Torchy's Tacos (Norman, OK)

At the end of April, I took a quick trip to Tulsa, OK to visit my friend Shelby. She has been there for four years, but is moving back to Kansas City next month (!!!!) and I wanted to take one last visit to eat the good food and see the good sights. This time around we visited the Philbrook Museum of Art (designed by the same architect as the KC Plaza), saw the house that The Outsiders was filmed in, ate delicious donuts at Hurts, and more. And while Tulsa is fun, we had something else on our mind...

  

Back in February when Shelby and I visited Houston together, I gave my first FIVE PEPPER review to Torchy's Tacos. Torchy's is based in Texas, but has expanded to have a location in Norman (about 2 hours from Tulsa), and will soon actually have a location in Tulsa as well. Being so close, and having been dreaming about their tacos for months... Shelby and I decided that the drive to Norman would be worth it and we hit the road on Saturday night.

 

Upon arrival and perusal of the menu, I decided on the following tacos [pictured in order]:

• Crossroads: smoked beef brisket with grilled onions, jalapenos, cilantro, jack cheese, and a slice of avocado. Served with tomatilla sauce on a fresh corn tortilla. [I got mine on flour].
• Green Chili Pork: slow-roasted pork carnitas simmered with green chiles and topped with queso fresco, cilantro, onions, and a wedge of lime.
• Fried Avacado: hand-battered fresh avocados fried and served with vegetarian refried beans, topped with pico, lettuce, and cheese. Served with poblano sauce on a corn tortilla. [I got mine on flour].

  

My thoughts on this Torchy's experience:

• The Crossroads
• Tender brisket
• Perfect spice amount with the combination of jalapeno and green salsa
• Jack cheese had a good flavor profile against the pork
• I don't like cilantro
• Avocado was not ripe
• Overall, just missing something
• The Green Chili Pork-
• Tender pork but lacking flavor other than the lime I spritzed
• Cilantro :(
• Cheese
• Meh
• The Fried Avocado-
• Too full, stuff was falling out no matter how I went at it
• Light spice
• Avocados were perfect once they had been fried
• Sauce made it a bit too spicy for me
• Refriend beans gave a great textural difference with fried avocado, but so many beans that it overpowered other flavors
• My margarita was too small for the price that I paid

To be quite frank, I was really disappointed with this Torchy's experience compared to the last. This location was definition more of a chain vibe where you ordered at the counter when you came in and got a number for them to be brought to your table, whereas last time we had a great bartender/server. Honestly, I'm almost glad that this experience was not as good though because it has forced me to be more realistic regarding ratings and what is "perfect."

Any given taco on any given day, friends!

Rating (out of 5):

QDOBA (Gladstone, KC)

Do you have those nights where you're tired and cranky and don't feel like cooking anything? Where there's nothing you'd rather do but lay on the couch watching bad reality television? That was me a couple weeks ago after work one night. As the school year gets closer and closer to its end, I am more and more exhausted! Between standardized testing, trying to finish our novel units, and the usual "end of year" concerts and activities, I feel like I never get a chance to stop and relax a little bit! This fateful night led me to trying QDOBA...

Let me be honest, the basis of its appeal was that it is about 1.5 miles from my house, so it didn't take me long to get there. Plus, as far as fast-food taco joints go, I'd heard this one was worth trying even thought it's a chain establishment. Off I went...

 

Having never been to QDOBA before, I was anxious to see what options they had on the menu. I ended up ordering the following [pictured in order]:

• Drunken Yardbird: Tequila lime chicken, guacamole, salsa verde, cilantro, minced onion and cotija cheese
• Two Timer: Pulled pork, salsa roja, shredded cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo and cotija cheese in a crispy taco... wrapped in a flour tortilla spread with 3-cheese Queso
• Gladiator: Grilled steak, bacon, pico de gallo, lettuce, Mexican caesar dressing, cilantro and cotija cheese

 

Now for what you're here for... my taco thoughts:

• The Drunken Yardbird: the chicken was okay, but kind of dry. It had guac on it, but it was very much a fast food guac with no fresh taste at all. The salsa verde had a medium level of spice. Mushy overall.
• Two Timer: pork was tender! With this taco having both a soft shell and then a crunchy shell inside, you're afforded a great textural element. Queso was creamy and decent.
• Gladiator: This taco had steak and bacon, both of which were overcooked for my liking, but this may more typical of Mexican style? Too much pico. The Mexican Caesar dressing was good and creamy, but let me with a weird spice in my mouth.

As far as experience, I thought the feel of QDOBA was kind of neat. Basically a modern spot with metal and exposed ceilings/lights. The location I visited had only been open for about a week at the point of my going, so things ran a little slow with workers being unsure of what was on each taco. I think this has probably ironed itself now that they've had the chance to get their footing. I will probably go back and each here again when I'm having ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS, but as far as my quest...

Rating (out of 5):

Rosales Market (South Bend, IN)

Today, I bring you a recap/review of Rosales Market in South Bend, IN. Each time I visit somewhere new, I try to find a great taco place to indulge in... this stop in the home of Notre Dame was no different! I was given the recommendation to try Rosales and when I was told it was in a Mexican supermarket, I was in. If you know me, you know that I'm a fan of places without pristine eating environments. Give me a BBQ restaurant with a floor that's sticky from the smoker and I'm in! When we arrived at Rosales, I knew that I was going to have some amazing tacos because it was clear that their focus was on the food and not the fanfare.

Their menu:

 

First and foremost, as you may have noticed, their menu was in Spanish and written on poster board. I actually loved this because I felt that it showed the authenticity of their product. As I said, I'm more concerned about a good "bite" than the festive decorations.

As you can imagine, the tacos at Rosales Market were traditional, served on corn tortillas. We also ordered a chicken quesadilla for comparison/because why not?

 

When I try new taco places, I try to order a variety of types of meat just because some places have their specialties and whatnot. I did the same at Rosales, ordered the following:
- Azada [steak]
- Pollo [chicken]
- Carnitas [pork]
I added cheese to all of the tacos because you guys know how I feel about having a "fat." I also ordered a Pineapple Fanta because I'd never seen one before and that was a nice treat.

 

 

I don't know if you know him, but lately I've been following the guy who goes around Manhattan trying different pizza places. He takes one bite of the pizza and then gives his rating [on video]. I love this concept, but obviously he has already adopted his slogan, "One bite everyone knows the rules." With that in mind, I have been more mindful lately of the "bite" and how the first bite tastes versus others, etc. Blah blah blah, here are my taco thoughts:

• Azada: this taco brought about not only food feelings, but a conversation with my friend Shelby about the correct spelling [Azada vs Asada]. Regardless of spelling, these were my favorite of the day. The meat was diced small, so the bites weren't a challenge to take. I also though the combination of onion, cilantro, and cheese gave for the perfect combination of tart from the onion, creaminess from the cheese, and green texture. I've said it before, but I've become kind of a judgmental lettuce eater, but these did not disappoint.
• Pollo: This is the very first chicken taco on this journey that didn't leave me disappointed. It was seasoned to PERFECTION. Plus, it was moist, but not overly juicy/soggy.
• Carnitas: Carnitas are shredded pork, and what I found with this particular taco was that the meat itself was a little dried out, but was so so so flavorful. You can tell they put a lot into the preparation of the proteins for their tacos!

Honorable mention for this visit was their salsa! I'm a sucker for a smokey sweet salsa and this was definitely that! I doused my tacos in this salsa after taking my first bites and probably would have stolen the bottle if it would have fit in my purse. YUM!

Rating (out of 5):

El Sombrero (Claycomo, KC)

I've taken a little bit of time off from the blog, honestly, just to refocus and find my drive again. I continued eating out and jotting down my thoughts/reviews for this space, but between Easter, visiting a friend out of town, and throwing my back out, it has been hectic! Don't worry though! I've got FOUR new posts up in the queue, so you'll have some great taco suggestions to cover you for a while.

This post focuses on El Sombrero in Claycomo, MO. Claycomo is a small sector in the KC metro area, falling near Gladstone/North Kansas City/Liberty. This restaurant was actually recommended to me by a colleague of mine from Cameron. 

The first thing I HAVE to say about El Sombrero is that is very obviously a family owned and oriented restaurant. They have family photos all over the place, including past generations. From what I've found online and heard, this restaurant has been in their family for 50+ years. It's definitely the type of place that you go because your grandparents went, then your parents went, and someday your kids will probably go because you take them. I loved that when people were leaving they went to the kitchen window to say goodbye to the owner (who was cooking, obviously). Better than that, he knew most people by name! I love a good neighborhood establishment, and this definitely had that homey feel with its staff, decorations, and overall feel.

  

As far as food, I ordered a #5, which was 2 beef tacos, 2 enchiladas, 1 tostada, rice and refried beans [$10.50]. The meal also came with complimentary chips/salsa. I was also able to try the #2 nachos!

 

  

My overall thoughts:

• Greasy chips, very traditional
• Salsa was bright/fresh with finely diced ingredients
• Pinched tacos were their specialty - more difficult/time consuming to make
• Well seasoned beef
• So. Much. Cheese. ... yikes!
• Beans were not quite refried, so I did not love them
• For my lettuce-critiquing friends, the amount was perfect
• The nachos with cheese sauce were the best thing about the meal [and I didn't even order these!!!]
• Well seasoned rice, soft and yummy
• Boo to cheese enchiladas - no protein, so there was way too much cheese

As I said, I did not order the nachos for myself even though that's what I wanted. I'm trying to stick as true to the taco venture as possible on my first visits to restaurants. Because of that, I only got to TRY one nacho, but they were delicious!!

I definitely want to go back and eat at El Sombrero again, so that I can try something different! Plus, they have a breakfast menu, and YES to Mexican for breakfast. With that said, basing it off what I ate at this meal...

Rating (out of 5):

Rancho Grande Cantina (Parkville, KC)

At the end of March, I had the opportunity to have a meal at Racho Grande Cantina in the Parkville area. I had been once before for a work-related gathering, but it had been a while and I wanted to try the tacos. I went in with high hopes because I remembered having a fairly positive experience the first time I'd gone, and let's be honest, I had been having DREAMS about their deep-fried avocado since that fateful night. Thankfully, the avocado was just as amazing as I remembered it because, well, the rest of the experience stunk...

  

To give you some background, Rancho Grande has been around for a while. They have 3 locations [Blue Springs, Liberty, and Parkville]. They run daily specials and even have a special Friday menu for Lent, which I thought was pretty cool for those who observe "no meat" Friday's. I went to visit the restaurant on a Sunday, right after having seen the new Beauty and The Beast, and was looking forward to having my socks knocked off --

 

As I mentioned, I ordered the deep fried avocado [$6.39]. I also ordered the #11 dinner special, the Mariachi. This included two soft or puffy tacos with your choice of ground beef, chicken,  pork, chorizo, or shredded beef. Served with beans and rice [$9.99]. You could also "up order" for Carne Asada or Shrimp for $1.50 per taco.

• The deep fried avocado was AMAZING if you're into that sort of thing
• Beans were almost sweet, but weirdly also lacked flavor
• Rice was clumpy, but the flavor was there
• They got my order wrong-- I ordered a deep fried chorizo taco and a deep fried shredded beef taco. I got chorizo and shrimp
• Chorizo had an interesting slow heat, not the most flavorful during the bite, but had an after spice
• Shrimp was great-- good taste and cooked well
• When they brought my shredded beef taco, it was cooked with onion but had hardly any seasoning and was very greasy
• The waitress then tried to charge me for the shrimp taco that she mistakenly brought me, AND tried to up-charge me for the chorizo even though the menu said nothing about an up-charge for it. It was corrected

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with my visit. I'm not sure if it was because my expectations were set higher or what, but I was disappointed in the experience.

Rating (out of 5):

SIDE BAR INFO:

• I have now officially decided that deep-fried tacos are not my jam. In theory, they're a great idea and I always WANT them, but I've had them at three different restaurants now and they always end up making my tummy hurt [probably from the grease]. Sad day in the taco world.

Margarita's North (North Kansas City, KC)

A few weeks ago I went out for dinner at a restaurant in Kansas City called Margarita's! Pulled from their website, here is some info about Margarita's and their story:

Founded in 1985, Margarita’s is one of the Kansas City area’s favorite Mexican restaurants. The owners, Larry Gromer and Dave Quirarte, have kept their local business thriving over the last 31 years. The excellent food and drinks, as well as a loyal customer base, has helped make Margarita’s the popular Mexican restaurant it is today. Drop in for great happy hour drink specials, a family dinner gathering, or group celebration. You will enjoy your Margarita’s experience!

Margarita’s has five locations now serving the Greater Kansas City area.

Southwest Boulevard: 2829 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108

North Oak: 7013 North Oak Trafficway, Kansas City, MO 64118

Lenexa: 7890 Quivira Road, Lenexa, KS 66216

Liberty: 1910 Victory Drive, Liberty, MO 64068

Martin City: 13401 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO 64145"

Back in college, I dated a guy who was from the North Kansas City/Gladstone area so I had been to Margarita's before, but interestingly enough, since buying a house in North Kansas City, I had never taken a visit until last month. On a random night, I decided I wanted tacos [and honestly, when do I not want tacos??] and we popped over to give it a shot.

 

I ordered the #15-- Soft or Puffy Dinner [$9.49]. It came with two flour tortillas stuffed with cheese, lettuce & diced tomatoes with your choice of meat served with beans & rice. With Shrimp, Fajita Chicken, Tilapia or Steak, the price went up to [$13.69]. I ordered the meal with one ground beef taco and one chicken taco.

Overall thoughts:

• My servers name was Kelly and she was the BOMB DOT COM. She was super helpful with menu suggestions, gave us attention/held conversation, but wasn't overtly in our faces during the entire meal either. I liked that.
• I really want to like puffy tacos. Seriously, I keep ordering them in hopes that magically I will find a love with them. It hasn't happened yet. This were also fried for longer than other places I've been that have fried/puffy shells.
• The tacos were overly greasy between the meat and the fried shells.
• The rice was DELICIOUS. I maybe could have eaten an entire plate of JUST rice. Seriously. It was that good.
• The beans were good, but they had a mass amount of cheese on them. I have a thing with melted cheese on my beans, and I probably should have asked for it to be left off, but I didn't think about it. This left me not enjoying the beans as much as I maybe would have.

Rating (out of 5):

SIDE NOTE: I gave up margaritas for Lent this year in hopes of being a better person [haha], but I felt this promo they had was worth sharing with the masses [and specifically my friends from sophomore year of college], because who makes a Mag Dog margarita?? Yikes! Go Chiefs!