Rene’s...sober

Let me start this evening’s review by stating that we, wait, I am 100% sober. I can’t speak on the level of the other yahoos and their sobriety. 

Now that we have that out of the way, we went to Rene’s this evening. I have been to Rene’s more times than I can remember but I usually skip the tacos and go straight for the burritos. 

After checking out the menu, I ordered 4 tacos and found a seat. The thing about Rene’s is that they do their thing. They move at one pace and if that means you wait while they serve the drive thru, then you wait. 

Our tacos took a good while to come out but when they did, they sure looked delicious. They were all LOADED with meat. Apparently when I ordered my tacos, I misunderstood what “Mexican salsa” is. I think that is code for raw onions and tomatoes chopped into huge chunks and tossed on a taco. 

I started with my fish taco. It came smothered in the Mexican salsa stuff, which I pulled off and jumped right in. There was quite a bit of fish but it was heavily breaded but it had pretty good flavor to it. 

My next taco was the carne asada. It was lacking in flavor but the meat was nice and tender. About half way through the taco, the shell split and all of my meat went flying. 

Next came the adobada. It was the same as the carne asada. Lacking in flavor yet very tender. After the first bite, the shell split and left me with a huge, flavorless mess. 

I finally dove into the chicken taco. Again the meat was tender but it did have some flavor to it. Unfortunately, I didn’t even get to pick this taco all the way up before it split 3/4 the length of the taco and left me with a chicken/tortilla/Mexican salsa slop on my plate. 

Overall, this should have been what I expected. The food was mediocre. That’s the nicest thing I have to say about it. I didn’t even finish my chicken taco as I didn’t want to deal with it.  They need to learn how tortillas work as that was the most aggravating thing about the visit. 

I will back to Rene’s soon but it will be for the burritos. 

Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #63 - El Agave - 3540 N Maize

Being a west sider (at least during business hours) I'm always looking for new places close to the office to find some tasty tacos. We've been fortunate the last couple of weeks to be able to hit a couple of newish spots that opened up on the west side - first, Pedro's Express, then Rancho Nuevo, now this week's stop: El Agave on north Maize Road. For you east siders, many of you are probably familiar with the El Agave on N Rock and K-96. After operating there successfully for the last several years, the owners decided to expand to the west side of town in a nice, new, shiny location near 35th St N and Maize. I had eaten at the east location before but I didn't remember anything particular about it. So I was able to enter the new spot with open expectations.


We were seated immediately, and I noticed that the place already had a decent sized crowd there. After looking over the menu, the first thing I noticed is that this place is NOT going to be high on the value rating. They did have a la carte tacos, but you're looking at over 3 bucks each. Our waitress wasn't much help (listening to her try to explain the fajita taco to Travis made me tune her out immediately), so I just decided to go with 4 tacos: fish, shrimp, steak, and al pastor. We got to munch on some chips and salsa which were pretty tasty. After a semi reasonable wait, our tacos arrived. Now... from a presentation standpoint, this didn't seem ideal - I was basically handed a plate with 4 aluminum foil wrapped lumps. But from a practicality standpoint, it was nice to eat fresh, hot tacos all the way to the end. I decided to start with the fish taco, which was grilled (not fried) with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. I would give this taco a very average "Meh". The fish tasted pretty fishy, which is fine for some people. But to me it was a little too strong, like it was cheap fish and not a clean white fish flavor. Next up was the shrimp taco, which came with white cheese and some lettuce. They actually put a decent amount of shrimp in the taco compared to most other places. The shrimp was cooked well - nice and tender, not chewy or overcooked. It lacked a little seasoning, but I threw some lime and salsa on it and was satisfied. The asada steak was next - basically a huge wad of steak put in a tortilla. No cilantro or onion, so it was a pretty naked looking taco. It had a nice steak flavor to it, but I still felt like it needed something. Onion and cilantro I think would've helped, but it was an above average taco with a little salsa and lime on it. Last was the al pastor - this one saved the day! No doubt the best taco of the day, this one was stuffed with plenty of tasty filling (pork? beef? I don't think we ever decided and I didn't feel like asking the waitress). Some people might think it's a little greasy, but the flavors really popped. A really nice mix of spicy pepper and sweet pineapple mixed perfectly in the meat. A huge thumbs up for this one.


Overall, I'd say the al pastor will definitely have me coming back. Travis said the fajita taco was pretty good also, so I'll have to make sure to try that on the follow up trip. My overall rankings on the 5-Taco Scale are below.


Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $-$$
Value - 2.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 4.5 Tacos
Service - 2.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 3.5 Tacos

Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #62 - Rancho Nuevo - 2330 N Maize

So when we started the tour, you might notice on our "Hit List" that one of the places I was hoping to go to was Las Trojas at 21st and Maize. Well, as restaurants around here tend to do, Las Trojas shut down before we made it. Buuuuut, a new place opened not very long ago in the same spot: Rancho Nuevo. I suggested we make a run for it before it also shuts down, and we were able to make it over for their $1.00 taco special on Thursdays.


I showed up right around the lunch hour and for the first time in forever, I was actually the first one there. Miracle, I know. Anyway, Thing 1 and Thing 2 showed up shortly there after, while I munched on chips and salsa. The salsa wasn't bad and would be appreciated more later, as I needed it on several of the tacos. Our waiter took our order and since I expected to get tiny $1.00 special tacos, I opted to try one of each: chicken, carnitas, barbacoa, asada, ground beef, and al pastor.


The tacos came out in a reasonable amount of time and looked pretty good. Onion and cilantro, and oddly enough, they came with lemons as opposed to the usual limes. But they had limes when we asked, sooooo.... not sure what was up with that. Maybe it's a regional thing or their preference. But I decided to try the lemon and it wasn't bad. I started with the chicken taco. All of the tacos actually had a decent amount of meat for $1.00 tacos, which gets them a decent rating on the value scale. The chicken was a good taco. Not amazing, but not horrible and it definitely benefited from some salsa. Same for the carnitas - the meat didn't have a ton of flavor and was a little dry for my taste. Still, I could tolerate it with some salsa and lime, but probably not something I'd come back for. After starting on the dry side of the spectrum, the barbacoa was the complete opposite: juicy, flavorful. I liked this taco for sure. Same for the al pastor - nice peppery kick, and a bit of a fried, crunchy texture that I actually liked. Definitely the boldest seasoning of the day. Ended with the two beef tacos - steak and ground beef. I'd call both of them average tacos. Decent amount of meat on both and I thought the steak was tender and prepared well. But just a little lacking in that flavor "pop" I really like. Still, if you like beef, you probably won't be upset with either of these offerings.


Overall, I'd say the tacos covered the full spectrum of emotions from "Meh" to "Yum". But I can definitely see myself coming back here for some al pastors and barbacoa on Thursdays, especially given the close proximity to my office. My overall ratings on the 5-Taco Scale are below.


Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 4.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 4.0 Tacos
Service - 4.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.0 Tacos
Likelihood to return - 3.5 tacos

Pedro’s Express- by Chris

About a month ago, we hit Pedro’s Express at the corner of Central and Tyler. They are in the old Charlie’s Pizza Taco location. When we went, they had been open for about 3 weeks now. 

The location is clean and quite nice inside. I reviewed their menu that has 9 tacos listed and chose 5. With a drink, my total was around $13, before tip. The tacos came out in roughly 7 minutes. 

I started with the ground beef taco. It came in a fried shell loaded with tons of meat. There was not a ton of flavor but it was not terrible. 

The chicken taco came in a fried shell. The meat was totally flavorless and tough. One bite was nearly impossible to chew through. 

The al pastor was grossly over cooked and almost crunchy. What wasn’t crunchy was super chewy. It was flavorful but the taste was overshadowed by the crunch/chewiness. 

The fish taco was entirely too much breading with not enough fish. The flavor is interesting but the breading is super crispy. 

The steak taco is by far the best of the bunch. The meat was well cooked and had a nice taste.

I made a few observations about this place. First, they aren’t shy about putting meat in their tacos. I wish they would teach some of the other places how to load a taco up. Next, the meat was super inconsistent between our 3 orders. Finally, I think they have potential. The steak was pretty good but I think it would be better in a burrito. 

They have some kinks to work out. I will likely stop by sometime in the future to see how it is going. 

Casa Martinez

A couple weeks back, we hit Casa Martinez in Derby for some tacos. I arrived on time. While waiting on the other 2 yahoos, I enjoyed some chips and salsa. 

When they FINALLY arrived, we placed our order and I went with the all you can eat ground beef fried flour tacos. I considered the street tacos but for whatever reason, I didn’t like they way they had them packaged with rice and beans for around $12. I wish they had an a la carte option for tacos. 

I had heard about the AYCE tacos here and definitely wanted to give them a shot. I was informed by Enrique that the first order comes with 3 tacos then tacos are ordered individually after that. 

When the tacos arrived, I was surprised at how large they were. I mean these were the biggest fried flour shells I have ever seen. The three tacos will stuffed full of ground beef and cheese. 

After devouring the first taco, I decided to taste the second taco. While the taco is huge and filled with meat and cheese, there was just something missing. The taco was just OK. The meat was very lightly seasoned and I think it was just lacking in flavor. The meat was tender and slightly greasy but let’s face it, it’s a fried flour taco, it’s going to be greasy. Mediocre is the word that comes to mind when it comes when I try to describe the tacos. 

Overall, I liked the place. The chips and salsa were quite tasty, the Mountain Dew was ice cold and delicious. The other guys were telling me that their tacos were fairly tasty so I think I just ordered the wrong thing on this visit. I will try them again at some point but I will be doing the street tacos instead. 

Travis - Taco Tour stop #63 - El Agave (West) - 3540 N Maize

This week, we went back to Maize Road in search of great tacos on the far west side of Wichita - and we landed at the newish second location for El Agave Mexican Restaurant near 37th and Maize.  Chris has a new job so we're having to continue without him (at least for now) - so it was just Shon and I this trip.  We'll see if Chris can catch up - since he's almost 3 months behind on writing his reviews...

This is a larger sit down restaurant.  With an established business on the east side already, we were hopeful they would deliver deliciousness on the west side too.  The lunch crowd seemed good for a weekday and I've driven by a few times on the weekend and they seem to serve a big crowd.  I was seated quickly, although I will confess our waitress wasn't overly friendly.  They do have (pricy) a la carte tacos but there was some confusion as to what they were.  I asked what the fajita taco was and she seemed very confused by the question and said she didn't know - she thought it was just like the other tacos.  Uh.. what?  Anyway, I assumed she was incorrect so I ordered that one, the al pastor, the ground beef, and the asada.

While we waited, we enjoyed some pretty decent chips and salsa.  The wait wasn't horrible, but it did take awhile for our food to arrive. So probably not going to be a speedy stop during the week if that's what you're after.  When the tacos arrived, they were completely wrapped in foil - which seemed odd, but honestly it was nice because they all kept their heat very well.  That was a welcome change since they would all be hot - even when I got to the last taco.

I started with the fajita taco - which is pretty much what you think it might be.  Fajita-like toppings served in a single tortilla, taco-style.  Red peppers, green peppers, onions, and steak. There were plenty of stuffings and meat and honestly this was a pretty darn good taco. It had a really good flavor and I really liked this taco.  I will definitely get this again... OR, maybe I should just get fajitas??

The al pastor was next - it had cilantro and grilled onions (but not raw onions). I couldn't quite figure it out until Shon finally identified it - it also had a little bit of pineapple cooked in it.  It was nice and juicy and had that red color we've come to expect from an al pastor.  It had a little bit of a kick although we debated on whether this was a pork or beef al pastor - Shon decided it was beef and it definitely could have been.  Either way, this was a tasty taco - I really enjoyed this one too and the slight kick made it just right.  I'd absolutely come back for this one too.

Next I tried the ground beef taco.  I guess I should have ordered this on a crunchy shell. I'm not sure why, but I was thinking it was going to be something else. It was just ground beef, lettuce, and tomatoes.  Eh. Really nothing else to say about it - other than that was an expensive plain old ground beef taco.

Last was the asada - which was a bit odd.  It was literally just meat and nothing else.  No other toppings in there.  Plus, there was more meat than would fit in the tortilla. It was tender, but it was definitely odd with nothing else to compliment the meat.  The flavor was fine... but it's just missing something else.  I can't decide if I was disappointed in this taco or just underwhelmed by the lack of anything to go with it.

Overall this stop was pretty decent with the first 2 tacos but a little underwhelming with the second 2.  I would absolutely get the fajita taco and al pastor again - or maybe I'll just try their fajitas next time.  They're going to lose a few points on value though - before tip, my total for 4 tacos, no sides, and water was $13.82.  The fajita taco was worth the price and the al pastor probably was too.  The other two, not so much.  So I'll ding them on that and I'm going to take away a point for the service because of the lack of knowledge and slightly "not friendly" demeanor...  Bear in mind, no one was rude - but I did kind of just feel like "a number" during this visit.

Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:

Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:

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

Travis - Taco Tour stop #62 - Rancho Nuevo - 2330 N Maize

A few months ago, a Mexican restaurant closed and shortly after another one opened in the same spot.  Sound familiar?  Well it seems to happen frequently around Wichita - not always Mexican joints, but it definitely happens that way it seems.  This week's stop is an example of that - sometime awhile back Los Trojas (sp?) closed and Rancho Nuevo opened. This is in the New Market Square area on Maize just north of 21st.  So we decided we better check it out - because hey, you never know if it's going to last or not...

We wanted to hit this place on Thursday because that's when they have $1 tacos.  So I joined my cohorts and some very lovely young ladies who joined us as guest judges (Chris had his girls with him).  The complimentary nachos were crispy and thin. I like variety in the places we go and I enjoyed these chips - the salsa very mild and they had another grayish warmed up sauce of some sort there as well.  I never did quite figure out what it was, but it wasn't bad either.

They have street-style tacos (with 2 tortillas) on their menu and I was HUNGRY so I ordered one of each of the chicken, al pastor, shredded beef (desebrada?), ground beef, carnitas, and carne asada.  While we waited, I was entertained by toddlers.  I meant Chris & Shon - but Chris's daughters were great & hilarious company too!  The tacos came out in an appropriate time and they provided limes, lemons, and a hot sauce.

 I started with the chicken.  It was nice and tender with lots of meat. I thought it was flavorful but not really moist or dry (which I guess means it was right in the middle).  Either way it was good but the hot sauce gave it that nice extra kick of flavor and I enjoyed it.

The al pastor was next and it also had plenty of meat and the nice red color we've come to expect.  It was very juicy and the marinade dripped out when you bit into it.  The meat was tender and had a really nice flavor thanks to that marinade.  I quite liked this taco - and would definitely get it again if we make it back here at some point.  We've had some pretty stellar al pastor - this one isn't quite in that category, but the flavor was good so you won't go wrong on this one.

The shredded beef was next and it was moist with plenty of meat.  The flavor was good - apparently it was "nice" because I wrote that in my notes twice for this taco. LOL I'm not entirely sure why, but I did.  But I did like this taco and would probably get it again also.

The ground beef taco really wasn't anything special.  The hot sauce brought out a little more flavor - it doesn't taste bad, but it's nothing newsworthy either.  Ground beef on this style taco does feel a little "odd" to me.  I'll just stick to the others when I'm here.

The carnitas is always one I look forward to, but I could tell it was dry before I ever bit into it.  Yep - definitely dry and chewy. Quite chewy.  There really wasn't much flavor on this one - and the hot sauce just basically made it taste like hot sauce.  A bit of a disappointment. This one gets a resounding "eh".

Lastly was the carne asada - and it looked pretty good.  It was just slightly chewy but not bad.  The steak flavor wasn't bold like I was hoping but it was there.  I would call this an acceptable taco and the hot sauce definitely helps a little.  I think the other guys liked this one a little more than I did - so there could have been some slight inconsistencies in this one for our visit.  (Possibly the same for the carnitas).  Anyway, I think this one deserves a second chance if we make it back - because I think it has potential and maybe is better if I ate it earlier.

Overall, I think this place has decent food - but I will tell you it was VERY quiet in there.  For a $1 taco Thursday right during the lunch hour, I think we were one of 3 (maybe 4) parties.  At that rate, I don't think they can be profitable on the high cost retail front on Maize Road.  I wish them luck, but time will tell if they can make it into the black.  In the meantime, go check them out on Thursday for a great value taco deal!

Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:

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

Travis - Taco Tour stop #61 - Casa Martinez - 204 W Greenway (Derby)

This week the Wichita Taco Tour went south of the border (to Derby) to check out Casa Martinez.  Yes, I know it's not technically in Wichita - but we still went because we like to find good tacos in the Wichita "area".

The two turds beat me there because they couldn't make up their minds when we were going - so I had to kill time in Derby. Which ultimately made me later than they were - but it's okay, I've waited on them enough anyway!

This place is a sit-down style restaurant - not a huge place, but definitely ample seating to handle a decent lunch crowd.  It's just right off of K-15 in Derby so fairly easy to get to.  But the real question is: is it worth the drive from Wichita to check it out?  We went on a Wednesday which is also their all-you-can-eat taco day.  However that's only for the ground beef style taco - meh.  Chris fell for the temptation of that offer, but Shon and I decided to stick with street tacos.  One complaint - no a la carte option here.  You can order a 3 taco plate and it comes with beans & rice sides - and that's pretty much your option.  If you ask for a la carte, the waiter will just tell you it's the same price because the 2 sides are free... That the "per taco" price is whatever the combo price is divided by 3.  #confusedface  I wouldn't say the value was bad - but I personally like the ability to order more tacos individually, so for the purpose of this trip, I'll deduct slightly on the value scale.

Anyway, I ordered that with a carne asada, al pastor, and carnitas tacos and proceeded to eat chips and salsa.  The mild salsa is VERY mild.  The hot salsa was unexpectedly not hot - in fact I could barely tell a difference.  I asked if they had an "actual" hot sauce and he brought out a warmed up bowl of salsa - it had more of a kick than the hot (but was still pretty tame).  Overall not bad, but I like a little more heat, and personally I'm not a fan of warmed up salsa - but if you like that style, it tasted good.

The tacos arrived in appropriate time and I was pleased to see that they serve grilled onions on the side for you to use.  I'm becoming more of a fan of grilled onions lately so I definitely put some on each of my tacos for this visit.  I went for the asada first with my added grilled onions. The meat was a little chewy but still had a decent steak flavor.  The grilled onions helped to bring out some flavor but I've definitely had better.  It was slightly overdone in spots and even after adding some green sauce, it didn't make much of a taste difference.  This was a middle-of-the-road asada in my book.

The al pastor was next and I also added the grilled onions to this taco.  In my notes I wrote "not bad" - and it wasn't. The meat was tender and there was plenty of it.  It had that nice red color and the flavor was bold.  I would put this slightly above average on the al pastor scale.  It's a decent taco that I don't think you'll be disappointed in - but it wasn't anything that I'd run back to Derby for when there are many closer options.

Lastly, the carnitas.  Again, I put the onions on this one and it definitely helped.  We are finding out that getting a really good, moist carnitas can be tricky.  This one really was pretty decent overall.  I felt like it was just slightly dry but Shon didn't think so.  It really wasn't anything too noticeable nor would it be anything to complain about - it just was ever so slightly not moist.  The meat was pretty good though and the onions brought out more flavor as a bonus.  I definitely like this taco and it was my favorite of the stop.  But, as you know, we've found just as good (and much better) in Wichita.

Overall, I think this stop was worth going to if you're already in the area.  I don't see this as a place that is worth driving to Derby for when you have many options in Wichita that are as good or better.  So for that reason, the likelihood to return takes a small hit.  However, if you find yourself south of Wichita for anything, I will say it could be worth a stop.  I al
so had the feeling this is a place where the other menu items might even be better than the tacos.  Might be worth checking that out sometime!

Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:

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