Stop #58 took us to a part of town we're not in very often for tacos. Mainly because there just aren't many places around there to get decent quality tacos. After trying the week before and finding it closed (allegedly, according to Chris who got there first), Travis called ahead to make sure they were open. Once we got the green light from Thing 2, we made our way to E. Central to give this new place a try.
If you read the paper (I know, I know, what's a newspaper, right?!?!) you may have already heard about El Vaquero, which got a write up when they first opened as they're one of the few (maybe the only) place in town that has a live mariachi band. Unfortunately, the band doesn't play over lunch, but I was still excited to try a place closer to the east side of town. When we got there the place was D-E-A-D, although a few more people would show up over the course of our lunch. The waitress told us to come on Tuesdays for $1.00 tacos and it would be extremely busy. Anyway, we started with some chips and salsa and they were pretty tasty which was good because it seemed to take a while for our tacos to get there. Anyway, after I looked over the menu I went with 5 street tacos @ $2.25 apiece - steak, chorizo, chicken, al pastor, and carnitas.
So after they finally killed and butchered the animals, shipped it in from western Kansas, passed the inspection, and threw it on the grill for about 20 minutes we did FINALLY get our tacos and they looked pretty good. Standard taco dress - cilantro and onion, lime on the side. I started with the steak taco aaaannnndd it was cold. Lukewarm at best. So now, we know why it took so long as it appears our tacos were probably sitting on the counter forever. Which was unacceptable given the lack of customers. Anyway, it was too bad because I thought the steak was actually pretty decent. Plenty of tender meat. Just not "hot and fresh off the grill". Next up was the chorizo. I really enjoyed this taco quite a bit and thankfully it was warmer than the steak. It was a little spicier than most other chorizo tacos I've had on tour but without that burnt nickel taste that often comes with it. Thumbs up for this one. Next up was the chicken - and once again, I just CAN NOT find a high quality pollo street taco anywhere. I caught a piece of tendon or not-quite-cooked piece of the chicken toward the end which soured my overall impression for this taco. But before that, it was still just an average taco - not horrible, but definitely better with a little salsa on it. Same for the carnitas - not bad. Plenty of decent meat, but really needed the salsa to provide it any real flavor. Last was the Al Pastor annnndddd YES! A very tasty taco. I enjoyed this one a lot, even though it too, was lukewarm at best. This one had some added pineapple to it which I found to be a really nice complement with the spicy meat. I threw a little salsa on the last couple of bites just to try, but it really didn't need any. The best of the bunch by far, the sweet vs spicy was a nice way to finish.
In summary, I'd say this place was a pretty mixed bag. Most places, the tacos are in the same category (awesome, average, etc) MOST of the time. But I feel like I had some pretty good tacos (pastor, chorizo) and some fairly middlin' ones. I'm thinking I'd like to come back and maybe give them one more try on $1 Taco Tuesdays - maybe a fresh, warm batch might improve my perceptions. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 2.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.5 Tacos
Service - 2.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 2.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 3.0 Tacos
Friday, June 22, 2018
Monday, June 11, 2018
Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #57 - Mr. Taco - 25th and Arkansas
Well... we've finally gotten around to going to Mr.Taco. It's been a bit longer getting there than I originally wanted. We had actually received several recommendations for them when we first started a year and a half ago. But Chris claimed to have had a bad experience and so he kept refusing to go. Anyway, we were trying to go to a couple of different spots on this day and both of them were closed, so Travis went straight to Mr. Taco. Basically, we didn't give Chris a choice, and I'm glad we did it. But be prepared for the shenanigans that come along with it.... read below!!
So, we get there and thankfully, it's a beautiful day out because this place is about the size of my closet. If we're talking about the customer area only, I'm really not exaggerating. Mr. Taco is in a rinky dink stand alone building on 25th Street North, just west of Arkansas. If you Google it, there may be some confusion because for whatever reason, Google tries to send you to Alondra's Tacos (see our previous reviews for them). But trust me, Mr. Taco is there. Now, if you plan to go, plan on either getting your tacos to go OR sitting outside if it's nice, because those are your only options. Bring cash, because that's your only option as well. Also, bring an interpreter because the lady who was working behind the counter understands just enough for you to place an order. If you're making changes or asking questions like Chris' dumb ass, don't expect your order to come out correct.
Anyway, we get there and figure out all of the goofiness above and were finally able to get our order in. I went with 5 tacos: Asada, Al Pastor, lengua, barbacoa, and carnitas. I took a seat next to Thing 1 and Thing 2 on some rather uncomfortable patio furniture (with no shade, mind you). After a fairly brief wait, our tacos were delivered and they looked pretty darn tasty. Standard street dress - onion, cilantro, and lime on the side. All of the tacos were about $2,00 each, give or take, and were worth every bit of it. Each taco was adequately filled with a good serving of perfectly cooked and tender meat. The asada and al pastor were definitely the best and both had a nice flavor and really took off with a little of their house made salsa. But all of the tacos here were really tasty and the lengua might be one of the top lengua tacos I've had.
Overall, I would say I was pretty happy with this plate of tacos. If you're willing and able to get through the few bumps in the road, you will be rewarded for your efforts. My overall rankings on the 5-Taco scale are below.
Food quality - 4.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 4.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.0 Tacos
Service - 2.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 4.0 Tacos
So, we get there and thankfully, it's a beautiful day out because this place is about the size of my closet. If we're talking about the customer area only, I'm really not exaggerating. Mr. Taco is in a rinky dink stand alone building on 25th Street North, just west of Arkansas. If you Google it, there may be some confusion because for whatever reason, Google tries to send you to Alondra's Tacos (see our previous reviews for them). But trust me, Mr. Taco is there. Now, if you plan to go, plan on either getting your tacos to go OR sitting outside if it's nice, because those are your only options. Bring cash, because that's your only option as well. Also, bring an interpreter because the lady who was working behind the counter understands just enough for you to place an order. If you're making changes or asking questions like Chris' dumb ass, don't expect your order to come out correct.
Anyway, we get there and figure out all of the goofiness above and were finally able to get our order in. I went with 5 tacos: Asada, Al Pastor, lengua, barbacoa, and carnitas. I took a seat next to Thing 1 and Thing 2 on some rather uncomfortable patio furniture (with no shade, mind you). After a fairly brief wait, our tacos were delivered and they looked pretty darn tasty. Standard street dress - onion, cilantro, and lime on the side. All of the tacos were about $2,00 each, give or take, and were worth every bit of it. Each taco was adequately filled with a good serving of perfectly cooked and tender meat. The asada and al pastor were definitely the best and both had a nice flavor and really took off with a little of their house made salsa. But all of the tacos here were really tasty and the lengua might be one of the top lengua tacos I've had.
Overall, I would say I was pretty happy with this plate of tacos. If you're willing and able to get through the few bumps in the road, you will be rewarded for your efforts. My overall rankings on the 5-Taco scale are below.
Food quality - 4.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 4.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.0 Tacos
Service - 2.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 4.0 Tacos
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