There's a few constants in life here in good ol' Wichita KS: Kellogg will always be under construction. The weather's almost always too hot or too cold. And restaurants come and go faster than we can keep track of. In the wake of the closing of Charlie's Pizza Taco, a new traditional Mexican joint opened in it's former space at Central and Tyler, giving us an opportunity to eat tacos closer to work at Taco Tour Stop #60 - Pedro's Express.
Pedro's just opened up within the last few weeks, serving up typical Mexican fare in a quick counter style set up. Apparently the owner was familiar with the recipes at Lalo's Express and got the okay to open another place using their recipes, but under a slightly different name. They kept most of the same interior from Charlie's so it felt familiar, but still pretty nice compared to a lot of the hole in the wall places we end up at. The menu featured a nice array of meats - all of the usual suspects, as well as fish, lengua, and some others I'm not remembering. Anyway, I walked up to the counter and decided to go with 4 tacos: Al Pastor, Asada, Chicken, and fried fish.
After a reasonably brief wait, we got our tacos and they looked pretty good. Pedro's didn't skimp on the meat as every taco was stuffed full. The chicken came on a separate plate and in a hard shell - more Tex-Mex style with the lettuce, cheese, tomato. The chicken came in nice big chunks, which I actually kinda liked. Good flavor on this one and probably one of the better chicken tacos around. The fried fish was next - two planks of fried fish, with a tartar sauce and lettuce and tomato. As far as fish tacos go, I'd say this one was average. Not bad at all, and I'd certainly get it again. But nothing about it that wowed me. The steak taco was more of a traditional street taco on soft tortillas with cilantro, onion, and tomato. I thought the steak had a pretty good flavor and again, no shortage of meat here. This one went really well with the hot sauce, but could've stood just fine on it's own. Last was the Al Pastor, which was also on a soft shell with onion, cilantro, and tomato. The meat was tender and plenty of it. It had a lighter peppery flavor to it, but not as bold as some other Al Pastor's. Still another decent taco with no real complaints.
Overall, I would say I'm pretty glad to have found a new place close to the office. I can definitely see myself returning back here to get some more tacos and try out the rest of the menu. Tacos were reasonably priced (between 1.85-2.25 each). But no chips and salsa, so a little down on the value meter compared to other places. Still, if you're looking for a good place out west, I think you'll find that Pedro's is a tasty stop. My overall rankings on the 5-Taco scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 3.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 4.0 Tacos
Service - 2.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to return - 4.5 Tacos
Friday, July 27, 2018
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #59 - Paleteria La Reyna - 2925 N Arkansas
Ok, so..... it's been a while since I've gotten around to writing any reviews. I've eaten plenty of tacos, just haven't written about any, mainly because life and traveling and chaos have gotten in the way. But now that things have settled, it's time to get back to TACOS!!
Stop #59: we FINALLY get into a spot that we've been wanting to try for a couple of months now at Paleteria La Reyna. We went once last year and found out the place was closed on Wednesdays. Which required some adjusting since Wednesdays is our designated taco tour day. Then we tried to go again a few months ago and they were shut down for vacation. Third time's the charm though as Travis and I were finally able to meet there for lunch. Chris was doing unspeakable things and will probably never go and review it if his pattern holds to form.
Anyway, the place is a stand alone building on north Arkansas with plenty of parking and several cars already in the lot when we got there. They seemed to be doing a decent business and it smelled pretty good, so the first impression was definitely positive. You basically order and pick up at the counter. They had a nice selection of tacos including some saucy options that we don't always see around town. So I decided to go with 4 tacos: chicken, pork verde, al pastor, and carne asada. We were handed some chips and salsa and picked out a table. The salsa was pretty good - a decent kick, but not overpowering and I really liked the chips which were nice and thick and perfect for scooping.
Our tacos came out after a reasonably short wait and looked pretty good. Standard dress with the onion and cilantro, lime and radish on the side. I started with the chicken and it was a reasonably good chicken taco. Had a fair amount of fried (as opposed to marinated) chicken which was tender and lightly seasoned. Considering the number of sloppy mushy marinated chicken tacos I've had, this one was actually a pleasantly tasty entry. The pork verde was next, which was basically pork cooked in a spicy green sauce. The sauce had a nice spicy kick to it, so if you're a bit of a sissy on the spice scale, you might want to skip this one. The sauce kinda drowned out the pork flavors, but overall I still enjoyed this taco quite a bit. Al pastor was next - nice rich coloring to it and a decent flavor to match. Can't go wrong with the al pastor here either. Last was the carne asada. It was filled with a decent amount of tender steak. Didn't seem to have the flavor pop of the first three, but still an above average taco with a good meaty flavor.
Overall, I would say we were pretty pleased to find this place, even if it did take us a couple tries to finally make it work. Plus at $2.25/taco they were fairly priced, though not the cheapest. Still the value was good and I'm looking forward to going again and trying some of the other tacos on the menu. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 3.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.0 Tacos
Service - 3.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 4.0 Tacos
Stop #59: we FINALLY get into a spot that we've been wanting to try for a couple of months now at Paleteria La Reyna. We went once last year and found out the place was closed on Wednesdays. Which required some adjusting since Wednesdays is our designated taco tour day. Then we tried to go again a few months ago and they were shut down for vacation. Third time's the charm though as Travis and I were finally able to meet there for lunch. Chris was doing unspeakable things and will probably never go and review it if his pattern holds to form.
Anyway, the place is a stand alone building on north Arkansas with plenty of parking and several cars already in the lot when we got there. They seemed to be doing a decent business and it smelled pretty good, so the first impression was definitely positive. You basically order and pick up at the counter. They had a nice selection of tacos including some saucy options that we don't always see around town. So I decided to go with 4 tacos: chicken, pork verde, al pastor, and carne asada. We were handed some chips and salsa and picked out a table. The salsa was pretty good - a decent kick, but not overpowering and I really liked the chips which were nice and thick and perfect for scooping.
Our tacos came out after a reasonably short wait and looked pretty good. Standard dress with the onion and cilantro, lime and radish on the side. I started with the chicken and it was a reasonably good chicken taco. Had a fair amount of fried (as opposed to marinated) chicken which was tender and lightly seasoned. Considering the number of sloppy mushy marinated chicken tacos I've had, this one was actually a pleasantly tasty entry. The pork verde was next, which was basically pork cooked in a spicy green sauce. The sauce had a nice spicy kick to it, so if you're a bit of a sissy on the spice scale, you might want to skip this one. The sauce kinda drowned out the pork flavors, but overall I still enjoyed this taco quite a bit. Al pastor was next - nice rich coloring to it and a decent flavor to match. Can't go wrong with the al pastor here either. Last was the carne asada. It was filled with a decent amount of tender steak. Didn't seem to have the flavor pop of the first three, but still an above average taco with a good meaty flavor.
Overall, I would say we were pretty pleased to find this place, even if it did take us a couple tries to finally make it work. Plus at $2.25/taco they were fairly priced, though not the cheapest. Still the value was good and I'm looking forward to going again and trying some of the other tacos on the menu. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 3.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.0 Tacos
Service - 3.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 4.0 Tacos
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Travis - Taco Tour stop #59 - Paleteria La Reyna - 2925 N Arkansas
Holy Cow - yes I'm slipping on my reviews...it seems like it's been forever. A few weeks ago Shon and I finally made it up to Paleteria La Reyna to try their tacos. This is a location that has kind of eluded us somehow. We seem to always go on days they're closed or when they're away on vacation. But we finally did make an appearance - so how was it?
This is a fairly standard "order-at-the-counter" restaurant. They have a selection of tacos and looks pretty plain inside but plenty of seating. The chips and salsa were pretty tasty - nice thick and crunchy chips so definitely enjoyed those!
When our food arrived, my selection had green salsa on everything but Shon's didn't. We don't really know why because we ordered at the same time and nearly the same items. Regardless, that green sauce has a bit of a bite, so if you're not into spicy, you'll probably want to ask them to hold it.
I started with a barbacoa taco - it definitely wasn't as fatty as others we've had. I liked the texture better here than some that we've had that feel kind of mushy. The taste was decent but not as good as some of the better ones we've had. It was still an enjoyable taco though, so you won't go wrong here if you like barbacoa.
I tried the pollo next - it was tender and a little juicy on the outside but still a little dry on the inside. It had a pretty good flavor but the green sauce sort of covered up the chicken taste. That was a bit of a bummer but I still did like this taco.
Carne asada was next and it had a good steak flavor that I enjoyed. The meat was pretty tender except for one small fatty bit that was in it - but nothing to get too upset about. There was plenty of meat making this an enjoyable taco for sure.
Lastly was the al pastor which had a very red color like you might expect to see. It had a nice flavor with plenty of meat. I really did like this taco - and it had a bit of heat to it. It was marinated well and definitely wasn't dry. I'll for sure get this taco again if we make our way back here.
Overall our visit was good and I'm glad we finally made it here. They seem to be closed on Wednesdays, so plan your visit accordingly (that was our problem - lack of planning). I can't remember the cost, but it wasn't excessive - so you'll be fine on value. They do seem to have a selection of other Mexican fare so it might be fun to stop again and try some other stuff! My taco ratings below may seem a bit boring, but I think PLR lands pretty well in the above average category. Nothing crazy to rush over for, but you won't be disappointed if you make the stop - so I'm going 3 tacos straight across!
Out of 5 tacos, here's my ratings:
This is a fairly standard "order-at-the-counter" restaurant. They have a selection of tacos and looks pretty plain inside but plenty of seating. The chips and salsa were pretty tasty - nice thick and crunchy chips so definitely enjoyed those!
When our food arrived, my selection had green salsa on everything but Shon's didn't. We don't really know why because we ordered at the same time and nearly the same items. Regardless, that green sauce has a bit of a bite, so if you're not into spicy, you'll probably want to ask them to hold it.
I started with a barbacoa taco - it definitely wasn't as fatty as others we've had. I liked the texture better here than some that we've had that feel kind of mushy. The taste was decent but not as good as some of the better ones we've had. It was still an enjoyable taco though, so you won't go wrong here if you like barbacoa.
I tried the pollo next - it was tender and a little juicy on the outside but still a little dry on the inside. It had a pretty good flavor but the green sauce sort of covered up the chicken taste. That was a bit of a bummer but I still did like this taco.
Carne asada was next and it had a good steak flavor that I enjoyed. The meat was pretty tender except for one small fatty bit that was in it - but nothing to get too upset about. There was plenty of meat making this an enjoyable taco for sure.
Lastly was the al pastor which had a very red color like you might expect to see. It had a nice flavor with plenty of meat. I really did like this taco - and it had a bit of heat to it. It was marinated well and definitely wasn't dry. I'll for sure get this taco again if we make our way back here.
Overall our visit was good and I'm glad we finally made it here. They seem to be closed on Wednesdays, so plan your visit accordingly (that was our problem - lack of planning). I can't remember the cost, but it wasn't excessive - so you'll be fine on value. They do seem to have a selection of other Mexican fare so it might be fun to stop again and try some other stuff! My taco ratings below may seem a bit boring, but I think PLR lands pretty well in the above average category. Nothing crazy to rush over for, but you won't be disappointed if you make the stop - so I'm going 3 tacos straight across!
Out of 5 tacos, here's my ratings:
| Food Taste: |  |
| Value: | |
| Cleanliness: | |
| Service: | |
| Overall: | |
| Likelihood to return: | |
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