Gloria's

Photo by John Anderson

Gloria's

The original Gloria's restaurant is located in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, a cheerful and unpretentious Salvadoran and Tex-Mex cafe. Over time, Gloria's developed a large, loyal, and loving clientele, and 10 additional locations were gradually opened around the Metro­plex and in nearby suburban towns. This year, the chain has ventured into Central Texas, opening a large new location here in Austin at the Domain.

As the Gloria's empire has expanded, the chain's image has become increasingly sophisticated and slick. Clearly, a lot of money and marketing have gone into the transformation, and you would never guess (if I weren't telling you right now) that the original Gloria's was such an unpretentious little place. The Austin location's grand scale and polished decor will be a shock to anyone familiar with the original.

The scale, it is grand! The outdoor patio is huge, and the indoor dining rooms are equally enormous. In spite of this, the space manages to be beautiful and warm, and the design elements are simple and understated to excellent effect: a long line of identical orchids grace one wall, and another is an architectural wall of water. The floors are terrazzo tile, but the acoustic ceiling treatments eradicate any excess noisiness.

The menu remains a mixture of Salvadoran and Tex-Mex, and the prices hover around $15, which for the Domain is more than reasonable. Chips, salsa, and black bean dip are provided free of charge and are all excellent. Though not fiery, the table salsa is complex, with a rich, red tomato base and bright notes of garlic and cilantro.

The Gloria's Super Special ($10.99), a sampler of Salvadoran specialties, provided a chicken and potato tamale, a pork and cheese pupusa, cabbage slaw, fried sweet plantains, yucca root, black beans, rice, and sour cream. The entire sampler was authentic and delicious. All the dinners, served on big, square white plates, look beautiful, but this one really delivered in terms of flavor and enjoyment.

The Pescado Acajutla ($15.99) consisted of a tilapia fillet, served over rice and "grilled" vegetables. This dish sadly exemplified Gloria's essential chainy-ness: The fillet had that uninspiring color and muddy flavor inherent in farm-raised fish, and no matter how excellent the marinade or sauce, it couldn't aspire to be more than mediocre. The steamed (not grilled) vegetables that came with it were cooked perfectly, but they were a blank and a cipher as far as flavor was concerned. It was all perfectly edible, but it failed to stir even the remotest wish for a repeat.

The Mar y Tierra ($16.99) featured a grilled sirloin steak, two grilled shrimp, queso fresco, black beans, rice, and chimichurri sauce. The steak was pounded thin but grilled accurately to temperature, and when dipped into the exquisite chimichurri (a blend of herbs, oil, garlic, and vinegar), it was really very good. The shrimp were unremarkable. Gloria's sensibly limits its dessert menu to three items: the World Famous Chocolate Flan ($4.99) had a wonderful, homemade Mexican chocolate flavor and was a high point of the meal.

The truth is, the marinades and sauces, as well as the beans, rices, salsas, desserts, and "made" items like tamales are all done skillfully and well. But the basic, underlying ingredients, the meats and seafood and side vegetables, are noticeably inexpensive food-service grade. With many of the dishes relying on simple preparations (such as grilling) that showcase the essential flavors, the fact that the essential flavors are either missing or substandard is a genuine problem. Not enough of a problem to send one's food back to the kitchen, but enough to fail to inspire a return visit.

On the plus side: The drinks are cheap and pack a wallop, and the service is excellent.