Stop #58 took us to a part of town we're not in very often for tacos. Mainly because there just aren't many places around there to get decent quality tacos. After trying the week before and finding it closed (allegedly, according to Chris who got there first), Travis called ahead to make sure they were open. Once we got the green light from Thing 2, we made our way to E. Central to give this new place a try.
If you read the paper (I know, I know, what's a newspaper, right?!?!) you may have already heard about El Vaquero, which got a write up when they first opened as they're one of the few (maybe the only) place in town that has a live mariachi band. Unfortunately, the band doesn't play over lunch, but I was still excited to try a place closer to the east side of town. When we got there the place was D-E-A-D, although a few more people would show up over the course of our lunch. The waitress told us to come on Tuesdays for $1.00 tacos and it would be extremely busy. Anyway, we started with some chips and salsa and they were pretty tasty which was good because it seemed to take a while for our tacos to get there. Anyway, after I looked over the menu I went with 5 street tacos @ $2.25 apiece - steak, chorizo, chicken, al pastor, and carnitas.
So after they finally killed and butchered the animals, shipped it in from western Kansas, passed the inspection, and threw it on the grill for about 20 minutes we did FINALLY get our tacos and they looked pretty good. Standard taco dress - cilantro and onion, lime on the side. I started with the steak taco aaaannnndd it was cold. Lukewarm at best. So now, we know why it took so long as it appears our tacos were probably sitting on the counter forever. Which was unacceptable given the lack of customers. Anyway, it was too bad because I thought the steak was actually pretty decent. Plenty of tender meat. Just not "hot and fresh off the grill". Next up was the chorizo. I really enjoyed this taco quite a bit and thankfully it was warmer than the steak. It was a little spicier than most other chorizo tacos I've had on tour but without that burnt nickel taste that often comes with it. Thumbs up for this one. Next up was the chicken - and once again, I just CAN NOT find a high quality pollo street taco anywhere. I caught a piece of tendon or not-quite-cooked piece of the chicken toward the end which soured my overall impression for this taco. But before that, it was still just an average taco - not horrible, but definitely better with a little salsa on it. Same for the carnitas - not bad. Plenty of decent meat, but really needed the salsa to provide it any real flavor. Last was the Al Pastor annnndddd YES! A very tasty taco. I enjoyed this one a lot, even though it too, was lukewarm at best. This one had some added pineapple to it which I found to be a really nice complement with the spicy meat. I threw a little salsa on the last couple of bites just to try, but it really didn't need any. The best of the bunch by far, the sweet vs spicy was a nice way to finish.
In summary, I'd say this place was a pretty mixed bag. Most places, the tacos are in the same category (awesome, average, etc) MOST of the time. But I feel like I had some pretty good tacos (pastor, chorizo) and some fairly middlin' ones. I'm thinking I'd like to come back and maybe give them one more try on $1 Taco Tuesdays - maybe a fresh, warm batch might improve my perceptions. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco scale are below.
Food Quality - 3.0 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 2.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.5 Tacos
Service - 2.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 2.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 3.0 Tacos
Friday, June 22, 2018
Monday, June 11, 2018
Shon's Take - Taco Tour Stop #57 - Mr. Taco - 25th and Arkansas
Well... we've finally gotten around to going to Mr.Taco. It's been a bit longer getting there than I originally wanted. We had actually received several recommendations for them when we first started a year and a half ago. But Chris claimed to have had a bad experience and so he kept refusing to go. Anyway, we were trying to go to a couple of different spots on this day and both of them were closed, so Travis went straight to Mr. Taco. Basically, we didn't give Chris a choice, and I'm glad we did it. But be prepared for the shenanigans that come along with it.... read below!!
So, we get there and thankfully, it's a beautiful day out because this place is about the size of my closet. If we're talking about the customer area only, I'm really not exaggerating. Mr. Taco is in a rinky dink stand alone building on 25th Street North, just west of Arkansas. If you Google it, there may be some confusion because for whatever reason, Google tries to send you to Alondra's Tacos (see our previous reviews for them). But trust me, Mr. Taco is there. Now, if you plan to go, plan on either getting your tacos to go OR sitting outside if it's nice, because those are your only options. Bring cash, because that's your only option as well. Also, bring an interpreter because the lady who was working behind the counter understands just enough for you to place an order. If you're making changes or asking questions like Chris' dumb ass, don't expect your order to come out correct.
Anyway, we get there and figure out all of the goofiness above and were finally able to get our order in. I went with 5 tacos: Asada, Al Pastor, lengua, barbacoa, and carnitas. I took a seat next to Thing 1 and Thing 2 on some rather uncomfortable patio furniture (with no shade, mind you). After a fairly brief wait, our tacos were delivered and they looked pretty darn tasty. Standard street dress - onion, cilantro, and lime on the side. All of the tacos were about $2,00 each, give or take, and were worth every bit of it. Each taco was adequately filled with a good serving of perfectly cooked and tender meat. The asada and al pastor were definitely the best and both had a nice flavor and really took off with a little of their house made salsa. But all of the tacos here were really tasty and the lengua might be one of the top lengua tacos I've had.
Overall, I would say I was pretty happy with this plate of tacos. If you're willing and able to get through the few bumps in the road, you will be rewarded for your efforts. My overall rankings on the 5-Taco scale are below.
Food quality - 4.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 4.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.0 Tacos
Service - 2.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 4.0 Tacos
So, we get there and thankfully, it's a beautiful day out because this place is about the size of my closet. If we're talking about the customer area only, I'm really not exaggerating. Mr. Taco is in a rinky dink stand alone building on 25th Street North, just west of Arkansas. If you Google it, there may be some confusion because for whatever reason, Google tries to send you to Alondra's Tacos (see our previous reviews for them). But trust me, Mr. Taco is there. Now, if you plan to go, plan on either getting your tacos to go OR sitting outside if it's nice, because those are your only options. Bring cash, because that's your only option as well. Also, bring an interpreter because the lady who was working behind the counter understands just enough for you to place an order. If you're making changes or asking questions like Chris' dumb ass, don't expect your order to come out correct.
Anyway, we get there and figure out all of the goofiness above and were finally able to get our order in. I went with 5 tacos: Asada, Al Pastor, lengua, barbacoa, and carnitas. I took a seat next to Thing 1 and Thing 2 on some rather uncomfortable patio furniture (with no shade, mind you). After a fairly brief wait, our tacos were delivered and they looked pretty darn tasty. Standard street dress - onion, cilantro, and lime on the side. All of the tacos were about $2,00 each, give or take, and were worth every bit of it. Each taco was adequately filled with a good serving of perfectly cooked and tender meat. The asada and al pastor were definitely the best and both had a nice flavor and really took off with a little of their house made salsa. But all of the tacos here were really tasty and the lengua might be one of the top lengua tacos I've had.
Overall, I would say I was pretty happy with this plate of tacos. If you're willing and able to get through the few bumps in the road, you will be rewarded for your efforts. My overall rankings on the 5-Taco scale are below.
Food quality - 4.5 Tacos
Price - $
Value - 4.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.0 Tacos
Service - 2.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 3.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 4.0 Tacos
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Travis - Taco Tour stop #58 - El Vaquero - 1320 E Central
We've heard a lot about El Vaquero over the last few weeks - it's a newer establishment on E Central with a real live Mariachi band! I mean hey, how much more authentic can you get?! We actually tried to go last week but Chris got there first and said the door was locked and couldn't get in. We're still not sure if Chris was pushing instead of pulling or vice versa. I called a day early this week and they're open 7 days a week - sooooo, yeah. Not sure.
Anyway, the restaurant is on Central, BUT you actually park behind (on the North side) off of Cleveland ("Cleave - Land?" - note to self: rewatch Howard the Duck). Park on the back side, come in through the "back" and it's a spacious restaurant. Not much activity on a Wednesday but the waitress informed us that Tuesdays are hopping thanks to $1 tacos. Dang.
I sat down and Chris was already there consuming chips and salsa. The table we sat at was conveniently located below a ceiling fan which was quite pleasant. The fan was INconveniently located below a fluorescent light - the strobe effect all lunch was quite UNpleasant.
The chips and salsa are TASTY! I think we refilled the basket 3 or 4 times. They have "Tacos Mexicano" - which are street tacos for $2.25 with the normal flavors. So I ordered my typical carne, carnitas, al pastor, and pollo. I also added a ground beef taco in a hard shell ($1.99). It did seem like it took quite awhile for our tacos to arrive. That's probably why we ate so many chips. I'm not entirely sure why either because they weren't busy at all - and typically these meats are already ready, they just need served.
When they finally did arrive, they looked pretty good and fairly typical with 2 tortillas and what seemed to be an adequate amount of meat. Unfortunately, I'm wondering if they sat for awhile because most of them were barely warm and by the time I was done, some were no longer warm at all.
I went for the pollo first - it had enough meat to be an adequate taco. Not sure why the other 2 didn't like this one because I actually kind of liked it. The meat had a nice grilled chicken flavor to it - something that is sometimes hit or miss at our other stops. It was sort of tender (but not awesomely tender). Overall I did enjoy this one.
The ground beef was next. Eh. Not bad - it wasn't warm. The shell was a little soft on the bottom even though I ate this one second. It had plenty of filling in the shell. We've definitely had better - and frankly, you can get just as good at "fast food" taco joints.
The carne was my next taco and it was slightly chewy but it did have plenty of meat. The flavor was okay - but nothing amazing. I tried the hot salsa on this one and it definitely brought out a little more flavor and a good kick.
Carnitas is one of my favorite tacos so I'm always anxious to try new ones at our stops. This one wasn't bad. It didn't have a bold flavor like some of my other favorites do, but it did taste good. It was a little on the chewy side. It had a subtle flavor that sort of comes in as you're eating it - but not obvious right when you take the bite. I kind of liked that about it, but it wasn't anything that will have me raving about it.
The al pastor was last and it was really an interesting taco. The meat was the nice red color we've come to expect from al pastor. It had an interesting sauce on the meat - a marinade that I don't recall having at our other stops. I couldn't figure out the flavor I was getting until Shon said it - pineapple. The more I thought about it, the more I liked this. It had that sweet but tangy touch and you definitely can taste the hint of pineapple. This would have easily been the best taco we had IF it would have been hot. Really kind of bummed it wasn't. I might go back and try this one again.
Overall, if you compare our reviews you'll see some consistencies and inconsistencies. I think you'll notice that most of our tacos weren't hot in temperature. Not sure if they sat waiting or what. The food definitely needs to come out hot - especially for "open face" tacos that cool fast. I think we all liked the al pastor - but the others were a mixed batch because of inconsistencies in meat quality. Last but not least, service was a little slow in spite of excellent chips and salsa. I found myself wanting to like this place. I'll probably give it another go - maybe on a Tuesday. Strictly out of curiosity, I also want to come back for the mariachi band.
Here's my ratings out of 5 tacos:
Out of 5 tacos, here's my ratings:
Anyway, the restaurant is on Central, BUT you actually park behind (on the North side) off of Cleveland ("Cleave - Land?" - note to self: rewatch Howard the Duck). Park on the back side, come in through the "back" and it's a spacious restaurant. Not much activity on a Wednesday but the waitress informed us that Tuesdays are hopping thanks to $1 tacos. Dang.
I sat down and Chris was already there consuming chips and salsa. The table we sat at was conveniently located below a ceiling fan which was quite pleasant. The fan was INconveniently located below a fluorescent light - the strobe effect all lunch was quite UNpleasant.
The chips and salsa are TASTY! I think we refilled the basket 3 or 4 times. They have "Tacos Mexicano" - which are street tacos for $2.25 with the normal flavors. So I ordered my typical carne, carnitas, al pastor, and pollo. I also added a ground beef taco in a hard shell ($1.99). It did seem like it took quite awhile for our tacos to arrive. That's probably why we ate so many chips. I'm not entirely sure why either because they weren't busy at all - and typically these meats are already ready, they just need served.
When they finally did arrive, they looked pretty good and fairly typical with 2 tortillas and what seemed to be an adequate amount of meat. Unfortunately, I'm wondering if they sat for awhile because most of them were barely warm and by the time I was done, some were no longer warm at all.
I went for the pollo first - it had enough meat to be an adequate taco. Not sure why the other 2 didn't like this one because I actually kind of liked it. The meat had a nice grilled chicken flavor to it - something that is sometimes hit or miss at our other stops. It was sort of tender (but not awesomely tender). Overall I did enjoy this one.
The ground beef was next. Eh. Not bad - it wasn't warm. The shell was a little soft on the bottom even though I ate this one second. It had plenty of filling in the shell. We've definitely had better - and frankly, you can get just as good at "fast food" taco joints.
The carne was my next taco and it was slightly chewy but it did have plenty of meat. The flavor was okay - but nothing amazing. I tried the hot salsa on this one and it definitely brought out a little more flavor and a good kick.
Carnitas is one of my favorite tacos so I'm always anxious to try new ones at our stops. This one wasn't bad. It didn't have a bold flavor like some of my other favorites do, but it did taste good. It was a little on the chewy side. It had a subtle flavor that sort of comes in as you're eating it - but not obvious right when you take the bite. I kind of liked that about it, but it wasn't anything that will have me raving about it.
The al pastor was last and it was really an interesting taco. The meat was the nice red color we've come to expect from al pastor. It had an interesting sauce on the meat - a marinade that I don't recall having at our other stops. I couldn't figure out the flavor I was getting until Shon said it - pineapple. The more I thought about it, the more I liked this. It had that sweet but tangy touch and you definitely can taste the hint of pineapple. This would have easily been the best taco we had IF it would have been hot. Really kind of bummed it wasn't. I might go back and try this one again.
Overall, if you compare our reviews you'll see some consistencies and inconsistencies. I think you'll notice that most of our tacos weren't hot in temperature. Not sure if they sat waiting or what. The food definitely needs to come out hot - especially for "open face" tacos that cool fast. I think we all liked the al pastor - but the others were a mixed batch because of inconsistencies in meat quality. Last but not least, service was a little slow in spite of excellent chips and salsa. I found myself wanting to like this place. I'll probably give it another go - maybe on a Tuesday. Strictly out of curiosity, I also want to come back for the mariachi band.
Here's my ratings out of 5 tacos:
Out of 5 tacos, here's my ratings:
| Food Taste: |  |
| Value: |  |
| Cleanliness: | |
| Service: | |
| Overall: | |
| Likelihood to return: | |
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Armando’s by Chris
On May 2, we made the trip up the north side at Armando’s Mexican Grill. They are located at 2227 N Arkansas in the building that El Paisa and Casa Del Charro were in.
I arrived a tad early and enjoyed their CHIPS AND SALSA. Their chips were nice and fresh and the salsa was tasty.
They had a nice selection of tacos on the menu and I chose 5 of then. We waited roughly 12 minutes and our tacos arrived.
My carne asada was room temp. It was well cooked (other than the temp) but severely lacking in flavor. The meat was nice and tender.
Al pastor was room temp and lacking in flavor. Normally, al pastor is my favorite taco but theirs was totally underwhelming.
Their chorizo was spicy but not too spicy and not too greasy. This one was actually at an edible temperature. Chorizo tacos are hit or miss, this one was a hit.
The carnitas was room temp, lacking in flavor and huge clumps of meat that you have to really work to bite through. It almost seems like this was yesterday’s meat that they didn’t serve.
My first chicken taco had two small pieces of chicken on it. Obviously that is not acceptable. The second attempt, the chicken was grossly over cooked. The meat was extremely tough and the flavor was not fantastic.
I won’t be back for a few reasons. Of all of the tacos, the only one with ever thinking of again was the chorizo. The servers attitude about the meatless taco was less than acceptable. The meat temps are concerning to me.
Chris
Mr Taco for the win?
A couple weeks back, we finally made it to Mr Taco. This is a tiny building at 25th and Arkansas. There are a few tables outside but no seating inside. Most importantly, they are cash only.
To order your tacos, you have to go insure the tiny building and speak over the people sitting at the three seats at the bar to place your order. There is a bit of a language barrier.
We placed our orders and found a seat at the concrete tables.
When the food arrived roughly 15 minutes later, it looked amazing. Unfortunately, I had to send mine back as they put raw onion on my tacos. I think this was largely due to the language barrier. On the positive side, they only took a couple of minutes to remake my tacos.
I ordered a total of 4 tacos, barbacoa, carnitas, al pastor and carne asada. They came out looking and smelling absolutely delicious.
I was starving when my food came out so I didn’t get you details on each taco. The tacos had plenty of meat on them, it was all very tender and nicely cooked. There is not a single complaint that I can come up with about the tacos.
A member of our party went off topic and ordered a quesadilla. I must say, the quesadilla was absolutely fantastic. The tacos were good, this was amazing.
I must say, this stop shocked me. I had been to Mr Taco roughly 10 years ago and was totally disappointed. This visit was the polar opposite of what I experienced last time I was there.
I will most definitely be back. I may have a hard time sticking with the tacos though based on how delicious the quesadilla was. They have certainly found a place in my top 10. It will take at least one more visit to determine where in the top 10 they fit.
El Vaquero, how about El VaquerNO
Today we are at El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant on E Central. We have had a few people ask us to go check it out. I guess they have a mariachi band on weekends and whatnot. So here we are.
Upon arriving, the parking is weird. You have you park around the back of the building and there are no windows.
I was immediately seated. The place was nearly empty. I reviewed the menu and decided on 4 tacos Mexicano (street tacos) and a ground beef white boy taco.
We devoured some chips and tomato sauce (salsa). It took roughly 20 minutes for the food to arrive.
Ground beef taco had a soggy shell at the bottom and a stale shell up top. The meat wasn’t very warm. This was a lose-lose for this taco.
The carnitas was cold and had very taste to the taco. When I say cold, I don’t mean room temperature, I mean cold.
The al pastor was very flavorful and well cooked. It had an interesting spice to it. I think they put some of the marinade on each taco as there were a couple delicious chunks of pineapple on the taco.
The chicken was rubbery and lacking in flavor. I don’t know if the meat was undercooked or severely over cooked but after 1 bite, I was uninterested in learning more. The meat was also room temperature.
My carne asada was tough but had a nice taste to it. Guess what the biggest problem with the carne asada was...seriously, guess. If you guessed that it was room temp, you are correct.
Assumptions to be drawn from this visit is that our food sat in the back for a while. That is the only logical explanation for the room temperature food and the extremely long wait in an empty restaurant.
We were informed that they have $1 tacos on Tuesday but I don’t think that I will bother with visiting again. IF I visit again, I will likely only order al pastor tacos. I would rate them somewhere in the bottom 1/3 of all of the places we have visited.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Travis - Taco Tour stop #57 - Mr Taco - 711 W 25th St N
So many moons ago when we first started on our tour, we heard about this place called Mr Taco. Mr Taco has been on our list for quite awhile and it had rave reviews from quite a few people. We actually attempted to go there a couple of times but either they were closed or we didn't have cash or some other factor made us go elsewhere. We also learned earlier this year that the owners had started a new place (that we already reviewed) so we weren't entirely sure if/when we'd make it there. Well oddly, we were headed somewhere else that was closed so we decided to try Mr Taco again this week - and I'm glad we did!
Oh, and there is an unofficial FB page here or an official page here: Not sure which is most correct since the "official" one shows the name as Alondra's (which is the new place they opened over on 21st St). #confusion
I'm going to get the warnings out of the way first. This place has VERY limited parking. They also ONLY accept cash. There WILL be a language barrier if you're a mostly uncultured white dude like me. (I regret taking German in HS and not Spanish). They also only have outdoor seating - and not very good seating at that. So plan ahead and maybe even have an alternate plan in your back pocket. But spoiler alert, it's worth the trip if you can get in...
We arrived at random intervals since we were actually headed somewhere else first. Getting there first, I ordered my tacos - which if I remember correctly were $1.90 each. They were out of pollo by the time I ordered, so I ordered a barbacoa, carnitas, al pastor, and carne asada.
The wait was slightly more than expected but they had a few patrons ahead of us so it wasn't unreasonable. We sat outside in metal chairs at a slightly unlevel concrete patio table. Definitely not the best decorated joint we've been to, but hey, we're there for tacos! When they arrived, I was pleased by the amount of meat that I was seeing and was anxious to dig in.
I started with the barbacoa - it had plenty of meat. One thing that seems consistent with a lot of places is the barbacoa tends to be a little fatty - and this was no exception. It wasn't bad though - the flavor was decent and the salsa was a nice addition and added a nice kick.
Carnitas was next and is always one I look forward to wherever we go. This one had lots of meat for sure. It had a really nice flavor in the meat - this was an excellent choice here as I really enjoyed it. I'll definitely get this taco again whenever we make it back. I added a little red sauce to the mix and it brought it up a notch higher. Yay!
Side note - I took a bite of the quesadilla asada. WOW. It was really good. Excellent steak flavor and cheesy yummy goodness. I will probably get that next time I'm here!
The al pastor taco was next and it had a nice familiar red color to it. The flavor was good and it had a little bite - especially after I added the sauce. There was an ever so slight crunch on the edge of the meat being just slightly "blackened". I like this extra bit of texture so it was a good choice of taco for the day.
Last but definitely not least was the carne asada. It had lots of meat too. The steak flavor that I enjoyed sneaking a bite of in the quesadilla was also in this taco. They know how to cook their steak here. I really liked this taco and will look forward to coming back and having this again.
Oh, and there is an unofficial FB page here or an official page here: Not sure which is most correct since the "official" one shows the name as Alondra's (which is the new place they opened over on 21st St). #confusion
I'm going to get the warnings out of the way first. This place has VERY limited parking. They also ONLY accept cash. There WILL be a language barrier if you're a mostly uncultured white dude like me. (I regret taking German in HS and not Spanish). They also only have outdoor seating - and not very good seating at that. So plan ahead and maybe even have an alternate plan in your back pocket. But spoiler alert, it's worth the trip if you can get in...
We arrived at random intervals since we were actually headed somewhere else first. Getting there first, I ordered my tacos - which if I remember correctly were $1.90 each. They were out of pollo by the time I ordered, so I ordered a barbacoa, carnitas, al pastor, and carne asada.
The wait was slightly more than expected but they had a few patrons ahead of us so it wasn't unreasonable. We sat outside in metal chairs at a slightly unlevel concrete patio table. Definitely not the best decorated joint we've been to, but hey, we're there for tacos! When they arrived, I was pleased by the amount of meat that I was seeing and was anxious to dig in.
I started with the barbacoa - it had plenty of meat. One thing that seems consistent with a lot of places is the barbacoa tends to be a little fatty - and this was no exception. It wasn't bad though - the flavor was decent and the salsa was a nice addition and added a nice kick.
Carnitas was next and is always one I look forward to wherever we go. This one had lots of meat for sure. It had a really nice flavor in the meat - this was an excellent choice here as I really enjoyed it. I'll definitely get this taco again whenever we make it back. I added a little red sauce to the mix and it brought it up a notch higher. Yay!
Side note - I took a bite of the quesadilla asada. WOW. It was really good. Excellent steak flavor and cheesy yummy goodness. I will probably get that next time I'm here!
The al pastor taco was next and it had a nice familiar red color to it. The flavor was good and it had a little bite - especially after I added the sauce. There was an ever so slight crunch on the edge of the meat being just slightly "blackened". I like this extra bit of texture so it was a good choice of taco for the day.
Last but definitely not least was the carne asada. It had lots of meat too. The steak flavor that I enjoyed sneaking a bite of in the quesadilla was also in this taco. They know how to cook their steak here. I really liked this taco and will look forward to coming back and having this again.
Overall, I'm really glad we didn't give up on Mr Taco. I'm happy to report they are still there (and it looks like they might even have a new and improved sign). The cooking is excellent and I definitely want to come back and get more of anything that has steak on it. To all of you who recommended them - in spite of our struggles to get here - thank you. Mr Taco lands among my favorites - I just have to remember to have cash with me and either plan on carrying out or visiting on a weather-cooperative day.
Out of 5 tacos, here's my ratings:
| Food Taste: | |
| Value: | |
| Cleanliness: | |
| Service: | |
| Overall: | |
| Likelihood to return: | |
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