He Said, She Said, They Said

By Dave Faries Mon., Jul. 20 2009 at 3:55 PM

Categories: Chewing the Fat

Today we received a note from the fine folks at Gardere, a highly respected Dallas law firm. Seems one of their clients, Donica Jimenez (founder and owner of Cafe Madrid restaurants), was upset that other publications listed Ildefonso Jimenez (of Si Tapas Restaurant) as a founder of Cafe Madrid.

The letter says "in the event the Dallas Observer writes a similar article, please note that Donica Jimenez founded Cafe Madrid in October 1989 and has been the restaurant owner since that time." Ildefonso Jimenez, according to the document, merely served as the general manager from March, 1990, to August, 1997.

At which point Donica and Ildefonso were divorced, according to the lawyer. Think it was an amicable settlement?

Tags:

Cafe Madrid, litigation, restaurateurs, Si Tapas

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I drink, therefore I am. Thus I love Cafe Madrid, their wine list, and wine prices. Can you say Priorat? Rioja? I thought not. And a menu that dreams are made of.
Sorry to say, my "Si" dining experience was not as lovely. The service was not only SLOW, but super-snobby. In this economy, you can't look a gift horse in the mouth...even if I'm only a pony. I still work hard and enjoy dining out. The paella was gummy (undercooked, perhaps?). And, dude, TOO many damn choices. It's not sushi, it's tapas. I challenge you to take me to Spain to ANY "tapas" joint that serves 50+ different things. The place is cute, I'll give him that, but give me good food and great affordable wine over average anything. I have seen the owner of Cafe Madrid mingling but have never had the chance to meet her (is she Spanish? does anyone know - she looks it). She's always there, and the food has been consistently great since opening (what like almost 20? years ago - that's like dog years' in that biz). I really don't care who got what when, just keep the good tapas, paella, oxtail stew and affordable wine flowin' my way on Travis! Thank goodness I can walk home after!!!
On July 16, 1998, in a column by Mark Stuertz of Dallas Observer, it stated "Ketama founder Ildefonso Jimenez says I got it wrong in my review of his Deep Ellum tapas bar two weeks back. He says his relinquishment of his stake in Cafe Madrid was not due to a divorce settlement with current Madrid owner Donica Jimenez, but was a result of his desire to take on another challenge: to introduce Dallas to the passion of Spain through flamenco music and dance..." Interesting how many ventures Mr. Jimenez has wanted to introduce Dallas to - unsuccessfully.
Ask Donica about whose father was in the kitchen, while she was on the floor waiting tables and Ildefonso was behind the bar and bussing tables when the doors opened. I managed a restaurant around the corner at the time and Ildefonso was there the first week that the doors opended. It probably was her families money that opened the door, but it was Ildefonso's family that made Cafe Madrid. After his father passed, his mother took over the kitchen and the quality of the food became better....she and her food are at De Tapas in Addison....
Duly noted. In related news, I dined at Si Tapas last week and it was OUTSTANDING!! And cheap. Perfect really.

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