So one of my little email updates comes to me in the form of Yelp reviews in Sunset Park. Occasionally a place like Ba Xuyen or Tacos Matamoros or Pacificana will receive more than one review on the same day, but it's rare. Imagine my shock to see that Maria's Bistro Mexicano received four 5 out of 5 reviews and one 4 out of 5 review on the same day. Yes folks, April 6th was a busy day for Yelp regarding Maria's. You know I had to check out these reviews.Sure enough, all of the aforementioned reviews except for one were by people who had (as of Tuesday) only written one review: Maria's Bistro Mexicano. This is always suspect, at least to me. Whether the review is good or bad, it's never truly trustworthy when it's the only review a person has written.
My unscientifically arrived at guess would be that someone who is a friend or associate of Maria's Bistro Mexicano saw a review by Marcus V. that resulted in one star ; Marcus arrived at that score never having been to the restaurant. He was actually only opining on an inspection in February that resulted in 47 violation points. (The March inspection lowered that to 16 points.) That's not a valid review. But then, neither are reviews that are merely written to counter a negative review.
I'd like to think that Maria's has improved of late; I've made no secret of my disappointment with it. However, I've also had some delicious and sociable brunches and dinners there. Has anyone been to Maria's lately? Will their happy hours and outdoor garden draw in more clientele?
4 comments:
I live very close to Maria's and am usually disappointed every time I visit. The staff doesn't have a very pleasent attitude and my something with my order is always wrong even though I am usually the only customer in the place. I generally order from Eclipse now. I would rather wait for them to deliver good food then walk a minute to Maria's.
I love Maria's. I wish it was closer to where I live, on 59th street. When my husband and I first started looking at rentals in Sunset Park this summer, lunch and a margarita at Maria's made us feel like we'd be right at home in the 'hood. Since we've moved here, we haven't been once - it's three subway stops away, practically in Park Slope. Anyone know where we can find a place with a similar vibe closer to 59th?
Actually yes! Right by you, on 5th and 60th, is a newish place called Casa Vieja. No margaritas, though. Check out the post from a week ago for more info (there's a link at the bottom, I think).
http://tinyurl.com/cp59as
Yes! We did see that place. The food seemed good from your description - the place across the street is supposed to be good too, will have to try both.
I guess what I'm missing in our neck of the woods is a fun, happy hour kind of place with a diverse vibe. I'd love to be able to sit at a bar with some chips and a frozen drink, with the option of putting something on the jukebox. So far it looks like we have to travel a bit to find this environment.
Post a Comment