5 MAY 08: TORO-IFIC?

¡Hola! Today is Cinco de Mayo. Yet the Columbus Civic Center closed "Fiesta Columbus" as scheduled Sunday evening -- as if organizers feared the conservatives who wanted to protest Jeremiah Wright might come after them today instead.

It's traditionally one of the biggest days of the year for Mexican restaurants. So I decided to beat the crowd, and visit one Sunday - but don't worry, I didn't diminish the margarita supply at all....

The place I visited was one of the newest Mexican spots in Columbus. Viva el Toro sits on Macon Road, between a Waffle House and Interstate 185. Its ads emphasize "karaoke, dating, comedy" - but if they're not bragging about the food, should you really trust it?

I arrived at Viva el Toro around 11:00 a.m., and found a work crew roping off part of the parking lot. The goal apparently was to seal some of the asphalt, by using noisy industrial blowers and fans. People staying at several motels a short walk away wouldn't need a wake-up call this day.

Things seemed to calm down as other members of my group arrived -- but there was only one lane in and out of the restaurant, while the sealant dried. People who spot a long line there tonight might take the easy way out, and pick up dinner up the hill at Taco Bell.

Viva el Toro looks very different from other Mexican restaurants, because of its bar area. It's in the middle of the dining area, with small tables surrounded by round purple lounge chairs. It's as if the restaurant was waiting for a Spanish-language version of "How I Met Your Mother" to break out.

Big-screen TV's were on at the "purple pods" -- but on sports channels such as ESPN, not Univision. Shouldn't a true Mexican restaurant have a soccer game on from somewhere, on a Sunday lunch hour?

While Viva el Toro has a full menu of traditional dishes, our group went en masse for the $5.99 lunch buffet. For some of us, it was the first time we'd gone through a Mexican buffet -- and I should note there's one big difference from a Chinese buffet. The little signs above the options all were spelled correctly.

The Viva el Toro lunch buffet allows you to build fajitas, tacos, tostadas or taco salads, with a variety of toppings. But it also has a few surprises, which apparently are aimed for diners who don't like Mexican foods. In fact, one member of our group joked about eating "Mexican french fries."

(The buffet also appeared to have breaded okra - but for all I know, that could have been cleverly-disguised bite-size jalapeno peppers.)

The lunch buffet also has a dessert counter. I went for the chocolate bundt cake, but one member of our group complained the "confetti cake" didn't have enough confetti for her liking. Are you actually supposed to throw that stuff in the air, to signal your server to bring the bill?

The only other complaint I heard from our group was one person asking for a replacement for sweet tea, because it didn't taste right. Hopefully the server didn't misunderstand the order, and think "tea" stood for tequila.

With a drink and 15-percent gratuity thrown in, I enjoyed Viva el Toro's lunch buffet for less than ten dollars. It certainly isn't a traditional Southern "Sunday dinner" - but hey, at least they have chicken fajitas.

Oh yes, I almost forgot - Instant Message to the Viva el Toro staff: Please let me know when you're having an amateur comedy night. I can try out some of these jokes in front of a live audience. And afterward, I can decide whether to add a laugh track button to the blog.

BIG PREDICTION UPDATE: I was right about Sunday's seventh-game showdown for the Atlanta Hawks. But c'mon - losing to Boston 99-65?! Hawks announcer Steve Holman couldn't even resort to his usual excuse, and blame it on cheating referees.

ABC sportscaster Mike Breen called Boston's 34-point win in the N.B.A. playoffs a "good old-fashioned blowout." Talk about bias! If you're an Atlanta fan, it certainly wasn't good. And if you're like me, it wasn't good - someone who was jealous of all those Celtic championships years ago, and felt they had all those losing seasons coming.

A dramatic moment occurred in Sunday's seventh game when Atlanta's Marvin Williams grabbed Boston's Rejean Rondo in the air, and seemed to horse-collar him to the court. Williams was ejected for a "flagrant two" foul. In Muscogee County Court, Williams might have been allowed to plea-bargain his way down to a simple personal foul.

Mock the Atlanta Hawks all you want - but no other major pro sports team from Atlanta has reached the playoffs in the last 12 months. I'm not really counting the Georgia Force of arena football, but you can't hear their games in Columbus. Oh wait - you can't hear the Hawks, either....

E-MAIL UPDATE: A reader is concerned about one of the most serious stories of the weekend....

Where were the parents or adults in the lives of the two young brothers who drowned in the river? I can't image letting a 7 and 9 yr old ride bikes to the river much less play in the dangerous waters. These parents should be held accountable.

WRBL talked with the father of the victims Sunday. Arthur Rozier cried a bit as he described the boys as willing to take chances. But if you want Nancy Grace to come down from Atlanta and browbeat the man into surrendering to police on live TV, I'll leave that to you.

To offer a story tip, make a PayPal donation, advertise to our readers or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 658 (- 27, 3.9%)

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.

© 2003-08 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.