Where Everybody Knows Your Name

I have a favorite restaurant. Luckily my man, who introduced me to it, likes it a lot too, so we go there quite frequently.

The restaurant name is Taqueria Tepatitlan but everyone just calls it Juan's. Juan has got to one be the sweetest men ever. I am not sure of his age but I am sure he is older than he looks. His round smiling face is without a line, his big dimples are ever present. He knows most everyone that enters the doors and greets me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek each time we see him. I come away from each hug with the lingering scent of Juan's cologne. In addition to his ever present smile, Juan is a pretty good golfer and a great sport. As the Boy Scout likes to say, you learn a lot about a man after 4 hours on the golf course and I ended up liking Juan even more after the game was over.

His restaurant is fairly small, divided into two sections and has 6 good size televisions which never cease playing one sport or another. Juan is a die-hard San Diego Padres fan (I am shocked that I even know that fact) and I am not quite sure if he is a loyal San Diego football fan or not. I'll have to find that out next time we go.

Juan has 4 waitresses. They know our names and greet us warmly whenever we come in. Tanya is a sweetie, with a big smile and a ready, "What can I get you my dears?". She has a Rottweiler that she loves dearly and a boyfriend :)   Evana (sp?) is Tanya sister and is not as outgoing but she smiles sweetly and interacts even if she is not our waitress for the day. She's a little awkward and I love that about her. Kendra, who happens to be Juan's  daughter, was a bit of a hard nut to crack. She is lovely to look at but kind of aloof. I decided to make a concerted effort, so even though the waitresses there keep pretty busy, I would take a moment to inquire, always using her name and showing interest in what was going on with her. I found out about her tattoos and her mother (who lives in Arizona) and her recent graduation from CSUCI with a degree in business. I introduced her to my son and let her know the next time I came in how beautiful he thought she was. It's taken time but finally she has warmed up. She is not uber cheery like Tanya, it's not her nature, but she knows our names and she smiles and inquires about our health or day. 

If you are ever the the Ventura area it's worth the visit. The food is wonderful. There is beer on tap for the Boy Scout and......On a bad day, it's is comforting to go where everybody knows our name.