Anyone who can tell the difference between a jalapeno and a habanero knows that Fred's Mexican Cafe is nothing more than a gimmicky tourist trap flaunting pseudo-Mexi-American eats that's fun for the whole family! I'd say it's closer to a fancy Taco Bell or at best a Don Pablo's where the waiters are all white and there's not a bowl of pico de gallo in sight. Velvet Elvis leers at you from the bathroom and brightly painted maracas are passed around to the scores of overweight children sipping on neon plastic straws leading into a gallon of soda. Regardless, being the open-minded restauranteur that I am, with a margarita craving the likes of which I have never experienced, we headed over there for some Happy Hour slush drinks that sometimes you just gotta have.
To be honest, despite the scores of pale kids from places like Iowa and Oklahoma on Spring Break with their sunburnt parents flush with the excitement of vacation so obviously showing with their getup of sandals and socks, the atmosphere wasn't bad and the experience was surprisingly casual and yes, perhaps, even fun! It's a giant place in the heart of Old Town with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The building really does have a (albeit stereotypical and somewhat cheesy) "old town" feel to it, and while it's not cheap, for a mixed drink that I'd be ashamed to order anywhere else, it wasn't bad at all. Luckily the drinks were stiff and the fajitas sizzling, so although I might not find myself there on a return trip, I was able to sit back, sip on a sugary slush, watch the passerbyers, and enjoy some chips and salsa. It was one of those evenings filled with a guilty sort of pleasure that one shit talks later but enjoys at the moment. Fred's- the best place to hate but secretly love.
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