Well, seven weeks in and so far, we're really enjoying our trek through all the tacos available in Wichita. Las Mananitas came recommended by some people on our Facebook page and the $1 Tacos on Wednesday basically locked them in as the choice for this week.
The building is a small place with just a few parking stalls. We got there early enough to beat the lunch crowd, but the place definitely picked up a bit as we stayed. BTW I found 10 bucks in the parking lot on the way in. Don't ask to claim it because I already spent it on tacos.
Anyway, once inside, Chris was already there destroying a basket of chips. The chips appeared homemade - they had a thick but crunchy texture and came with three salsas: mild, green chile, and hot. The chips were pretty good, definitely made to dig into your salsas with. The hot was not overbearingly hot which is always my worry when trying it. It had the perfect mix of fire and flavor, with a hint of smokiness to it.
Our waitress was prompt, attentive, and helpful. I don't think she knew what she was getting into when she came over. But hey, it was $1 taco day. Plus I didn't have breakfast AND I had a very light dinner the night before. Needless to say, I had every intent of putting a dent in their profit margin today. There were 7 Tacos listed on the dollar menu: Asada, Al Pastor, Pollo, A La Mexicana, Barbacoa, Desebrada, and Tripe. And just for good measure, I ordered two more that weren't on the dollar menu - a fish taco and a chorizo taco. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were only 1.65 each. My ranking of their taco offerings:
1. - Asada - the steak was tasty and seasoned, much more than most of the other tacos. I'm ready for another round right now.
2. - Chorizo - unlike the Chorizo at Chicos, this one wasn't too greasy and didn't taste like a metal pan. Nice spice, it was worth the extra .65 cents to pick one up.
3. - Al Pastor - another tasty taco, but the meat didn't seem as seasoned as the Asada. Still a high recommendation here.
4 - Mexicana, Barbacoa, Desebrada - These tacos all get an enthusiastic "Decent Taco" rating from me. Not as high up on the list, but still not bad. I think these all would've benefited from a little splash of salsa, but I've been going on this tour eating them the way they're served - no changes from me. The meat on all of these was pretty tasty. The Desebrada and Mexicana had the meat cooked in peppers and tomatos which made for a decent flavor. Still, I tend to prefer the spice to have a bit more kick and the cooked in flavors of these tacos were a little bit more subdued.
7. - Fish taco - high marks for the amount of fish. Fish was cooked nicely and not too dry or chewy.
8 - Pollo - not my favorite. The chicken was pretty bland and tasted more like it had been in a slow cooker all day as opposed to being fried. I'm much more a fan of the fried taste and texture when it comes to my tacos. Boiled tasting meat just isn't my preference, but if it's seasoned well, it can be just as good. This taco was not.
9. - Tripe - bland. Tough. Overall, I could've done without it.
Still when I was done, I was pretty satisfied with our new find. Nine tacos, chips, salsa, and water for 13.00 and that included the tip. My overall rankings are below:
Food Quality - 3.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 5.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.5 Tacos
Service - 4.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 4.0 Tacos
Likelihood to return 4.5 Tacos
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