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
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