We have more Mexican and Thai restaurants here than you can imagine.
I never see a ‘crowd’ at any of them.
I think they are laundering money.................
So many of them are terrible.
When I moved back here in 2016, once a month I’d go with a friend to try a different one. I was going to write a guide, “2000 Enchiladas.” After 7, we quit, because none of the 7 were any good and we felt like, “Why eat crap when we can get good Mexican food at Los Dos Molinos?”
Our Thai restaurants used to be packed - then the pandemic hit — things emptied out.
I suspect a lot of the empty look is because lots of us still order from home. The food is here fast, still hot and we’re eating in a pleasant place: home.