Travis - Taco Tour stop #42 - Margarita's Cantina - 3109 E Douglas

Our inability to plan ahead during this tour is pretty well documented.  Hey it's 3 guys - planning is not any of our strengths. However giving each other crap and continual harassment seems to be the weekly MO!  So this week's last minute selection is Margarita's Cantina - a spot that is pretty popular and familiar to many in Wichita.

I think we've all been here before - and candidly I don't really remember it being anything exciting as far as tacos go.  But that's okay, it's a spot that is on our list and we need to get it crossed off for comparison!

Margarita's has pretty good chips and salsa - the salsa has a unique flavor and this is the second time I've noticed that sometimes that uniqueness has an odd "metallic" taste to it - maybe too much lime?  First round was good - the second round wasn't as good.  I'm not sure what they're doing or if it's just me.  Regardless, it's got a nice kick. They're not my favorite, but good.

For tacos, they only have 3 choices of meat: tilapia, beef, or chicken. They also have 2 shells: new style or classic.  I had to ask what the difference was and the explanation is that new style is just a regular taco shell and classic is a thinner fried shell.  So.... "new" style is the regular shell that every fast food place in town has. Ok. #confusedface

A la carte tacos are $3/ea or you can get a 3 taco plate with beans & rice for $10 - so I got the place (rice only).  After the confusing explanation of new style and classic, I actually can't remember exactly how I ordered my tacos (and I don't think they came out how I ordered them).

Here's what I do remember - the chicken was dry and had an odd flavor. I'm not saying it was bad, it's just different.  The beef was decent - this one had a crispy thin shell, so I think that was classic... right? Anyway, plenty of meat.  For a plain beef taco it was pretty good.  We've had WAY better tacos elsewhere on the tour - HOWEVER, this one actually is pretty high on my list of plain beef tacos.

Overall, I continue to be underwhelmed by Margarita's. I think as far as tacos go, they're just mediocre. They might be better for other Mexican food - but this is the taco tour.  The confusing selection of classic or new style and the mistake (?) on my order, won't send me rushing back here. However, for just a plain old beef taco, I might make my way back here sometime - and possibly go for something else on their menu.

Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:

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Travis - Taco Tour stop #41 - Alondra's Tacos - 1580 W 21st St

This week was a little bit of a mess... We have been wanting to go to Paleteria La Reyna but we discovered a few weeks back that they are closed on Wednesdays (our normal tour day). So since we didn't make it out until Friday, we thought it was a perfect opportunity.  However, after arriving, we were smacked with the news that they were closed for the holidays and wouldn't reopen until next year.  Sooooo, we decided to try Mr Taco (a few blocks away), but they only have outdoor seating and are cash only, so we decided to try Alondra's Tacos - who happens to be cash only also... Jeez.

tl;dr: We went to Alondra's Tacos.

This place has a decent selection of meats that you can go with even though they are cash only - and the rest of their menu looks pretty decent as well.  Service was relatively quick, but the tacos came out with a lot of cilantro on them. It always makes me wonder when places pile on toppings like this - are they covering up something or trying to add flavor to something lacking?

I went with a pollo (chicken) first. It was an orange color but juicy and had a decent amount of meat.  Pretty flavorful - it's one that I wouldn't mind having again. Not the best chicken we've had, but good enough to have it again if we return.

The al pastor was next. I kind of like this taco. It is tender but slightly chewy (not uncommon for al pastor meat). It had a nice little seasoned kick to it as well.

I always look forward to carnitas... But I'm also always comparing it to Pollo Express. This one fell short. It had plenty of meat and was juicy and mostly tender. It had a decent taste but not much seasoning and definitely not as bold as PE.

The asada was last and it was just ok. It was slightly overcooked and had almost a burnt taste to it.  The meat was also kind of chewy - so it really wasn't that good.  I can't recommend this one.

I decided another taco was needed so I wanted to try their "americano" taco - but it's not a ground beef. It's just one of their normal meats like above only served in a shell with cheese.  After hearing that I just decided to have another chicken and call it good.

Overall, I think this place is probably just above middle-of-the-road.  If they weren't cash only, I might be more interested.  The service was polite and food came out in a timely manner - but there just wasn't much memorable about this stop.  If I'm in the area, there are quite a few places that are close that I'd rather go to.  But having said that, don't be afraid to stop here and check them out.

Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:

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Travis - Taco Tour stop #40 - El Jalisco Restaurant - 627 E 47th St S

Somewhere in the depths of the recommendations we've had was a place called El Jalisco Restaurant.  I can't remember who recommended it or why, but sometimes that's good enough!  This place is on the south end of town (47th between Broadway and the interchange), so it's sort of "new territory" as far as our tour goes.  It's definitely not in the "typical" places we find them anyway...

So it's a bit out of the way, but we ventured down to see if it was worth the drive.  By the time I got there (which was still on time), the other two girls were already eating their tacos. They said there were only two options for tacos (chicken or steak) and they ordered me a plate of 4 (2 of each).  That's usually an indicator for not so great results, but I wanted to give the place a fair shot.

The chips and salsa were actually pretty good - I definitely enjoyed them.  The salsa kind of has a sweet taste when you first get it in your mouth and then follows up with a good spicy kick.  I could definitely enjoy a bunch of these. But my tacos were delivered pretty quickly so I didn't fill up on them first.

The small selection of options was kind of a bummer, but the lack of variety isn't going to hold them back on good tacos.  They come out sort of "street style" but with only 1 tortilla and some shredded cheese on top. The steak is shredded and was pretty tasty.  It was tender and juicy and I definitely enjoyed the two that I had.

The chicken was served basically the same way. It was shredded and was both tender and juicy. It was also pretty good.  It didn't have as much flavor as the steak did but still definitely an acceptable taco by our "tour standards".

The struggle with this place is the location. It's not conveniently located - unless you're headed to the casino or on the far south side of Wichita for something.  I would come back here for sure - but I wouldn't make a special trip here.  Unfortunately, because of that (and only that), I'm going to ding them for "likelihood to return".  Location, location, location!  Other than that, service was very quick and polite and although I can't remember what my bill was now, it was acceptable pricing.

Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:

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