grew up eating it straight from the fields....but after my first baby, my body absolutely hates it.
Lettuce now makes me feel physically unwell.
We started with chips and salsa.
The tortilla chips were great, and the salsa was very spicy.
We were enjoying the experience of our first time at Carlitos until our food arrived, and we noticed that both plates had lettuce on them.
We didn't even let the plates touch the table by politely reminding the waiter that we ordered no lettuce.
No problem, they took it back.
My steak and shrimp plate came back quickly, and I looked at the kid with my plate, and I questioned him about the lettuce being picked off.
He assured me that it had been remade and that no lettuce was in my food on the plate.
I took it because I was HUNGRY after having the same lettuce issue for lunch.
(I had skipped my lunch after the lettuce was removed from my lunch's hot food.) I started eating the shrimp, rice and beans and I was enjoying it until I took a bite of my beans and it was crunchy.
I spit it out and saw green on my plate, in my beans, and under the rice.
I picked it out, but it was too late.
The hot food and the lettuce had mixed flavors.
I had begun to feel bloated and uncomfortable before we finished with dinner.
They completely remade my bf's enchiladas, his plate came back about 10 mins after mine.
His food was great.
No problems there.
We were only asked for refills and checked in on only one time.
Then, we waited for over 30 minutes for the check.
So we had to go up to the register.
I brought up the issue politely in Spanish, but I could tell that everything went in one ear and out the other.
No apologies, no discount/compensation....fine.
I said what I had to say and paid for food that will make me miserable for at least the next 24 hours. If you have food sensitivities/allergies, DO NOT EAT HERE.
If you have food preferences, DO NOT EAT HERE.
If you are picky about your food, DO NOT EAT HERE.
My request was simple, just no lettuce....but I was completely ignored and invalidated.
Then they acted like they did nothing wrong despite being given a chance to correct the issue.
They chose to cover it up instead.
I can't even begin to imagine if my request was more complicated or if my physical reaction to the lettuce was more violent or if it had resulted in a medical emergency.
I am rating this place with 2 stars because the food has the potential to be great, but the customer service is seriously lacking attention to detail.
NEVER GOING BACK.
Does anyone have any good advice on how to get rid of the unease of being bloated?

Let me tell you, this hole in the wall is what every restaurant should be. I ordered the birria… was hesitant because it was beef (i prefer chivo) but I got a huge surprise! The Birria was excellent! It was full of the right flavors, thick sauce (unlike others) The tortillas echas a mano were sooooo good.
I got a side of beans and they were also very good. The chips and salsa were fresh, the salsa is very tasty and packs a good punch! The service is excellent! They had musica del radio playing and I fully enjoyed my lunch.
I wish every restaurant had food like this one! La comida esta bien chingona! The foodie in me was fully satisfied