Travis - Taco Tour stop #23 - Los Compadres - 3302 W Central

So fresh off the Wichita Taco Fest, I was anxious to get back to quality tacos.  This week, with Shon on a cruise (jerk), Chris and I decided we'd try out Los Compadres Mexican Grill.  I had made a comment on a FB post about Pollo Express being awesome and someone said they like Los Compadres even better! So I figured this place had to be pretty darn awesome.

I beat Chris there by a few minutes so went in and found a seat.  This place is pretty small - however it's actually larger on the inside than the outside if that's possible.  Parking is limited but once I was inside, the area was small but spacious. We weren't crammed in like sardines (a nice change from the Taco Fest atmosphere).  The place was very well maintained and clean and they actually used touch screens for taking my order and for paying when we were done.  However the menu I was given should have just been thrown away. It was up-to-date and didn't look like they made it at home, but it was falling apart and absolutely covered in dried salsa or something.  They had a selection of classic tacos for $1.89/ea so I picked the al pastor, carne asada, carnitas, and ground beef (all on tortillas).

The food arrived fairly quickly and looked pretty yummy.  There was plenty of meat on each taco so I dug into the al pastor first.  It was juicy and had a good flavor - but it had a dry texture (yes, even though it appeared to be juicy). It was actually kind of weird, but it was tasty and I enjoyed it in spite of the "dry mouth" experience.

Carne Asada was next and there was enough meat it was falling off the taco.  The flavor was decent - a little more flavor than some of the bland asada tacos we have had.  The meat was a little chewy, but again still had some dryness to it.  Overall, not bad if you're into asada tacos.  The abundance of meat was a plus.

Carnitas was next and fair or not, every carnitas now gets compared to Pollo Express. This one didn't hit the mark, but it was a very tasty taco.  I would absolutely get this one again if I came here even though it's not as good as PE.  Again though, oddly, it was a little dry.  (A theme has developed).

Lastly, I went for the ground beef.  This one was nothing special. It honestly felt like they tried to make an "Americanized" taco for some of their customers.  It had a little kick to it and plenty of meat.  But on the tortilla, the texture was definitely a little weird.  It wasn't bad, but wasn't anything special.  I would probably skip this one next time and try something else instead.

Overall, the tacos here were better than what we sampled at Taco Fest, but because someone told me they were better than Pollo, that's what I was comparing them to (and they aren't).  Still, it's close to my office, and if I was looking for something authentic and close, I'd try them again (and sample some different tacos or other dishes). Service was fast and friendly (and hi-tech).  As far as value, I think something got messed up because I ended up only paying a little over $5 with tip.  They have $1 tacos on Tuesdays, but this is Wednesday.  I couldn't quite figure out what was up but it didn't really register until after I had paid and left.  I'm still going to give them good marks for value at $1.89/ea (or $1 on Tuesday).

Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:

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