Before I get into this post, I have a confession to make: I was NOT really looking forward to this stop. It had been a while since I've been to CK's, but I'm still more interested in hitting the mom and pop places and hole in the walls than I am in hitting any of the chains on our list. But our intent is to make this a comprehensive tour - no time for me to whine about my taco prejudices. But I'm convinced Travis' choice in restaurants is why Chris stood us up. By the way, we're now looking for a new third person for our tour. Hit us up if you're interested in skipping work and eating tacos once a week. LOL
We decided to go to the Carlos at Kellogg and Ridge and received what I've come to expect from this well known chain: a quick greeting, and an immediate seat with chips and salsa. The chips are always good, but the salsa always seems to be a little different from day to day, which is to be expected. But today's round of salsa was a little too oniony for my preference. Even after eating my tacos and washing down a glass of water, I still felt like I could taste the onion and needed a toothbrush. We got our menus and the first thing I noticed is that everything was pretty different from the last time I was here. I wanted to try a variety of tacos but I didn't notice an a la carte menu. Our waiter, (mostly good server other than the one error I will mention at the end) said we could order any three tacos we wanted and it would be about nine bucks. So I decided to go with a combo of a mahi fish taco, a chicken taco, and the brisket taco.
When my plate arrived, I was actually pretty happy with the presentation: it was not the bland, everyday chain plate that I had expected. I started with the fish taco - I always worry that I'm going to get rubbery, dried out fish. But in this case, I got a delicious taco with lots of perfectly cooked fish. The taco had a light hint of lime and chili spice that was quite tasty. The chicken taco was served on soft shells with what tasted like a cheesy/sour cream sauce. Again, a nice surprise for a chain taco, the plentiful chicken was dressed lightly in lettuce, white cheese, and cilantro. The brisket taco looked like it was about to fly off my plate! This thing came in a hard fried flour tortilla with two swaths of cheese attached. After compacting this thing down to a manageable size, I was treated to quite the yummy taco - meaty, cheesy, with just the right amount of green chili kick. Pretty much the opposite of what I was expecting this go round.
If it's been a while since you've been to CK's, you might want to come by and check it out. The service was good, but don't trust the pricing as our $9.00 taco plate ended up being $16.00. Still, I left feeling pretty satisfied with the tacos, though I WAS hoping to give Travis some crap for making us go to a chain. Guess I'll save that for when he tries to make us go to Taco Bell (puke). Here are my ratings overall on the 5 Taco Scale:
Food Quality - 4.0 Tacos
Price - $$
Value - 3.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 4.5 Tacos
Service - 4.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 4.0 Tacos
Likelihood To Return - 5.0 Tacos
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Taco Tour Stop #4 - Carlos O'Kelly's 527 S Ridge Rd Cir
So this week I told the guys I was in the mood for something a little more Tex-Mex/Americanized. We decided Carlos O'Kelly's was where we were headed. Shon claimed to have "meetings" on Wednesday so we opted for Tuesday instead. Chris had a last minute customer come, so he wasn't able to join us. So naturally he was the butt of all our jokes for today. (Which isn't really all that different than any other day).
Anyway, most of you are probably familiar with Carlos, but hey that's okay, you can see how we compare it to others on our list! Seated quickly, our server came and took our drink order and returned with chips and salsa. I've always been a fan of their chips and salsa, but today the salsa was a little lacking. No kick at all. It was chunky - which is how I like it - but it lacked heat and flavor. That's really my only complaint today - everything else was good. But I've noticed that on many of the "chain" restaurants that make their salsa in-house. The heat from one visit to the next can be pretty inconsistent. Their chips are usually pretty consistent however, and they were nice and crunchy today and tasted good.
I almost always get the same thing here, but since we were on the tour, I needed to try something new. I located their El Guapo Brisket Tacos and felt compelled to order a plethora of them. But instead, opted to get 1, plus 1 regular beef taco, and 1 chicken taco. This comes with 2 sides, so I picked rice and fries (yeah I know, nothing else sounded good today).
The meal arrived in a timely manner - so if you're ever in a hurry, Carlos will probably take care of you just fine as long as you're seated quickly. The presentation looked DELICIOUS! Check out the pic below:
VERY happy with my selection, so I dug into the chicken taco first. It's an open face taco on a fried flour tortilla. Chicken, cilantro, lettuce, cheese, and a creamy sauce are combined and this taco was very good! I would definitely get it again as the flavor, consistency, and texture were just right. I tossed in a little salsa but honestly it would be just as good without. It wasn't dry at all and I would definitely recommend you check this one out!
Last was the El Guapo (I just like saying it). This was a fried flour taco, folded, but with a huge slice of cheese on each side. The taco looked like it could take flight at any moment. A little unsure how to eat it, I folded the "wings" over and into the taco and took a bite. Brisket style meat, cheese, green peppers, and a creamy sauce make this a must-have choice. Lots of flavor, a great texture, and even the experience of eating it made this my top pick for today (with the chicken a VERY close second).
Overall, I'm rarely disappointed in Carlos O'Kelly's and today was no exception. They were fast, the flavor was good, our chips, salsa, and drinks were always refilled in a timely manner, and the service was good. I opted for water today, but with tip I spent about $15. If you're on a budget lunch, this is going to rank a little low on the value scale - but when you get good service, a well kept restaurant, good food, and complimentary chips and salsa, it's still a good stop to make!
Out of 5 tacos, here's my ranking:
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Thursday, January 19, 2017
Brain, stomach, and cow cheek - Taco Tour Stop #3 - Tacos Raymundo
Well, after the fairly routine nature of our previous stops, we asked for suggestions and decided to go with a recommendation from a friend of Chris's - Tacos Raymundo. The restaurant is located just east of 21st N and Amidon in a small building with a dining area the size of my bedroom. I, too, was a little worried as I approached, as the place appeared.....borderline. But when I walked in, I was greeted with the awesome smell of the kitchen and I was hopeful this might be one of those hole in the wall treasures.
Once we sat down, we took notice of the surroundings during our chit chat - I mean, really what else were we gonna do?!?! We had sat there long enough that I could've gone back to Taco Rio for an appetizer and been back in time to place my order. Once there though, the service was adequate and friendly. They brought us some decently thick chips and two kinds of salsa. The hot salsa was a steaming bowl of soup with jalapeno and onion in it and was very tasty - not so spicy hot you couldn't enjoy it, but with the appropriate amount of kick to it.
When I opened the menu, I knew I was going to be in for an unusual treat as they offered taco fillings that aren't on your everyday menu - Cesos (brains), cabeza (cow cheek), and Tripas (pork intestine). Since my blogmates are pretty much pansies, it was up to me to be the adventurous one and order up something new. I mean seriously you gotta break up the beef and chicken tacos with something new when it comes up, right?!? So I went with the 3 taco plate and rice with a cabeza, a ground beef, and a cesos taco. At Chris' suggestion I also ordered a pork and a shrimp taco. Figured I might as well try them all.
My plate arrived and looked great. All of the tacos were dressed in cilantro, onion, and salsa with grilled onions on the side. No cheese, lettuce, or tomatoes here. I started with the Cesos taco. I had never had brains before and when I got the taco, it was a little mushier than I thought it would be. I expected fried brains and got half boiled. I was able to finish it with no problem. That being said, this is not a taco for the squeamish. If you have the tummy of a 6 year old school girl (like my blog mates) and a hatred for oysters on the half shell, you might want to avoid this one. Overall, the taste was a little bland and the texture wasn't my favorite. I can sum up my other four tacos in one word: "awesome". Oh, and "tasty". Which is now two words, but oh well....these tacos were delicious! The cabeza was a super tender, beefy taco. Don't get weirded out by what it is: if I were to put it on your plate and tell you it was a steak taco, you wouldn't know the difference. The pork and beef tacos were also worth the drive - they were seasoned just right, with a little spice but not overpowering. The shrimp tacos were also perfect. A lot of shrimp tacos come over cooked with chewy little pieces of dry shrimp. No complaints of that kind with this shrimp taco at all.
This place epitomizes what this tour is all about: finding and enjoying new places with good friends. I'm already looking forward to my next lunch there. My overall ratings are as follows:
Food Quality: 4.5 Tacos
Price: $-$$
Value: 4.0 Tacos
Cleanliness: 3.5 Tacos
Service: 3.0 Tacos
Overall Experience: 4.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return: 5.0 Tacos
Once we sat down, we took notice of the surroundings during our chit chat - I mean, really what else were we gonna do?!?! We had sat there long enough that I could've gone back to Taco Rio for an appetizer and been back in time to place my order. Once there though, the service was adequate and friendly. They brought us some decently thick chips and two kinds of salsa. The hot salsa was a steaming bowl of soup with jalapeno and onion in it and was very tasty - not so spicy hot you couldn't enjoy it, but with the appropriate amount of kick to it.
When I opened the menu, I knew I was going to be in for an unusual treat as they offered taco fillings that aren't on your everyday menu - Cesos (brains), cabeza (cow cheek), and Tripas (pork intestine). Since my blogmates are pretty much pansies, it was up to me to be the adventurous one and order up something new. I mean seriously you gotta break up the beef and chicken tacos with something new when it comes up, right?!? So I went with the 3 taco plate and rice with a cabeza, a ground beef, and a cesos taco. At Chris' suggestion I also ordered a pork and a shrimp taco. Figured I might as well try them all.
My plate arrived and looked great. All of the tacos were dressed in cilantro, onion, and salsa with grilled onions on the side. No cheese, lettuce, or tomatoes here. I started with the Cesos taco. I had never had brains before and when I got the taco, it was a little mushier than I thought it would be. I expected fried brains and got half boiled. I was able to finish it with no problem. That being said, this is not a taco for the squeamish. If you have the tummy of a 6 year old school girl (like my blog mates) and a hatred for oysters on the half shell, you might want to avoid this one. Overall, the taste was a little bland and the texture wasn't my favorite. I can sum up my other four tacos in one word: "awesome". Oh, and "tasty". Which is now two words, but oh well....these tacos were delicious! The cabeza was a super tender, beefy taco. Don't get weirded out by what it is: if I were to put it on your plate and tell you it was a steak taco, you wouldn't know the difference. The pork and beef tacos were also worth the drive - they were seasoned just right, with a little spice but not overpowering. The shrimp tacos were also perfect. A lot of shrimp tacos come over cooked with chewy little pieces of dry shrimp. No complaints of that kind with this shrimp taco at all.
This place epitomizes what this tour is all about: finding and enjoying new places with good friends. I'm already looking forward to my next lunch there. My overall ratings are as follows:
Food Quality: 4.5 Tacos
Price: $-$$
Value: 4.0 Tacos
Cleanliness: 3.5 Tacos
Service: 3.0 Tacos
Overall Experience: 4.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return: 5.0 Tacos
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Taco Tour Stop #3 - Taco's Raymundo! 1716 W 21st St.
This week, our tour of tacos takes us to Taco's Raymundo! < Click that link for their FB
Apparently 11:30 doesn't really mean 11:30 with tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber. I arrived promptly at 11:31 and the other bozos were still "15 min away".
So here I sit, outside, staring at dead trees, an abandoned & overturned shopping cart, and the grand winter scenery of the Little Arkansas River in front of me (sarcasm warning). Oh well, at least it's two-for-Tuesday on The Fox and I had some back-to-back Bad Company and Styx to jam to.
The place is definitely not exciting from the outside - especially the one boarded up window. Only a couple cars in the lot. I'm already skeptical. If this sucks, we are tracking down Jake!
The dufus twins arrived nearly simultaneously at 1150. We walk in and greeted with a smile and told to take a seat. But the 2 guys behind us ordered at the counter. I'm already confused and we haven't been helped yet. I guess they were take-out or something.
OK chips and a heated hot sauce and a mild sauce are placed on the table. They have Pepsi but no Mountain Dew... What. In. The. World. Fine, Dr Pepper. Jeez. (Strikes are counting up at this point).
Shon just ordered a brain taco. I'm not sure I can even continue this review. I'm traumatized and we haven't even gotten our food yet. He also ordered beef cheek - which apparently is from, yep, the cheek of a cow. Sick.
I ordered the Mexican Trio with a ground beef, beef steak, and a chicken taco. Food arrived quickly and looked great!
Everything turned out quite good. I'm definitely happy. The chicken taco was tasty even though the chicken was a little bit chewy. Not enough to warrant a complaint though. The ground beef taco was fine. It was a little bland but that's what I expected here for a traditional restaurant. The beef steak was quite tasty and definitely my favorite. I'd get those again for sure. The tacos were double wrapped in a small flour tortilla with meat, cilantro, and onion. The plate also included rice that was tender and cooked right. A side of sauteed onions were a nice surprise and added a great flavor when thrown in the tacos. Everything was messy and falling on the plate and the onions also made a yummy fork meal when mixed with everything that fell off. Overall I'm definitely pleased with Raymundo!
The first impression is sketchy due to the decor and slightly low-buck atmosphere, but what they lack in decor they make up for in taste and selection! The chips and salsa were yummy - especially the hot sauce if you scoop up the onion and jalepeno with the "broth-like" sauce. A new experience but definitely yummy.
Overall it's a good place for traditional Mexican food and the menu has a very broad selection of items that you would and would not expect. I can definitely see going back here in the future. My plate of food and drink refills filled me up and I paid about $12 with tip. Not a GREAT value, but not bad since the taste was good.
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WOW!
The last 2 restaurants we have visited have left me questioning our mission. After voicing come frustration, our gun dealer buddy, Jake, said to come here next. So we did.
We were told to have a seat as we walked in so we sat at a table and looked at each other, confused, wondering how we obtain tacos.
Finally, they came and took our drink order. Upon opening the menu, I was shocked to find that we finally found our first restaurant with adventurous tacos. Their menu includes pork stomach, beef lining (whatever the heck that is), brains, as well as fish and shrimp tacos.
I ordered a beef, pork, fish and shrimp tacos. They all sounded good and I am hungry.
Shin went all out for the cow brain. Apparently he hasn't heard of mad cow disease and is open to new experiences.
While waiting on the tacos, I am taking in the awkward decor. There are viny plants that make me feel weird. I feel like this place could be in a scene of Breaking Bad.
Their cooler is loaded with Jarritos, authentic Mexican coke bottles and beer. In an awkward twist, they have Pepsi products but NOT Mountain Dew.
Service is a little slow but they are back there making everything fresh.
Food finally arrives. I am...speechless. We found so proper tacos. These things come out and the presentation is amazing. All 4 tacos lined out, overflowing with meat and other ingredients. They also provide a nice helping of sautéed onions on the side.
I started with the fish taco. There was salsa, cilantro and onions on top. The taco was loaded with flavor and had a nice spice to it.
The shrimp taco was next. There were about 6 shrimp inside this beautiful taco, covered with seasoning, onions and salsa. The taste was amazing!
I realize 2 tacos in that I made a critical mistake. Tacos Raymundo puts fresh, raw onions on top of the tacos but a side of sautéed onions. I don't care for the crunch of raw onion so next time I will order without and add the sautéed onions to each taco.
I then jumped into the least exciting of my tacos, the ground beef. It wasn't bad, it just was not as exciting after the first 2 tacos.
The final taco, the pork taco, was delicious. It had tons of meat inside and after loading it up with sautéed onions, I was a happy camper.
I think I will order a pair do both the shrimp and pork tacos next time I am here. They were the clear winners here, not that the others were bad.
In conclusion, I am very satisfied. Taco's Raymundo hit the nail on the head. The bar has definitely been raised and future tacos will be held to a higher standard. 14 years in and these folks have it down to a science. Thanks for sending us Jake!
Ratings are out of 5 tacos:
Service- 🌮🌮🌮🌮
Quality of food- 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
Amount of meat inside each taco- 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
Overall value- 🌮🌮🌮🌮
Overall experience- 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
We were told to have a seat as we walked in so we sat at a table and looked at each other, confused, wondering how we obtain tacos.
Finally, they came and took our drink order. Upon opening the menu, I was shocked to find that we finally found our first restaurant with adventurous tacos. Their menu includes pork stomach, beef lining (whatever the heck that is), brains, as well as fish and shrimp tacos.
I ordered a beef, pork, fish and shrimp tacos. They all sounded good and I am hungry.
Shin went all out for the cow brain. Apparently he hasn't heard of mad cow disease and is open to new experiences.
While waiting on the tacos, I am taking in the awkward decor. There are viny plants that make me feel weird. I feel like this place could be in a scene of Breaking Bad.
Their cooler is loaded with Jarritos, authentic Mexican coke bottles and beer. In an awkward twist, they have Pepsi products but NOT Mountain Dew.
Service is a little slow but they are back there making everything fresh.
Food finally arrives. I am...speechless. We found so proper tacos. These things come out and the presentation is amazing. All 4 tacos lined out, overflowing with meat and other ingredients. They also provide a nice helping of sautéed onions on the side.
I started with the fish taco. There was salsa, cilantro and onions on top. The taco was loaded with flavor and had a nice spice to it.
The shrimp taco was next. There were about 6 shrimp inside this beautiful taco, covered with seasoning, onions and salsa. The taste was amazing!
I realize 2 tacos in that I made a critical mistake. Tacos Raymundo puts fresh, raw onions on top of the tacos but a side of sautéed onions. I don't care for the crunch of raw onion so next time I will order without and add the sautéed onions to each taco.
I then jumped into the least exciting of my tacos, the ground beef. It wasn't bad, it just was not as exciting after the first 2 tacos.
The final taco, the pork taco, was delicious. It had tons of meat inside and after loading it up with sautéed onions, I was a happy camper.
I think I will order a pair do both the shrimp and pork tacos next time I am here. They were the clear winners here, not that the others were bad.
In conclusion, I am very satisfied. Taco's Raymundo hit the nail on the head. The bar has definitely been raised and future tacos will be held to a higher standard. 14 years in and these folks have it down to a science. Thanks for sending us Jake!
Ratings are out of 5 tacos:
Service- 🌮🌮🌮🌮
Quality of food- 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
Amount of meat inside each taco- 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
Overall value- 🌮🌮🌮🌮
Overall experience- 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Not at all on topic but apparently that's a theme here now!
Since Travis has the attention span of a squirrel and decided that we could review anything that goes in your mouth, today I decided to review Haribo Happy Cherries.
These delicious gummy cherries have the appearance of 2 cherries with connected stems.
There are so many ways you can eat them. Since they are bite size, you can just pop the whole thing into your mouth. You can also eat just the stem, one of the cherries or both cherries.
They have a fantastic flavor, cherry, and make for a great snack. They pair well with cheap whiskey and Cherry Dr. Pepper.
My kiddos love them and so do I. Overall, for a cheap snack, I rate them 4/5 smiles. I will certainly buy them again.
😃😃😃😃
These delicious gummy cherries have the appearance of 2 cherries with connected stems.
There are so many ways you can eat them. Since they are bite size, you can just pop the whole thing into your mouth. You can also eat just the stem, one of the cherries or both cherries.
They have a fantastic flavor, cherry, and make for a great snack. They pair well with cheap whiskey and Cherry Dr. Pepper.
My kiddos love them and so do I. Overall, for a cheap snack, I rate them 4/5 smiles. I will certainly buy them again.
😃😃😃😃
Bonus Content! Bionic Burger excursion!
Yeah yeah, it's a taco blog. I don't care - I made the blog so I can do what I want. ;-)
So we've hit two taco places that I'm not thrilled about and neither one had Mtn Dew, so I needed a break. Burgers! Shon mentioned Bionic Burger... It's sort of an inside joke in my family but I actually hadn't been there for like 20+ years. What the heck, let's give it a shot. Immediately I was pleased with a wide selection on the menu so I picked the Texi burger. I highly recommend it. Meat, cheese, barbeque sauce, bacon - hard to go wrong there! Oh and they have really good fries! Fresh cut, a little bit of peel left on them - man, this hit the spot!
OH, and they have Mountain Dew! In fact, they have one of those cool touch-screen fountains. I hadn't seen a Pepsi one yet - so this was a welcome sight. Good times - it even shows video of the drink going down when you hit pour! Needless to say, I'm easily entertained.
I'll keep this short and sweet - go to Bionic Burger. Good burgers, good fries, very fast service, and Mountain Dew!
Peace out - tacos coming sooooon!
So we've hit two taco places that I'm not thrilled about and neither one had Mtn Dew, so I needed a break. Burgers! Shon mentioned Bionic Burger... It's sort of an inside joke in my family but I actually hadn't been there for like 20+ years. What the heck, let's give it a shot. Immediately I was pleased with a wide selection on the menu so I picked the Texi burger. I highly recommend it. Meat, cheese, barbeque sauce, bacon - hard to go wrong there! Oh and they have really good fries! Fresh cut, a little bit of peel left on them - man, this hit the spot!
OH, and they have Mountain Dew! In fact, they have one of those cool touch-screen fountains. I hadn't seen a Pepsi one yet - so this was a welcome sight. Good times - it even shows video of the drink going down when you hit pour! Needless to say, I'm easily entertained.
I'll keep this short and sweet - go to Bionic Burger. Good burgers, good fries, very fast service, and Mountain Dew!
Peace out - tacos coming sooooon!
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Taco Tour Stop #2 - Saying Good Bye to Cortez Mexican Restaurant!
So..... you're back for round two? A second helping, if you will? If so, our thanks to you for reading our blog. What started out as a bit of a pastime/joke/challenge is quickly becoming a taco OBSESSION as we decide where/when to go, what restaurants to put on the list, and when to post apparently (judging by my blog-mates constant texts to me to get my review up....... Jeez). Is it possible to take tacos too seriously?!?!? I guess we'll see as the year goes on.....
After starting out with a typical fast food option (see our prior posts on Taco Tour Stop #1 - Taco Rio), Chris recommended we switch it up and go to a more traditional sit down restaurant. Since there's been plenty of news about Cortez closing, we decided to hit the place up one more time before they close.
We showed up at 1130am on Wednesday - the main dining room was closed and they were only using the small dining area by the bar. Initially, we were one of the few people there, but the place picked up by noon. Travis said he'd NEVER been there before (being a life long Wichitan, he seriously damaged his Taco credentials) and I hadn't been there in several years. We were greeted immediately and our waitress gave us a not too enthused breakdown of the menu. Our chips and salsa came and was so-so. She said that she was giving us hot and mild salsas but I honestly couldn't tell the difference. I went with the taco plate (two tacos and rice for 7.99 - one fried flour chicken taco, and a corn beef taco) and added a third taco with chorizo on a corn shell. My memory of the place being a little foggy, I was immediately thinking that it sounded a little expensive for just two tacos. Then they brought them out and I remembered - these ain't your Taco Rio-sized junior tacos. My fried flour chicken taco was delicious - the chicken was well seasoned, tender, and plentiful - but only lasted about 30 seconds before it magically transformed into a chicken taco salad. The shell lasted all of one bite before crumbling onto my plate. I tried to inform the waitress that I was on a Taco Tour, not a Taco Salad Tour but she would have none of it. This wasn't an isolated instance of taco abuse, as all of our flour tacos seemed to meet the same unfortunate end. Still, it made for a tasty chicken salad. I thought my beef taco was fine - nothing special, but 3 steps above Taco Rio for sure. My main complaint about the beef taco was that they mixed in some potatoes which dilutes the meaty flavor. If I want meat and potatoes, I'll go to Texas Roadhouse and get a steak and fries. Yes I know a lot of places do it. And no, I don't care. My chorizo taco looked delicious, which maybe explains why I was somewhat disappointed in it. It wasn't a bad taco (is there even such a thing?!?!), but it looked like it was going to be a delightfully spicy end to my meal and ended up being ...... fine. Which is probably an apt description of my entire lunch. Overall, I would rate my taco experience as follows on the 5 Taco Scale:
Food Quality - 3.5 Tacos
Price - $-$$
Value - 3.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 4.0 Tacos
Service - 3.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - considering that they're closing, I'd say zero Tacos. But if they reopen, I'd bump it to 3.5 Tacos.
After starting out with a typical fast food option (see our prior posts on Taco Tour Stop #1 - Taco Rio), Chris recommended we switch it up and go to a more traditional sit down restaurant. Since there's been plenty of news about Cortez closing, we decided to hit the place up one more time before they close.
We showed up at 1130am on Wednesday - the main dining room was closed and they were only using the small dining area by the bar. Initially, we were one of the few people there, but the place picked up by noon. Travis said he'd NEVER been there before (being a life long Wichitan, he seriously damaged his Taco credentials) and I hadn't been there in several years. We were greeted immediately and our waitress gave us a not too enthused breakdown of the menu. Our chips and salsa came and was so-so. She said that she was giving us hot and mild salsas but I honestly couldn't tell the difference. I went with the taco plate (two tacos and rice for 7.99 - one fried flour chicken taco, and a corn beef taco) and added a third taco with chorizo on a corn shell. My memory of the place being a little foggy, I was immediately thinking that it sounded a little expensive for just two tacos. Then they brought them out and I remembered - these ain't your Taco Rio-sized junior tacos. My fried flour chicken taco was delicious - the chicken was well seasoned, tender, and plentiful - but only lasted about 30 seconds before it magically transformed into a chicken taco salad. The shell lasted all of one bite before crumbling onto my plate. I tried to inform the waitress that I was on a Taco Tour, not a Taco Salad Tour but she would have none of it. This wasn't an isolated instance of taco abuse, as all of our flour tacos seemed to meet the same unfortunate end. Still, it made for a tasty chicken salad. I thought my beef taco was fine - nothing special, but 3 steps above Taco Rio for sure. My main complaint about the beef taco was that they mixed in some potatoes which dilutes the meaty flavor. If I want meat and potatoes, I'll go to Texas Roadhouse and get a steak and fries. Yes I know a lot of places do it. And no, I don't care. My chorizo taco looked delicious, which maybe explains why I was somewhat disappointed in it. It wasn't a bad taco (is there even such a thing?!?!), but it looked like it was going to be a delightfully spicy end to my meal and ended up being ...... fine. Which is probably an apt description of my entire lunch. Overall, I would rate my taco experience as follows on the 5 Taco Scale:
Food Quality - 3.5 Tacos
Price - $-$$
Value - 3.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 4.0 Tacos
Service - 3.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - considering that they're closing, I'd say zero Tacos. But if they reopen, I'd bump it to 3.5 Tacos.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Taco Tour stop #2 - Cortez Mexican Restaurant, 344 W 29th St N
Week two of the Wichita Taco Tour is in the books - and I'm left feeling a little underwhelmed...
We ventured out to Cortez Mexican Restaurant on W 29th Street. You can check out their FB Page here. Cortez has been a Wichita family owned restaurant for 32 years but sadly are closing their doors next month. There is talk of potentially moving to a new location, but as of this writing, that's nothing confirmed.
Even though I've lived here my whole life, surprisingly I've never been to Cortez - and candidly, I'm not going to miss it now that I have. The building is slightly off the beaten path of major roads but it's still easily accessible. I arrived slightly early and waited on the other 2 jokers who got there mostly "on-time". Chris nearly ran out of gas on the way - but he loaded up on beans so was probably just fine after that. The facility is fine - nothing fancy and it looks like what you'd expect from a traditional, family-owned Mexican restaurant. They do have a 1990s era big-screen TV (rear projection) in the corner - so that's a nice modern touch! Definitely some unique aromas as you enter the "fountain foyer" and then again inside the restaurant. And by aromas, I don't mean it was something that suddenly made your mouth water for great Mexican food...
We were quickly seated and presented with menus - which includes a lunch menu and their full menu. The prices were definitely not something I'd brag about as it looked like for a basic 2 taco meal was going to be $6.99. The waitress was courteous but nothing exceptional. Lots of "yeah" and "yep" answers - nothing that would stand out as being great service. Our chips and drinks arrived quickly - but alas they are also a Coke place. We need to find a Pepsi place soon so I can have Dew with my tacos. The Dr Pepper was adequate and cold and I had plenty of refills on the house. The chips appear to be made in-house and were crisp and the hot sauce was a solid "medium" - which is what I expected. (Still looking for a really good hot sauce).
I ordered a 2 taco meal (one corn, one fried flour - both ground beef) and chose the rice (no beans for me). Our chips and my Dr Pepper dwindled quickly and sat empty until our food arrived and was refilled soon after. The tacos were just okay. My complaint is they quickly crumbled into pieces. If I wanted to eat my tacos with a fork, I'd order a taco salad. One requirement for me is a taco that I can hold in my hand and eat. These did not fit that requirement as the contents spilled quickly and the shell fell apart in short order. The taste was okay. Pretty much what you'd expect from this type of restaurant. Nothing bold. But at this point I'm just annoyed by having to salvage my "taco" by what is left on my plate. Plenty of meat and cheese and lettuce to make it filling - but I still like to be able to use my hands to eat it. The fried flour taco was basically the same story. Taste was okay, but nothing great. Contents were full but also spilled and crumbled. The ends of the tacos were overcooked so the meat in the ends was basically burnt. That taste and texture basically put an end to my meal. They give you a huge scoop of traditional style rice and a nice serving of lettuce to accompany the tacos. The rice was again just okay. Kind of an odd taste to it so I didn't dig too deep into it.
When I was done, I was a bit disappointed overall. With tip, my bill ended up over $10 for 2 tacos, rice, and a Dr Pepper (plus the complimentary chips). I did leave full, but I'm going to need a donut soon. I won't need to go back. It wasn't horrible, but there was nothing there that made me sad that they were leaving either. I think there are plenty of other traditional Mexican restaurants in town that will take their place adequately and present much better value and taste.
Out of 5 tacos, here's my ratings:
We ventured out to Cortez Mexican Restaurant on W 29th Street. You can check out their FB Page here. Cortez has been a Wichita family owned restaurant for 32 years but sadly are closing their doors next month. There is talk of potentially moving to a new location, but as of this writing, that's nothing confirmed.
Even though I've lived here my whole life, surprisingly I've never been to Cortez - and candidly, I'm not going to miss it now that I have. The building is slightly off the beaten path of major roads but it's still easily accessible. I arrived slightly early and waited on the other 2 jokers who got there mostly "on-time". Chris nearly ran out of gas on the way - but he loaded up on beans so was probably just fine after that. The facility is fine - nothing fancy and it looks like what you'd expect from a traditional, family-owned Mexican restaurant. They do have a 1990s era big-screen TV (rear projection) in the corner - so that's a nice modern touch! Definitely some unique aromas as you enter the "fountain foyer" and then again inside the restaurant. And by aromas, I don't mean it was something that suddenly made your mouth water for great Mexican food...
We were quickly seated and presented with menus - which includes a lunch menu and their full menu. The prices were definitely not something I'd brag about as it looked like for a basic 2 taco meal was going to be $6.99. The waitress was courteous but nothing exceptional. Lots of "yeah" and "yep" answers - nothing that would stand out as being great service. Our chips and drinks arrived quickly - but alas they are also a Coke place. We need to find a Pepsi place soon so I can have Dew with my tacos. The Dr Pepper was adequate and cold and I had plenty of refills on the house. The chips appear to be made in-house and were crisp and the hot sauce was a solid "medium" - which is what I expected. (Still looking for a really good hot sauce).
I ordered a 2 taco meal (one corn, one fried flour - both ground beef) and chose the rice (no beans for me). Our chips and my Dr Pepper dwindled quickly and sat empty until our food arrived and was refilled soon after. The tacos were just okay. My complaint is they quickly crumbled into pieces. If I wanted to eat my tacos with a fork, I'd order a taco salad. One requirement for me is a taco that I can hold in my hand and eat. These did not fit that requirement as the contents spilled quickly and the shell fell apart in short order. The taste was okay. Pretty much what you'd expect from this type of restaurant. Nothing bold. But at this point I'm just annoyed by having to salvage my "taco" by what is left on my plate. Plenty of meat and cheese and lettuce to make it filling - but I still like to be able to use my hands to eat it. The fried flour taco was basically the same story. Taste was okay, but nothing great. Contents were full but also spilled and crumbled. The ends of the tacos were overcooked so the meat in the ends was basically burnt. That taste and texture basically put an end to my meal. They give you a huge scoop of traditional style rice and a nice serving of lettuce to accompany the tacos. The rice was again just okay. Kind of an odd taste to it so I didn't dig too deep into it.
When I was done, I was a bit disappointed overall. With tip, my bill ended up over $10 for 2 tacos, rice, and a Dr Pepper (plus the complimentary chips). I did leave full, but I'm going to need a donut soon. I won't need to go back. It wasn't horrible, but there was nothing there that made me sad that they were leaving either. I think there are plenty of other traditional Mexican restaurants in town that will take their place adequately and present much better value and taste.
Out of 5 tacos, here's my ratings:
| Food Taste: | |
| Value: | |
| Cleanliness: | |
| Service: | |
| Overall: | |
| Likelihood to return: | |
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