Tia Maria's 被評為全美第一大價格最公道的餐廳

正如大多數休士頓人會告訴您的那樣，居住在河口市的眾多好處之一是市內遍布各種餐廳。

One of the many great things about living in the Bayou City, as most Houstonians will tell you, is the city’s immense cornucopia of diverse restaurants throughout the city. Thanks to Houston's large ethnic population, there's a wonderful variety of cuisines from all over the world, and the city's economy affords many restaurateurs the ability to offer fair-priced menu options. Tia Maria's, a favorite among Oak Forest and Heights area residents, was recently highlighted in a national survey for having the fairest prices in town.

正如大多數休士頓人會告訴您的那樣，生活在河口市的眾多美好事物之一就是這座城市遍布各種餐廳的巨大聚寶盆。由於休士頓人口眾多，這裡有來自世界各地的各種美食，而且該市的經濟使許多餐廳老闆有能力提供價格公道的菜單選擇。 Tia Maria's 是橡樹森林和高地地區居民的最愛，最近在一項全國調查中因其擁有鎮上最公平的價格而受到關注。

One good resource many diners turn to in making their dining choice are reviews on Google or Yelp. By the same token, these platforms are a way for restaurants to view their patrons' experience, as diners will often turn to these internet platforms to write reviews. A company called Preply, a language learning platform, conducted an analysis of the language used in 57,245 reviews, spanning over 10,000 restaurants in 50 U.S. cities, to identify the most fairly priced restaurants in the United States.

許多食客在選擇用餐時會參考的一個很好的資源是 Google 或 Yelp 上的評論。出於同樣的原因，這些平台是餐廳查看顧客體驗的一種方式，因為食客經常轉向這些網路平台撰寫評論。一家名為 Preply 的語言學習平台公司對美國 50 個城市的 10,000 多家餐廳的 57,245 條評論中使用的語言進行了分析，以確定美國價格最公平的餐廳。

(Photo courtesy of Tia Maria's)

（照片由蒂亞瑪麗亞提供）

As it turns out, Houston ranks 8th in the country where diners find the restaurants and food establishments to be the most worth their value and fairly priced. And number one on the list? A Houston favorite for over 40 years, Tia Maria's! They not only rank numero uno in H-Town, they grabbed the number 74 spot in the nation for a fair-priced menu.

事實證明，休士頓在食客認為餐廳和食品店最物有所值且價格合理的全國排名中排名第八。名單上排名第一？ Tia Maria's 是休士頓 40 多年來的最愛！他們不僅在 H 鎮排名第一，還在全國平價菜單中排名第 74 位。

A family operated business, Tia Maria's has been serving quality Tex-Mex food for over 40 years in the same location, at 4618 Dacoma Street, just barely on the westside of U.S. 290 at I-610. Started by his Dad, Pedro Lopez, son Peter assists in managing the business with his mother and his sister, Cindy Lopez.

Tia Maria's 是一家家族經營企業，40 多年來一直在同一個地點（達科馬街 4618 號，緊鄰 290 號公路西側 I-610 公路）提供優質德州墨西哥食品。由他的父親佩德羅·洛佩茲 (Pedro Lopez) 創辦，兒子彼得 (Peter) 與母親和妹妹辛迪·洛佩茲 (Cindy Lopez) 一起協助管理公司。

“We’ve been around for 40 plus years and we’ve always focused on managing quality and affordable food for our customers, especially during this time of inflation.”

“我們已經存在 40 多年了，我們始終專注於為客戶提供優質且價格實惠的食品，尤其是在這個通貨膨脹時期。”

Peter's Dad Pedro started at the restaurant as a dishwasher 40 years ago when the business was not doing so well. The original owner approached Pedro about buying the business, so he took a gamble, bought the restaurant, and turned it into a legacy for the Oak Forest area.

40 年前，彼得的父親佩德羅 (Pedro) 開始在這家餐廳擔任洗碗工，當時生意並不景氣。原主人找到佩德羅購買這家企業，於是他賭了一把，買下了這家餐廳，並將其變成了橡樹林地區的遺產。

At one point during Tia Maria's 40-year history, Pedro purchased the entire retail shopping center that houses the restaurant. Having ownership in the real estate helped to control operating expenses allowing workable margins on their food options. Eventually Pedro would sell the retail shopping center to a new owner, signing a lease allowing them to stay in their location. Taking advantage of customer volume and square footage of the restaurant, Tia Maria's has an occupancy of up to 250 people with a party room that can host up to 80 customers.

在 Tia Maria 40 年歷史中，佩德羅曾一度購買了餐廳所在的整個零售購物中心。擁有房地產所有權有助於控制營運開支，從而為他們的食品選擇帶來可行的利潤。最終，佩德羅將零售購物中心出售給新業主，並簽署租約，讓他們留在原地。 Tia Maria's 充分利用顧客數量和餐廳面積，最多可容納 250 人，宴會廳最多可容納 80 名顧客。

“We can operate at a higher volume, allowing us to offer more affordable pricing to our customers.”

“我們可以提高產量，從而為客戶提供更實惠的價格。”

At lunch time, Tia Maria's is sufficiently packed with dedicated customers from many of the surrounding businesses in the area.

午餐時間，蒂亞瑪麗亞餐廳 (Tia Maria's) 擠滿了來自該地區週邊許多企業的忠實顧客。

“We know people only have 30 or 45 minutes for lunch during the week, so we pride ourselves on serving good food fast so our customers can get back to work on time.”

“我們知道人們一周只有 30 或 45 分鐘的午餐時間，因此我們為能夠快速提供美味的食物而感到自豪，這樣我們的客戶就可以準時返回工作崗位。”

(Photo courtesy of Tia Maria's)

（照片由蒂亞瑪麗亞提供）

In the evenings, Tia Maria's typically can get large groups, families, or companies requesting after-work reservations for 20 people or more. With plenty of tables, the restaurant has no problem accommodating these same-day request.

晚上，Tia Maria's 通常會接待大型團體、家庭或公司，要求下班後預訂 20 人或以上的座位。餐廳有充足的桌子，可以毫無問題地滿足這些當日要求。

When asked what dish was a favorite amongst patrons, Peter said: “Enchilada Sweet Sauce is a favorite of mine; it’s green enchiladas with white cheese and tomatillo sauce served with rice and beans. But, we have options that offer a little bit of everything so there’s a lot of items on our menu that people like to order.”

當被問到顧客最喜歡什麼菜時，彼得說：「玉米捲餅甜醬是我的最愛；它是綠色的辣醬玉米餅餡，配上白起司和番茄醬，配上米飯和豆子。但是，我們的選擇涵蓋了所有東西，因此我們的菜單上有很多人們喜歡點的菜。

WHAT: Tia Maria's

商品：蒂亞瑪麗亞的

WHERE: 4618 Dacoma Street Houston, 77092

地點：4618 Dacoma Street 休士頓，77092

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