Taco Tour Stop #15 - Three Amigos - 2317 N Arkansas

The original plan was to go to Mr Taco - but when Chris arrived, apparently he had a flashback of being inside their kitchen years ago.  Since it was clearly a traumatic experience that was #triggered, he called an "abort mission" and we decided to go to The 3 Amigos instead!

This isn't a big place but there is plenty of seating for probably 10-12 parties (maybe more). Nothing exciting as far as decor - pretty basic setup.  I waited my turn in line and decided to start with 3 tacos - which by the way is all they have - 3 different tacos: Carne Asada, Barbacoa, and Al Pastor.

Tacos are $1.65 each so we're going to do well on the value scale today for sure.  I added a bottle of Sprite to my order and figured that was a good start.  By the way, it's worth mentioning that although this is a traditional Mexican Restaurant, they seem to specialize in burgers.  The variations of toppings for burgers was interesting enough to make me want to come back again for a non-taco-tour stop.

Anyway, the order hit the table fairly quickly and looked like the traditional street tacos that we're used to seeing with 2 tortillas, a nice helping of meat, cilantro, onion, grilled onion, and a slice of lime.

I squeezed some lime juice onto everything, added the grilled onions to the mix, and a dash of tomatilla sauce to the barbacoa and dug in.  This barbacoa definitely didn't have the flavor of last week. That's not to say it was bad - it wasn't.  It was tender, but definitely not as tasty.  It's a good taco, but nothing memorable.

Next I went for the Al Pastor without the tomatilla sauce.  It was good - again, nothing to write home about but I'd probably put it right in the middle of the Al Pastor tacos we've had. It definitely beats some, but it didn't have the savory flavor we've had at other places.

Last but definitely not least, I went for the Carne Asada after adding a little of the spicy avocado sauce to it. This one rivals many of the carne asada tacos we've had so far. Honestly the flavor of the meat was really good.  The spicy avocado sauce was a really good compliment to the taste.  The seasoning in the meat was spot on.  I'd definitely recommend this taco if you go - and I'd load up on a few of them for the affordable price.

In summary, 3 Amigos is a solid choice.  They weren't too busy, plenty of room inside, quick to take your order and quick to deliver the food.  They are a good value and you won't have any complaints about the tacos - and you'll definitely like the Carne Asada!

Overall, here are my rankings out of 5 tacos:

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

Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #14 - Los Pinos Mexican Restaurant

After some back and forth and unsettled scheduling the last couple of weeks, we finally got back to our normal day and time to hit one of the small local hole in the walls suggested by Chris. To me, this is the what the tour is about: finding the little out of the way places that we otherwise would never stumble into. And this place definitely fits the description. The only reason I even knew where to find it was because I had eaten there with Chris a few months ago (although I didn't have tacos at the time.) Even then, I about drove by it in broad daylight.


Los Pinos is located in a small building at 1225 W Douglas, just west of Douglas and Seneca. First, let me warn you NOT to judge a book by it's cover. This place is about the size of a Hobbit's kitchen and it looks like the owner might be living behind the property in a make shift camper trailer that has a window air conditioner glued into the side of it. Still, I could make out the faint smell of tastiness inside, and these types of joints sometimes present pleasant surprises. One thing for sure, if you come during the busy times, you'd better get there early if you're wanting a seat. There's only 3 or 4 tables there and a handful of old uncomfortable chairs. This is definitely not a place to go with more than 3 people at a time. That being said, they seemed to be doing a very steady carryout business while we were there.


Chris already had a table when Travis and I pulled up, and it's a good thing as the place filled up pretty quickly. We received quick service and some chips and salsa - both mild and hot. Both of the salsas were pretty tasty, but some of the chips were stale. Our waitress took our order pretty quickly and I asked for 4 street tacos - pork, beef, al pastor, and Barbacoa. After a short wait, our tacos arrived and looked pretty good. Standard "street dress" - onion and cilantro, with some grilled onions and lime on the side. She also handed us two additional salsas in bottles. One was a mild tomatillo salsa that had an almost sweet taste to it. All of us enjoyed this salsa on our tacos. There was also a spicy avocado sauce which I was the only one to try and I like that one as well. Provided a nice contrast in flavors, especially on the beef and pork tacos. Those two tacos were pretty decent tacos - plenty of meat, but not overly seasoned. Decent tacos, but I think I've had better ones at Molinos or Tacos Raymundo. Next up was the Al Pastor and I really liked this one a lot. It was seasoned in a red pepper and chili sauce that had a nice flavor to it but it didn't over power. But the winner of this day was definitely the Barbacoa taco. The meat was tasty and served in a nice (but not too messy) amount of it's own fatty juices. It was like having awesome roast beef in a taco. Probably the best Barbacoa taco I've had, going on 14 weeks into this tour. After eating the first one, we were all so surprised we ordered more Barbacoa tacos just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Needless to say, it was a deliciously tasty surprise.


Overall, I enjoyed finding this little joint this week. Not much on ambience, but pretty decent tacos with a game winner in the Barbacoa. Let me know if you go, I'm already looking forward to my next trip back. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco Scale are below.


Food Quality - 4.0 Tacos
Price - $-$$
Value - 3.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.5 Tacos
Service - 4.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 4.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 4.5 Tacos

I don't speak Spanish but I do love some Los Pinos

Today we visited Los Pinos on W Douglas. They are a tiny restaurant with limited seating. Luckily, I arrived on time and was able to score a table. 

After the other two showed up, late, we each ordered beef, pork, barbacoa and al pastor tacos. 

While waiting we devoured a basket of chips with their delicious homemade salsa. Our waitress dropped by some sauces for our tacos. 

Once the tacos arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. The tacos 

Al pastor had great seasoning and a nice texture. Al pastor is usually a little more...moist than the meat here but I think the meat being a tad dryer was a good thing. 

I had almost given up on barbacoa tacos as they usually just aren't as delicious as they should be. Today's barbacoa tacos Changed my views. The meat was tender and flavorful. 

The beef and pork tacos were delicious and had great flavor. 

After devouring our first plates of 4, all 3 of us determined that further review was needed. We each ordered addition al pastor and barbacoa tacos. They were absolutely fantastic. 

I will definitely be back. 

Service- 🌮🌮🌮🌮

Quality of food- 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮

Amount of meat on each taco- 🌮🌮🌮🌮

Overall value- 🌮🌮🌮

Overall experience- 🌮🌮🌮🌮

Taco Tour Stop #14 - Los Pinos Mexican Restaurant - 1225 W Douglas

Maybe we're back on schedule again?  Probably not - we're stop behind schedule right now.  But that's okay because today's stop was pretty darn good!!  Today we ventured out to Los Pinos Mexican Restaurant on west Douglas (just west of Seneca).  It's a VERY small place - only about 4 tables or so.  So you definitely want to get there before the rush hits or you may have to wait or head somewhere else.

Definitely a very unassuming place - not big on decor (or room) so my expectations weren't high.  Then again, sometimes hole-in-the-wall places are the best (and this might be in the dictionary under hole-in-the-wall).

Chris was there a few minutes before Shon and I and already had a table (thankfully).  Chips were on the table and he was halfway through a bottle of Coke.  I ordered water and began to experience the chips.  Honestly the first couple of chips I had were a bit stale.  They had either sat out or something because they weren't great.  The next basket of chips we had was definitely better - but still some inconsistencies.  Overall I enjoyed the chips and their hot sauce definitely has a kick to it (but not too much unless you're a weenie like Chris).

I ordered 4 tacos ($1.90/ea btw) - Barbacoa, pork, beef, and Al Pastor.  I like my tacos exactly as the restaurant prepares them - which is with cilantro, cabbage, and grilled onion & limes on the side.  They also brought a bottle of tomatilla sauce and avacado & jalapeno sauce to use on the tacos.

Our order was delivered fairly quickly (especially compared to some places we've been recently like Slow-Joe's). I would estimate we had them within 10 minutes or less of placing the order - but I wasn't watching the clock.

The tacos definitely appear a little small but are obviously traditional street tacos with 2 tortillas and enough toppings to fall out when you're eating them. Everything looked yummy and I squeezed some lime juice over my selection of tacos.

Barbacoa went first - YUM! Very nice flavor and the meat was seasoned very well.  Definitely off to a good start! Meat was tender and the flavor of the toppings paired very well with this taco.

The al pastor was next - double YUM! The meat was very juicy and tender and the flavor was excellent. This is easily my favorite here and probably the best al pastor taco I've had to date.  Plenty of meat and toppings and I could already tell I may have to have another one...

The beef and pork tacos were next.  I'm going to lump them together because although they were good, there wasn't anything that set them apart from each other or really any other tacos we've had.  Good flavor, good seasoning (esp with the tomatilla sauce).  By the way, these aren't ground or shredded - it's more like a finely diced meat if that makes sense (check the pic).  Still a good taco - so don't feel like I'm bashing them because I'm not.  But the other two were head and shoulders better than these two.

The other two were so good, all 3 of us ordered another pair just to make sure we gave them a fair shake.  Yep, round two of barbacoa and al pastor was just as good, just as flavorful, just as juicy.  These two are my favorites and I absolutely recommend coming to Los Pinos for these 2!

Overall, I spent about $14 with tax - so not a spectacular value, but honestly these were tasty and I came away with 6 tacos instead of just 4.  So I consciously made a choice to go over $10 for my lunch today and I was happy with my decision.

Come here! It's good!

Out of 5 tacos, here's where I rate them!

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

Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #13 - Joe's Bar and Grill in Oldtown

So.......13 weeks in and we're JUST NOW getting to one of our old standbys - Joe's Bar and Grill. I believe it was during one of our many jaunts here for their $1 Taco Tuesday specials, that Chris actually brought up the idea of doing the Taco Tour in the first place. So, a special thanks to Joe's for being part of our inspiration for the tour. Outside of that.... well.... they REALLY should pay us for any exposure we give them, taco-wise. Okay, maybe it's not THAT BAD, but you'll see what I'm getting at shortly.


In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit more of a "taco snob" than Chris and Travis. I'm pretty sure if they can get 6 tacos for free from the bottom of a dumpster, they would rate them high on the value scale and be happy to have them. I mean we're talking about a pair of dudes who eat at Taco Shop, Taco Bell, and Taco Rio and actually claim the tacos to be tasty. Personally, I like a tastier, more authentic, taco made with actual meat. Which brings us to Joe's.


We started coming here because of the value. We ended up coming back because of ... well... the value. They're cheap bar tacos. This isn't a place to come if you're looking for a gourmet meal. No other taco options, although there's plenty of other food choices. Pretty standard tex-mex style tacos - seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato, with salsa and sour cream on the sides. We'd been here so often, the guys had actually ordered my tacos before I arrived. Despite that, we STILL had to wait almost half an hour before we actually got our food. And once delivered our waitress completely disappeared. To be fair, our service isn't normally that slow, but they picked a bad day to leave us hanging. So no taco options. Not a gourmet taco place. Not high on ambience. Yet..... for bar tacos? Not a bad option. I always seem to get a fairly decent bowl of cheap tacos. Plenty of meat, and today's seemed to have an extra dash of seasoning in it. Also, one of the things I like about Joe's is the shell - a nice thick fried flour shell, that holds the taco in pretty well. You clamp down on it and it's almost like eating a fried taco pie. Taco wise I felt like I got a decent deal for the 4 bucks and change that I paid for my tacos. If the service would've been half decent, I'd have been a fairly happy camper.


So to summarize - NOT a taco place, but a high value bar option on Tuesdays for the special. If you're in for some tacos that are cheap like some of the fast food options, but made with actual meat and about 2-3 steps better (in my opinion) then Joe's is the place for you. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco Scale are below.


Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 4.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.0 Tacos
Service 1.5 Tacos (not normally this bad, but it was today)
Overall Experience - 3.0 Tacos
Likelihood To Return - 4.5 Tacos

I guess I will go again

Today we visited Joe's Oldtown Bar and Grill. We used to come here often but believe it or not, we ate too many tacos and had to take a break.

Joes has $1 on Tuesdays. They are fried flour shells and only come with ground beef.

I ordered four tacos the way I like them, veggieless. I always add some of their delicious homemade salsa to the inside of my taco.

The service is generally pretty slow but today wins at a 30 minute wait for our tacos to arrive.

They have definitely cut down on the amount of meat in the tacos since we were last here but I feel like the used more seasoning in the meat as they had more flavor than usual.

In short, if the tacos were more than $1, I probably wouldn't go back. But they are. So I will. Hopefully it doesn't take so long next time.

Service- 🌮🌮
Quality of food- 🌮🌮🌮🌮
Amount of meat on each taco- 🌮🌮
Overall value- 🌮🌮🌮
Overall experience- 🌮🌮🌮

Taco Tour Stop # 13 - Joe's Old Town Bar and Grill - 222 N Washington

This week I had 2 business-related stops near here, so we decided we'd hit Joe's Oldtown Bar & Grill this week.  Full disclosure: we've been to Joe's before on quite a few occasions because they have a Taco Tuesday special for $1 tacos.

Firstly, this place is always easy to get to and plenty of parking during the day for lunch.  I've not been there at night, so I can't speak to that.  Chris and I arrived about 11:30 (and waited on Shon for another 15).  Chris ordered 4 kiddie tacos, I ordered 3 adult tacos, and we ordered Shon 4 adult tacos shortly before his arrival.

Here's where Joe's doesn't shine: they're SLOOOWWW.  It was a full 30 min from the time we ordered until the tacos were in front of us.  30 min on a Tuesday lunch when tacos are your "specialty" for that day.  Oh, and yes they had people there but they weren't slammed.  30 min for tacos to arrive is too long - even if you were slammed.

So I definitely wouldn't go here if you're in a hurry or if you're looking for a variety of tacos.  Once the tacos did arrive, they were exactly as expected (since we've had them before).  Deep fried flour shells with meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomato (unless you order them kiddie-style like Chris).  A side of sour cream and a side of salsa accompanies them.  Today the tacos seemed a little light on meat (TWSS) - but they still tasted pretty good.  I don't like sour cream on my tacos so I threw that junk across the room (not really) but I did put the salsa on each one.  Overall, they are tasty tacos.  Not going to win any taco awards - but if you like a "bar-style" taco, I don't think you'll be disappointed.  Especially if you're only paying a buck each for them - pretty good on the value scale.  The combination of ingredients today was good and I'd actually say even better than it has been in the past.  Not sure why, but maybe because I was just in the mood for something different and we hadn't been here for a few months.

The restaurant itself is fine, it's not dirty, the service is generally acceptable, and the water is watery.  Don't plan on coming here if you have a short lunch hour.  Also, even though we've had this particular waitress before (and she's polite), it seemed like she disappeared once the tacos hit the table.  We were done for quite awhile before she came to bring our tickets (and even then we had to flag her down).  So, I'm going to ding them on service, but overall I think as long as you're okay with a wait, you'll find Joe's an acceptable place to eat.  For what it's worth, they do have other good food too - but this is a taco review.

Overall, here's my ratings out of 5 tacos:

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