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!

Next came the beef taco.  This is an old standby for me at Carlos. I've had many of these here and it's what you'd expect from a joint like this.  Crunchy shell, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and meat.  The meat was juicy and plentiful and had a good flavor - more bold than what you get at a traditional stop.  Can't go wrong here.  It won't win any taco awards, but if you're looking for this kind of taco, you won't be disappointed.

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:

Food Taste:
Value:
Cleanliness:
Service:
Overall:
Likelihood to return: