WATCH: M Cantina In Dearborn Calls Police On Disgruntled Diner
/ CBS Detroit
DEARBORN — A local diner had a bad experience at the popular M Cantina restaurant in East Dearborn and his Facebook video of the encounter is going viral.
Maurice El-Amin's 15-minute Facebook Live video documented Dearborn police being called after he didn't want to pay for a dish he said had a strong "chemical" taste to it.
Do not go to M Cantina in Dearborn!!!
Www.mcatina.com
The wife of the chef Called the police on me! Heidi Merino
****Response from Owner M Cantina, Stephany Villa****
—-No offer of a refund
—-Never stated the Police should not have been called
—-No reprimand of the employee Heidi Merino for calling the police and refusing to replace dish.
—Actually Gave Compliments to Heidi
All that was offered was a very Weak apology. See Below:
From: M Cantina <mcantina13214@gmail.com>
Date: September 20, 2018 at 8:47:02 PM EDT
To: melamin@yahoo.com
Subject: my sincerest apologies
Dear Mr. El-Amin,
This is Stephany Villa, the owner of M Cantina. I have been trying to get in touch with you via social media since Tuesday, but have been unsuccessful. I was able to track down two emails which I truly hope are yours as I would like to apologize for the incident that occurred on Tuesday night. I recognize it could have been handled more efficiently and shouldn't have escalated in such a manner, and I am sorry for the inconvenience and offenses this caused you or anyone else close to you.
It's common that in small, private-owned establishments, workers tend to wear many hats. M Cantina is one of those examples. Our servers' job has many responsibilities, and one of them is to guide guests through their experience, helping them choose the best dishes to enjoy. To be able to get to this subjective "best" choice, they use the information and cues from conversations with guests to provide what may be the most appealing to them as possible. There appears to may have been a disconnect in this process while you visited.
Part of what makes M Cantina unique is the presence of the executive chef, Junior Merino and his wife. Their background and experience in the field makes them an essential asset to the restaurant. In regards to the uniqueness of the food, it's easy to see from first glance the passion and creativity that our food is made with, I believe, and we try to live up to it through several processes that include, cooking fresh daily, meticulous selection of ingredients, and methodical processes on cooking. And while I have my faith placed in our kitchen, I would like to know more about the bad taste in the taco you tried.
Once again, I apologize for it happening in the first place. (if I have erred in the email and am emailing the wrong person, I apologize to the gentleman I am emailing)
Sincerely,
Stephany Villa
Owner
M Cantina
The man is an assistant principal at Cass Tech High School and reportedly took one bite of his chicken tinga tacos, only to not like them. He reportedly said he didn't want to pay for the $10 tacos and one of the owners called the police in, the Detroit Metro Times reported.
El-Amin's Facebook Live video has been viewed more than 21,000 times now.
The Detroit Free Press reported that El-Amin told the server about it before the cops were called and asked to order something else. El-Amin said that another employee told him the menu clearly explained that the dish contained chipotle, and that he could order something else — but would still have to pay for the tinga. El-Amin said he didn't think the chipotle was the problem, though.
