I really love Mexican food. And the thought of having a place within walking distance of my home was a dream come true. Something I felt like Charlotte was really missing. I have visited Vida a handful of times within the last few months and the last two times have been pretty terrible.\n\nThe first of my two bad experiences was with my mom. We decided to eat at Vida on a Wednesday evening around 7pm. We were taken to the bar area and promptly thrown menus before the hostess/server took off. We wanted to ask if there was a way to sit in the dining room instead of the bar since two huge office parties were enjoying happy hour and the music was too loud for any decent conversation (With Mom, you want to be able to converse!) We had water and salsa delivered (well, thrown at us) and at that point, moving tables just seemed like a bigger deal than it should be. \n\nOur server really seemed disinterested and due to that, I only ordered one drink (We stopped off at Wooden Vine for our night cap). All in all, not a spectacular show for the staff but the food was decent. I've always thought a lot of the menu was just like Cantina 1511. \n\nMy second bad experience happened just this past week, during a certain Mexican celebration. We went out for drinks and dinner with friends and were seated on the patio. Like any big group, things were rowdy and yes, I'm sure we were being obnoxious (What can you say? AA5 was going on and it was a loud, busy night). The GM walked over and scolded us like 5 year olds. I have no problem with him saying \"Hey, have a good time, that's what we want, just take it down a notch, cool?\" He actually said \"I have the authority to remove this group from the premises\" Really? He then proceeded to tell one person in our group that this establishment didn't need our money. No problem, Vida. I won't be spending my hard earned money with you anymore. After he scurried off, he had the server, who had no idea we even were scolded, hand off our checks. She double charged one person and lost another's' debit card. I would say it's a pretty big deal to lose a debit card around the Epicenter area. \n\nAll in all, food is decent. Guac is awesome. Staff is for the most part a complete joke and I have no problem taking my business elsewhere. I guess Vida is \"recession-proof.\" Good for them.