I started to travel for my work back in the mid-80's. I first worked for a company located in Olathe, KS and I made many trips to the main office there for meetings during the years I worked for them. I'll have to say that my boss there was the man who taught me a lot about culinary excellence and helped broaden my horizons in food choices, types of wine, and the way to savor alcoholic beverages rather than slammin' them back to get hammered. (Which is still fun to do from time to time.) One place that he and his wife liked to go to to have chips and salsa with margaritas every once in a while was a Mexican restaurant by the name of Tequila Harry's in Overland Park. They took me there a couple three times over the years and I happened to remember the place awhile back. One night after a day of meetings in the area, I ended up going to Tequila Harry's for a nostalgic revisit to a place I probably hadn't been in for over 25 years.
The Kanatzar family started Tequila Harry's in January of 1987 and one of the son's, Danny, continues to run the restaurant today. It's still located right where they started it over 31 years ago in a strip mall just south of College Blvd. on Quivera Ave. (see map)
It was around 7:30 when I walked into Tequila Harry's. I remembered that they always had a lively bar at Tequila Harry's from years ago, and it was no exception this evening. I was hoping to be able to sit at the bar, but all the seats were full. It appeared there were a number of regulars at the bar, as well. The booths that are off to the side of the bar were also full. So, I went into the dining room to take a seat at a table.
Well, I didn't know the drill - there wasn't a hostess stand that I could find at Tequila Harry's. Or if there was one up front, there wasn't anyone there working at it. It was a couple minutes before a server came over to greet me. She dropped off a menu for me to look over and then disappeared. It was a good five minutes before another server finally stopped back. His name was Aaron and he was apologizing profusely to me when he stopped at my table. "Oh, man! I am so sorry. Let me get you some chips and salsa."
He came back a moment later with a basket of fresh and crisp chips, and a bowl of their salsa. The salsa was thick, sweet and peppery in taste. It actually brought back some memories of the good salsa we used to pig out on during visits to Tequila Harry's years before. I also ordered a premium margarita with Herradura silver tequila.
The food served at Tequila Harry's is your typical Mexican fare - fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, etc. It's not as extensive of a menu like you may find at other Mexican restaurants, but there was a little bit of everything for most everybody. I ended up getting the chimichanga - seasoned ground beef in a flour tortilla, deep fried and then topped with a chili con queso sauce. It came with a side of Mexican rice and refried beans with cheese on top. Guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream came with the meal.
The chimichanga was, well, it was all right. It wasn't all that big and there seemed to be too much of the fried tortilla shell as it was double wrapped underneath. The queso sauce didn't do much to enhance the taste of the chimichanga. I did load it up with the guacamole and the salsa from the chips, and that helped a bit. But it was pretty bland compared to other Mexican restaurants I've been to.
I would have to say the Mexican food at Tequila Harry's is more Americanized than authentic Mexican. While I've grown up and past this style of food a number of years ago, I'm sure there are people who like Tequila Harry's food or they wouldn't be in business for over 30 years. Once they found me at my table, the service I received was good. It was a nice, clean place, and it brought back some good memories of going there back in the late 80's. It was a nostalgic visit for me, for sure. But I'm more used to more authentic Mexican food and I don't think that's what you'll find at Tequila Harry's.
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