Ok, I admit... I'm a little behind on this one. But honestly, it's not going to affect my review. The tacos were pretty darn tasty and I remember them well! So let's just get into them, shall we?
First of all, I don't know whose idea it was to go to a taco truck in the middle of winter, (actually I do know, it was Chris. Of course.), yet despite the slight chill this was a stop definitely worth finding. You'll need to go to Gaga's Facebook page to find out where they are on any given day. When I arrived, Thing 1 and Thing 2 were already face deep into their taco plates. I got a glance of the menu and there's a lot to take in, especially when it comes to salsa choices. Only downer: just two meat choices. Chicken and pulled pork. But the owner, Dustin, does a great job with both. I decided on the 3 taco plate, which was a pretty good deal for only $8.00. I went with two chicken and 1 pork taco and decided to try the roasted poblano and mango chili salsas.
If you're looking for a quick lunch stop, this truck is ideal. Everything is already cooked and ready to go, the owner just has to put the tacos together with your salsa and topping choices. I received my plate in just a couple of minutes, and they looked awesome. No shortage of meat here at all, and all of it was very tasty. A nice flavor that wasn't too overpowering and went with my salsa choices perfectly. I especially enjoyed the mango chili which had a nice sweet/spicy combo. When I was finished with my tacos I was pleasantly surprised to find I had some bonus bites from all the extra meat that fell out. I grabbed a fork and polished it off in quick order!
Overall, I was very happy with this find. I'm looking forward to going again and making new combos of toppings and salsas in the future. My overall rankings on the 5 Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 4.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 4.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - ? I didn't inspect the guys truck so I guess I'll leave it with a question mark. :-)
Service - 4.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 4.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 5.0 Tacos
Friday, January 26, 2018
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
2017 Taco Tour Champion!
So a few weeks ago, we ended 2017 and thought, gosh we really love tacos, now what? Should we keep going, stop, or do something else? So over tacos, we contemplated, discussed, called each other names, and stuffed our faces. I have no idea if all of you out there in internetland are enjoying this, but I know we are! I look forward to harassing Shon and Chris every chance I get - but I also enjoy getting together, chatting, seeing how each other's weeks are going, building stronger friendships, and eating tacos!
So after very little deliberation, we decided to keep going at this thing - knowing that at the very least, we are entertaining ourselves. While we missed a few weeks, I think we made it through 42 (?) in 2017 and I think there are probably easily 30+ more places that we could hit in 2018. But we also decided that to cap the year off, we should probably crown a Taco Tour Champ of 2017. I mean, our original goal WAS to find the best tacos in Wichita.
We have quite a few favorites in town. We found a lot of places who serve pretty good tacos. We found a few that have great tacos. We even found a few that sucked. Do we need a "Rotten Taco" award for the worst? We all have slightly different rankings in our lists, but you'll see some consistencies as well. Places like: Molino's, Uno Mas, El Pollo Dorado El Carbon, Taco Fajita, Los Pinos, and Las Mananita's. But there is one place who, as of right now, is a clear winner on all of our lists. In fact they are WAY out in front.... *drumroll* ..... Our choice for the best tacos in Wichita...
The 2017 Wichita Taco Tour Champion is Pollo Express! So if you get NOTHING else from our blog, go try them. For tacos at PE, our recommendations are: Carnitas, Transmission, and the Al Pastor. Also, make sure you try the carne asada, barbacoa, and even the lengua! (Yes I tried it, and yes it was pretty darn good!)
Ernesto and his family are great folks. They bought this place about 10 years ago and have transformed it into a place that we all now regularly go. Thanks to this tour, we all discovered something we didn't know existed. I suspect that between the 3 of us, we've probably gone here cumulatively 40-50 times and maybe even more (sometimes as a group, sometimes separately). It is THAT good. I'm not ashamed to admit I've gone more than once a week. So you should definitely stop by and try them out. Also, venture off the taco menu and try their other stuff too - all of it is very well made. They take excellent meat - only quality stuff - and marinate it for ages (sometimes over 24 hours) to make it perfect for you to enjoy. I could go on and on, but I won't!
Please go see the amazing folks at Pollo. Talk to the family, get to know them. Very humble and great people and it's been a great experience to come and enjoy amazing food.
Pollo is located at 2501 W Pawnee in Wichita - that's the SW corner of Pawnee and Meridian.
Ernesto, I know you're following us now, so thank you again. From all three of us and our extended friends and family who've now been there and enjoyed it also, thank you. Keep up the amazing work - you've made lifelong fans of all of us!
So after very little deliberation, we decided to keep going at this thing - knowing that at the very least, we are entertaining ourselves. While we missed a few weeks, I think we made it through 42 (?) in 2017 and I think there are probably easily 30+ more places that we could hit in 2018. But we also decided that to cap the year off, we should probably crown a Taco Tour Champ of 2017. I mean, our original goal WAS to find the best tacos in Wichita.
We have quite a few favorites in town. We found a lot of places who serve pretty good tacos. We found a few that have great tacos. We even found a few that sucked. Do we need a "Rotten Taco" award for the worst? We all have slightly different rankings in our lists, but you'll see some consistencies as well. Places like: Molino's, Uno Mas, El Pollo Dorado El Carbon, Taco Fajita, Los Pinos, and Las Mananita's. But there is one place who, as of right now, is a clear winner on all of our lists. In fact they are WAY out in front.... *drumroll* ..... Our choice for the best tacos in Wichita...
The 2017 Wichita Taco Tour Champion is Pollo Express! So if you get NOTHING else from our blog, go try them. For tacos at PE, our recommendations are: Carnitas, Transmission, and the Al Pastor. Also, make sure you try the carne asada, barbacoa, and even the lengua! (Yes I tried it, and yes it was pretty darn good!)
Ernesto and his family are great folks. They bought this place about 10 years ago and have transformed it into a place that we all now regularly go. Thanks to this tour, we all discovered something we didn't know existed. I suspect that between the 3 of us, we've probably gone here cumulatively 40-50 times and maybe even more (sometimes as a group, sometimes separately). It is THAT good. I'm not ashamed to admit I've gone more than once a week. So you should definitely stop by and try them out. Also, venture off the taco menu and try their other stuff too - all of it is very well made. They take excellent meat - only quality stuff - and marinate it for ages (sometimes over 24 hours) to make it perfect for you to enjoy. I could go on and on, but I won't!
Please go see the amazing folks at Pollo. Talk to the family, get to know them. Very humble and great people and it's been a great experience to come and enjoy amazing food.
Pollo is located at 2501 W Pawnee in Wichita - that's the SW corner of Pawnee and Meridian.
Ernesto, I know you're following us now, so thank you again. From all three of us and our extended friends and family who've now been there and enjoyed it also, thank you. Keep up the amazing work - you've made lifelong fans of all of us!
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #43 - Cactus Cantina - 2802 S Hydraulic
Thing 2 (Chris) was getting ready to roll out of town for an undeserved vacation cruise. So, we decided to double up on our stops for the week. Our first one brings us to an out of the way joint in south Wichita - Cactus Cantina.
CC is in a stand alone building in the 2800 block of S Hydraulic. Which is, of course, problem #1 - I'm never in this part of town for anything. But, someone recommended we try it, so naturally we've gotta give 'em a go. We pulled up about noon and Chris was already inside hogging all the chips and salsa. The place is more of a sit down style restaurant than what we've seen most often, which was a nice change. Unfortunately, it was noon on a weekday and there was hardly anyone there, which seemed like an auspicious beginning. Anyway, I sat down and immediately started in with the chips. The chips were fine, but the salsas were a tale of two extremes. The mild was pretty much just tomato juice. The hot had a pretty good kick to it, probably more than most people would enjoy. And that's coming from a guy who likes some spice in his salsa. I was, however, able to find a decent medium by mixing the two together.
We hadn't even ordered yet, but Travis was already whining about dirty dishes... over...and over...and.... make that a third time. Not sure how that happened, because all of mine were fine. Bad luck I guess, but something to note for our readers. I went with 5 tacos - carne asada, al pastor, and chicken street tacos, and a chicken and a ground beef taco in the fried shells. The street tacos came with onion and cilantro and the fried shell tacos came tex-mex style with lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Since I'm a little biased toward the street tacos, I decided to save those for last and started with the fried shell chicken and ground beef. I thought both of the tacos were pretty decent for what they were. Compared to our other fried shell tacos on the tour, I would say they were above average, taste wise. But a little skimpy on the meat underneath all of my salad toppings. The chicken street taco was a decent taco - tender meat, lightly seasoned. Same for the carne asada. Both of these were decent tacos, but I wouldn't say they were special. The al pastor was definitely the winner for the day. Had a nice peppery taste to it and plenty of tender meat. This was definitely my favorite of the three.
In short, if I were down south again and needed some tacos, I wouldn't mind going back and getting a nice plate of the Al Pastors. The waiter (I think he may have even been the owner, by the way he was talking) was friendly and took good care of us. So in my mind, there wasn't anything that would scare me from coming back, other than the fact that it's out of my way and I run into 10 other taco places before I get there. My overall ratings on the 5-Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 3.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.0 Tacos
Service - 4.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.0 Tacos
Likelihood To Return - 2.5 Tacos
CC is in a stand alone building in the 2800 block of S Hydraulic. Which is, of course, problem #1 - I'm never in this part of town for anything. But, someone recommended we try it, so naturally we've gotta give 'em a go. We pulled up about noon and Chris was already inside hogging all the chips and salsa. The place is more of a sit down style restaurant than what we've seen most often, which was a nice change. Unfortunately, it was noon on a weekday and there was hardly anyone there, which seemed like an auspicious beginning. Anyway, I sat down and immediately started in with the chips. The chips were fine, but the salsas were a tale of two extremes. The mild was pretty much just tomato juice. The hot had a pretty good kick to it, probably more than most people would enjoy. And that's coming from a guy who likes some spice in his salsa. I was, however, able to find a decent medium by mixing the two together.
We hadn't even ordered yet, but Travis was already whining about dirty dishes... over...and over...and.... make that a third time. Not sure how that happened, because all of mine were fine. Bad luck I guess, but something to note for our readers. I went with 5 tacos - carne asada, al pastor, and chicken street tacos, and a chicken and a ground beef taco in the fried shells. The street tacos came with onion and cilantro and the fried shell tacos came tex-mex style with lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Since I'm a little biased toward the street tacos, I decided to save those for last and started with the fried shell chicken and ground beef. I thought both of the tacos were pretty decent for what they were. Compared to our other fried shell tacos on the tour, I would say they were above average, taste wise. But a little skimpy on the meat underneath all of my salad toppings. The chicken street taco was a decent taco - tender meat, lightly seasoned. Same for the carne asada. Both of these were decent tacos, but I wouldn't say they were special. The al pastor was definitely the winner for the day. Had a nice peppery taste to it and plenty of tender meat. This was definitely my favorite of the three.
In short, if I were down south again and needed some tacos, I wouldn't mind going back and getting a nice plate of the Al Pastors. The waiter (I think he may have even been the owner, by the way he was talking) was friendly and took good care of us. So in my mind, there wasn't anything that would scare me from coming back, other than the fact that it's out of my way and I run into 10 other taco places before I get there. My overall ratings on the 5-Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 3.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.0 Tacos
Service - 4.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.0 Tacos
Likelihood To Return - 2.5 Tacos
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #42 - Margarita's - Douglas and Hillside
Well, I'm a couple of weeks behind on my reviews. So, I'm going to make this one short and sweet....well... maybe not that sweet. If this one sounds a little irritated, it's because I am. I'm irked that I even have to spend 5 minutes of my time on this one, three weeks after the fact. That should tell you all you need to know.
After our usual back and forth, we finally settled on Margarita's. I've been there a couple of times on the weekend (they have a great house band and it's a fun spot on Saturday nights) but never for lunch. I've never had their tacos, but I kinda remembered the food I DID have there as being okay. Nothing amazing, but decent. Anyway, we started with some chips and salsa. The salsa wasn't bad and was basically the best part of my lunch. After getting a nonsensical explanation about "new style vs old style tacos" from our server (who otherwise did a pretty good job), I ordered three tacos - a tilapia taco, ground beef, and chicken.
The tacos came in a decent amount of time. Basically, the ground beef taco was ok and probably the best of the three. But a little greasy for my taste. That said, my main complaint is that I got gipped on the meat. The chicken was bland. It was tender, but still lacking on the flavor side. The fish taco was almost the opposite - peppery beyond belief. WAY too peppery and spicy. I couldn't taste anything else BUT pepper. Like the beef taco, the fish was way too greasy. If you look at the picture on our Facebook page, you can actually see the grease oozing out of the bottom. Yech.
All of that at $3.00 a taco. I'll come back for the band. Maybe even try the enchiladas if I'm hungry enough. But I'll take a pass on the tacos. My overall ratings on the 5-Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 1.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 1.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.5 Tacos
Service - 3.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 2.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 2.0 Tacos
After our usual back and forth, we finally settled on Margarita's. I've been there a couple of times on the weekend (they have a great house band and it's a fun spot on Saturday nights) but never for lunch. I've never had their tacos, but I kinda remembered the food I DID have there as being okay. Nothing amazing, but decent. Anyway, we started with some chips and salsa. The salsa wasn't bad and was basically the best part of my lunch. After getting a nonsensical explanation about "new style vs old style tacos" from our server (who otherwise did a pretty good job), I ordered three tacos - a tilapia taco, ground beef, and chicken.
The tacos came in a decent amount of time. Basically, the ground beef taco was ok and probably the best of the three. But a little greasy for my taste. That said, my main complaint is that I got gipped on the meat. The chicken was bland. It was tender, but still lacking on the flavor side. The fish taco was almost the opposite - peppery beyond belief. WAY too peppery and spicy. I couldn't taste anything else BUT pepper. Like the beef taco, the fish was way too greasy. If you look at the picture on our Facebook page, you can actually see the grease oozing out of the bottom. Yech.
All of that at $3.00 a taco. I'll come back for the band. Maybe even try the enchiladas if I'm hungry enough. But I'll take a pass on the tacos. My overall ratings on the 5-Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 1.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 1.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.5 Tacos
Service - 3.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 2.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 2.0 Tacos
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Travis - Taco Tour stop #44 - Gaga's Grub (Ugliest Taco Truck)
So because Chris is going to be unavailable next week, we decided we needed to squeeze in a second stop this week. Chris insisted that it needed to be Gaga's Grub - Wichita's Ugliest Taco Truck. You'll need to keep an eye on his FB page to figure out where he's at - this week he was in the Red Cross Parking lot on N Main. The owner of Gaga's heard about our tour sometime back and reached out to us. Chris also ran into him at Taco Fajita recently - so we figured we better try to get over to him!
For being touted as the ugliest taco truck, I was a little disappointed. I wanted UGGGLEEE - I'm kidding of course. When you spot the truck, you'll know you have the right place because he's got it plastered on the side. And yeah, he's not going to win any design awards! HA! It's all good though - that's his schtick and it's cool. If you have a chance to talk to the owner Dustin, you should. Super nice guy and down to earth - and he's proud of what he does.
Anyway, I got there before the other 2 bozos (as usual) and rather than stand outside, in the cold, waiting, I went ahead and ordered. He's got a lot of options on his menu - so at first glance it's a bit overwhelming. But I decided to try the 3 taco plate for $8 - which is a great value by the way! Only two kinds of meat on the menu - chicken and pulled pork. Sadly, no beef - but don't let that discourage you. He's got TONS of topping options between the condiments and sauces! I ordered a chicken with cilantro and onions only, a pulled pork with jack cheese and blueberry BBQ sauce, and a pulled pork with cilantro & onions and a roasted poblano sauce.
I was already sitting on my tailgate eating food by the time doofus #1 & 2 showed up. Food came out quickly since he's already got it cooked and ready for you! First thing I noticed - this guy does NOT skimp on meat. All 3 tacos are single tortilla style and LOADED - if it's possible to have too much meat in a taco, Gaga's probably pulled it off.
I started with the pork and poblano combo first. The meat is very tender and juicy - and LOTS of it. The poblano definitely has a nice little kick to it and overall this was a very flavorful taco. I really liked it. I would say I'd get it again, but with so many choices of toppings, I'd want to try other options first - but you won't go wrong with this one.
The chicken taco was next - I tried to make this one as close to "traditional" as I could with no sauce and just cilantro and onion. This taco wasn't bad, but for me, the chicken was just a little too "chunky". I'd rather see the chicken in smaller pieces or even shredded. It tasted good - so I'm not even close to suggesting this was a bad taco. It's just that the texture was a little off for me - especially since there was so much meat. I used a fork to "shred" and eat the pieces that fell off and the flavor was nice. I think next time I'd either skip the chicken, or go with different toppings and try to shred some of it myself.
The last taco was the other pulled pork and I made this more "Americanized" with jack cheese and bbq sauce. Unfortunately, because the weather was cold, this taco had cooled in temperature by the time I got to it. It was warm when served, so no fault to Gaga's - just a byproduct of going to a food truck on a cold day. This taco was very yummy. The blueberry BBQ sauce was unique and really tasty. A tender juicy taco with tons of meat. I really liked this taco also!
Overall I really enjoyed this round of tacos. These aren't going to necessarily be "traditional" tacos - so if that's what you're looking for, this might not be what you're after. BUT, I still think you'll like it. You have SO many options for toppings, it's hard not to find something you'd like. You may have trouble deciding what to try. The tacos are very juicy, so get a handful of napkins. By the time I finished the last taco, the tortilla was a bit soggy. I wished for at least one more kind of meat - ideally a beef option. However, the amount of meat is awesome (and very tasty) - and for the price, this is a great value. I will be back to hit up Gaga's again and I want to try lots of other toppings and sauces.
Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:
For being touted as the ugliest taco truck, I was a little disappointed. I wanted UGGGLEEE - I'm kidding of course. When you spot the truck, you'll know you have the right place because he's got it plastered on the side. And yeah, he's not going to win any design awards! HA! It's all good though - that's his schtick and it's cool. If you have a chance to talk to the owner Dustin, you should. Super nice guy and down to earth - and he's proud of what he does.
Anyway, I got there before the other 2 bozos (as usual) and rather than stand outside, in the cold, waiting, I went ahead and ordered. He's got a lot of options on his menu - so at first glance it's a bit overwhelming. But I decided to try the 3 taco plate for $8 - which is a great value by the way! Only two kinds of meat on the menu - chicken and pulled pork. Sadly, no beef - but don't let that discourage you. He's got TONS of topping options between the condiments and sauces! I ordered a chicken with cilantro and onions only, a pulled pork with jack cheese and blueberry BBQ sauce, and a pulled pork with cilantro & onions and a roasted poblano sauce.
I was already sitting on my tailgate eating food by the time doofus #1 & 2 showed up. Food came out quickly since he's already got it cooked and ready for you! First thing I noticed - this guy does NOT skimp on meat. All 3 tacos are single tortilla style and LOADED - if it's possible to have too much meat in a taco, Gaga's probably pulled it off.
I started with the pork and poblano combo first. The meat is very tender and juicy - and LOTS of it. The poblano definitely has a nice little kick to it and overall this was a very flavorful taco. I really liked it. I would say I'd get it again, but with so many choices of toppings, I'd want to try other options first - but you won't go wrong with this one.
The chicken taco was next - I tried to make this one as close to "traditional" as I could with no sauce and just cilantro and onion. This taco wasn't bad, but for me, the chicken was just a little too "chunky". I'd rather see the chicken in smaller pieces or even shredded. It tasted good - so I'm not even close to suggesting this was a bad taco. It's just that the texture was a little off for me - especially since there was so much meat. I used a fork to "shred" and eat the pieces that fell off and the flavor was nice. I think next time I'd either skip the chicken, or go with different toppings and try to shred some of it myself.
The last taco was the other pulled pork and I made this more "Americanized" with jack cheese and bbq sauce. Unfortunately, because the weather was cold, this taco had cooled in temperature by the time I got to it. It was warm when served, so no fault to Gaga's - just a byproduct of going to a food truck on a cold day. This taco was very yummy. The blueberry BBQ sauce was unique and really tasty. A tender juicy taco with tons of meat. I really liked this taco also!
Overall I really enjoyed this round of tacos. These aren't going to necessarily be "traditional" tacos - so if that's what you're looking for, this might not be what you're after. BUT, I still think you'll like it. You have SO many options for toppings, it's hard not to find something you'd like. You may have trouble deciding what to try. The tacos are very juicy, so get a handful of napkins. By the time I finished the last taco, the tortilla was a bit soggy. I wished for at least one more kind of meat - ideally a beef option. However, the amount of meat is awesome (and very tasty) - and for the price, this is a great value. I will be back to hit up Gaga's again and I want to try lots of other toppings and sauces.
Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:
| Food Taste: |   |
| Value: | |
| Cleanliness: | |
| Service: | |
| Overall: | |
| Likelihood to return: | |
Friday, January 5, 2018
Cactus Cantina
Today we find ourselves at Cactus Cantina on south Hydraulic.
I was the first to arrive, as usual. The first things I noticed when I pulled in was the building. It was an awesome stucco finished building. Cool looking building, let’s hope the tacos are delicious.
Upon being seated, they delivered chips and salsa. The salsa was good but the chips were stale, even though they were heated.
As usual, both of our senior citizens were late, leaving me with a bowl of stale chips to stare at.
Their menu shows several options for tacos. I am going the the a la carte tacos. They have street tacos and regular tacos with options like carne asada, al pastor and chicken fajita tacos.
The chicken had an interesting flavor. It was finely chopped and had a lot of seasoning. It was definitely not the best but a long way from the worst.
The Al Pastor was tasty. The meat was well cooked, tender and flavorful. They don’t skimp on the meat with their tacos which made this one delicious taco.
Their beef fried flour had a ton of unidentifiable crap inside. But it was tasty. I should have eaten it sooner as the meat had cooled by the time I ate it. With that said, it was pretty yummy. Of all of the fried flour tacos we have sampled, this was one of the better examples.
The carne asada was tender but lacking a little in flavor. A big squirt of lime and some of their salsa and it really comes to life.
Their tacos leave me in a bit of a tough spot. They are good, just not great. The al Pastor is by far the best and I would love to try the fried flour beef when it’s hot. If I found myself in this part of town and craving some al Pastor, I would consider swinging by.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Margarita’s Cantina...sober
On December 20th, we went to Margaritas Cantina. They have been around a long time but I don’t think I have ever had their tacos. That will change today.
Let me start by saying that I have been to Margarita’s many times, some I remember the next day, some I don’t. Usually there are issues with the ticket and customer service isn’t their strong suit.
The fried flour beef was decent but there wasn’t much meat inside. What meat was there was tender though. Fried flour tacos are usually filled with meat and cheese. This one just doesn’t have that...
No idea what the second taco was but it was a tad on the spicy side. It was some sort of chicken and was on a soft shell.
The chicken taco in their fried flour shell was the best of the three. There was plenty of meat and it was nice and tender. The thing that they seem to lack here is seasoning. The meat is cooked well, they just forget the part that adds flavor.
In short, the food was ok. Nothing much to say beyond that. I came hungry and left full...and sober. This place is much more fun at night.
Alondra’s Tacos...3 weeks late
We stopped at Alondra’s Tacos about 3 weeks ago. I just haven’t posted my review until today.
This weeks stop was a total mess. The other two yahoos sent us to one place that was closed and another place that didn’t take modern forms of payment, then to this place. Guess what, they don’t take plastic either.
They had a handful of tacos on the menu, I ordered four and let Shon pay, since he had the cash.
The first taco I dove into was the chicken. When it was delivered to the table, it was the first one I noticed. It was likely due to the orange color. The taco had plenty of meat (for a tiny taco) on it which was tender and delicious.
Next was the carnitas. Carnitas can be delicious...carnitas can be awful. This fell somewhere in between. The meat was chewy and greasy at the same time. Each bite taken sent grease squirting.
When I got to my al Pastor taco, I thought it may actually stand a chance at being delicious. It looked fantastic. I was wrong. The meat was extremely chewy. It was flavorful but the chewiness distracted from any of the positive attributes this taco had.
Last came the carne asada. There was quite a bit of meat but it was chewy and gristley at the same time. There was a serious texture issue with the asada that made it less than fantastic.
Strike one: cash only
Strike two: tiny tacos
Strike three: everything was chewy
I’m out.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Travis - Taco Tour stop #43 - Cactus Cantina - 2802 S Hydraulic
*insert a few sentences about our lack of planning here*. Okay, now that I've got that out of the way, we ended up at Cactus Cantina on S Hydraulic today thanks to a recommendation that Chris seems to think we had to go here. This visit is best summed up with: some good, some bad.
So let's get into it. Firstly, the location sucks - at least for me. It's not convenient to get to at all and I'm never in this area. So the tacos would have to be exceptional for me to make a point to drive down here to get them...
Today I decided I would arrive on Shon time (which is about 15 minutes late) - and ironically, we pulled into the parking lot at same time. I sat down at the table and the first thing I noticed was a sauce bowl that was dirty. It had some leftover dried food in it, so I set it to the side and grabbed another....and IT had some leftover dried food in it. Also, this place is dark inside. It's a sit down restaurant, so maybe that's the atmosphere they're going for - but I wasn't feeling it today. The waiter was polite (and confident) and took our orders. The chips were very crunchy - and slightly stale. The sauce was pretty good though - the hot sauce definitely had a kick to it that many would find uncomfortable.
They have a few classic street tacos and some "Americanized" tacos as well - and on the a la carte, the tacos are $2/ea IIRC. I opted for one of each of the street tacos (al pastor, carne asada, & chicken) which come on only one tortilla but with the expected onion and cilantro. I also asked for a ground beef taco on a fried flour shell.
Our food seemed to take some time to arrive. I'm not entirely sure why because the place was pretty quiet. For a sit down restaurant with plenty of seating, only 3 or 4 tables were in use (including ours). But the waiter made a point to say how good their street tacos were and how some places you go it's rubbery - but not theirs. Nothing wrong with being confident, but you better back it up. When our food did finally arrive, everything looked (mostly) in order. I unwrapped my real silverware from a real cloth napkin but seemed to be missing a fork (or I dropped it unknowingly). Chris gave me his unused one - which I later discovered had dried food on it also.
I started with the beef fried flour taco. It wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special. It seemed to be a little skimpy on meat - which was a bit surprising. The shell was fresh and the meat had a decent flavor. Not too bland, but nothing exciting and definitely nothing memorable. Maybe I just don't care for these kinds of tacos...
The chicken street taco was next. It had a pretty good flavor and it was tender. It wasn't dry, but it wasn't necessarily moist or juicy either. Overall it was an acceptable chicken taco, but it was light on meat. It probably could have used about twice as much as it had - I might have rated it a little better if it did. The taste was acceptable.
The al pastor was next and I actually kind of liked this one. It had a bold flavor. The meat was a little chewy (even though the waiter made a point to say their meat wouldn't be). There was plenty of meat on it and I enjoyed every bite. If I come back, I'll definitely have this one again - and I'd recommend to you to have it if you make it here.
Carne asada was last and it had plenty of meat on it as well. It wasn't very hot (temperature-wise) - but it was the last taco I ate and it had been sitting open-face the whole time. So I'm not really going to blame anyone for that. The steak flavor was subtle but good. It would be hard to say it was tender but I wouldn't call it chewy... It just took a little extra effort to chew it if that makes sense. It's probably slightly above average for the asada tacos we've had on the tour.
Overall, 2 good tacos, and 2 acceptable (but skimpy) ones including a yummy but slightly chewy al pastor (when he told us it wouldn't be). If you're going to make a point about telling us why your food is good, it better live up to what you say. Be confident - but be right. Even though the service was polite, he didn't back up his confidence and they were a little slow. The slightly stale chips, dirty bowls and silverware, and the bad location just brings this place down. I understand occasionally one dirty item might sneak through - but not 3 items on one table. It had me looking at everything. I honestly can't think of any reason to go back.
Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:
So let's get into it. Firstly, the location sucks - at least for me. It's not convenient to get to at all and I'm never in this area. So the tacos would have to be exceptional for me to make a point to drive down here to get them...
Today I decided I would arrive on Shon time (which is about 15 minutes late) - and ironically, we pulled into the parking lot at same time. I sat down at the table and the first thing I noticed was a sauce bowl that was dirty. It had some leftover dried food in it, so I set it to the side and grabbed another....and IT had some leftover dried food in it. Also, this place is dark inside. It's a sit down restaurant, so maybe that's the atmosphere they're going for - but I wasn't feeling it today. The waiter was polite (and confident) and took our orders. The chips were very crunchy - and slightly stale. The sauce was pretty good though - the hot sauce definitely had a kick to it that many would find uncomfortable.
They have a few classic street tacos and some "Americanized" tacos as well - and on the a la carte, the tacos are $2/ea IIRC. I opted for one of each of the street tacos (al pastor, carne asada, & chicken) which come on only one tortilla but with the expected onion and cilantro. I also asked for a ground beef taco on a fried flour shell.
Our food seemed to take some time to arrive. I'm not entirely sure why because the place was pretty quiet. For a sit down restaurant with plenty of seating, only 3 or 4 tables were in use (including ours). But the waiter made a point to say how good their street tacos were and how some places you go it's rubbery - but not theirs. Nothing wrong with being confident, but you better back it up. When our food did finally arrive, everything looked (mostly) in order. I unwrapped my real silverware from a real cloth napkin but seemed to be missing a fork (or I dropped it unknowingly). Chris gave me his unused one - which I later discovered had dried food on it also.
I started with the beef fried flour taco. It wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special. It seemed to be a little skimpy on meat - which was a bit surprising. The shell was fresh and the meat had a decent flavor. Not too bland, but nothing exciting and definitely nothing memorable. Maybe I just don't care for these kinds of tacos...
The chicken street taco was next. It had a pretty good flavor and it was tender. It wasn't dry, but it wasn't necessarily moist or juicy either. Overall it was an acceptable chicken taco, but it was light on meat. It probably could have used about twice as much as it had - I might have rated it a little better if it did. The taste was acceptable.
The al pastor was next and I actually kind of liked this one. It had a bold flavor. The meat was a little chewy (even though the waiter made a point to say their meat wouldn't be). There was plenty of meat on it and I enjoyed every bite. If I come back, I'll definitely have this one again - and I'd recommend to you to have it if you make it here.
Carne asada was last and it had plenty of meat on it as well. It wasn't very hot (temperature-wise) - but it was the last taco I ate and it had been sitting open-face the whole time. So I'm not really going to blame anyone for that. The steak flavor was subtle but good. It would be hard to say it was tender but I wouldn't call it chewy... It just took a little extra effort to chew it if that makes sense. It's probably slightly above average for the asada tacos we've had on the tour.
Overall, 2 good tacos, and 2 acceptable (but skimpy) ones including a yummy but slightly chewy al pastor (when he told us it wouldn't be). If you're going to make a point about telling us why your food is good, it better live up to what you say. Be confident - but be right. Even though the service was polite, he didn't back up his confidence and they were a little slow. The slightly stale chips, dirty bowls and silverware, and the bad location just brings this place down. I understand occasionally one dirty item might sneak through - but not 3 items on one table. It had me looking at everything. I honestly can't think of any reason to go back.
Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:
| Food Taste: | |
| Value: | |
| Cleanliness: | |
| Service: | |
| Overall: | |
| Likelihood to return: | |
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #41 - Alondra's Tacos - 1580 W 21st St N
Well, my apologies for getting this review out so slowly. Time to play catch up after the holidays!! This stop was one recommended by our reader, Mick. It actually wasn't on our radar to go to that day, but after going to Peleteria Reyna and finding it closed, then going to Mr. Taco and not finding any seating, we decided to hit this place up. Speaking of Mr. Taco, if you try to Google Alondra's or Mr. Taco, there seems to be some overlap - maybe same owners, maybe Alondra's split off, moved...who knows? Anyway, they are, apparently, two separate places. Feel free to clarify any of this for our readers in the comment section
Anyway, we got there and almost turned around again because the sign said "cash only". So be prepared. After taking stock of our cash situation, we went ahead and went in. You basically step up to the counter and order and they bring it out to you, fast food style. I liked the wider variety of meats and since I knew Thing 1 and Thing 2 were going to be pansies (as usual) I decided to go off the usual path a little bit with my taco order. I went with 4 tacos: asada, al pastor, cabeza (cow head), and lengua (cow tongue). It took me a little bit to get my order through and pay because there was a definite language barrier between me and the lady at the register.
Once our order was in, the tacos came in quick fashion. They looked pretty tasty, although there was nearly an entire salad's worth of cilantro on top. After thinning out the cilantro a little, I threw some lime on top and dug in. My taco mates, as usual, miss some tasty tacos by sticking to their standard chicken/steak/pork orders. The cabeza and lengua were both tasty tacos and very tender. Lightly seasoned, but still pretty tasty. The al pastor was probably my favorite though, as it had a little more kick to it and plenty of meat. My taco mates thought some of it was a little chewy but I didn't think that was the case. The asada on the other hand, was a little drier and chewier than the other three. Not a horrible taco, but definitely the bottom of the four I ordered.
Overall, I thought Alondra's was a pretty decent stop and I would say if you're in the area you should definitely check them out. I will probably stop in again to try the chicken and get more of the lengua and al pastors for sure. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 3.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.5 Tacos
Service - 3.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 3.0 Tacos
Anyway, we got there and almost turned around again because the sign said "cash only". So be prepared. After taking stock of our cash situation, we went ahead and went in. You basically step up to the counter and order and they bring it out to you, fast food style. I liked the wider variety of meats and since I knew Thing 1 and Thing 2 were going to be pansies (as usual) I decided to go off the usual path a little bit with my taco order. I went with 4 tacos: asada, al pastor, cabeza (cow head), and lengua (cow tongue). It took me a little bit to get my order through and pay because there was a definite language barrier between me and the lady at the register.
Once our order was in, the tacos came in quick fashion. They looked pretty tasty, although there was nearly an entire salad's worth of cilantro on top. After thinning out the cilantro a little, I threw some lime on top and dug in. My taco mates, as usual, miss some tasty tacos by sticking to their standard chicken/steak/pork orders. The cabeza and lengua were both tasty tacos and very tender. Lightly seasoned, but still pretty tasty. The al pastor was probably my favorite though, as it had a little more kick to it and plenty of meat. My taco mates thought some of it was a little chewy but I didn't think that was the case. The asada on the other hand, was a little drier and chewier than the other three. Not a horrible taco, but definitely the bottom of the four I ordered.
Overall, I thought Alondra's was a pretty decent stop and I would say if you're in the area you should definitely check them out. I will probably stop in again to try the chicken and get more of the lengua and al pastors for sure. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 3.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.5 Tacos
Service - 3.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 3.0 Tacos
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