I have an appreciation for authentic Mexican food and Taco Bell is far from authentic.  However, it appears Taco Bell is trying to take a step in this direction with its new Cantina like tacos made with two corn tortillas, chopped onions, cilantro and a lime wedge with three meat choices.  Writing a review gave me a good excuse to stop by and try all three.

What I Ate:  Cantina Triple Pack, $4.62.

Chicken Cantina:  The chicken was finely chopped and tasted marinated but was still a bit dry.  The cilantro taste was strong but squeezing the lime over the top gave it a nice flavor.  Overall, mixed with the chopped onion, I enjoyed this 170 calorie taco with only 20 calories from fat making it a sensible choice.  For those watching your salt intake, this taco had 350mg, the highest of the three Carnitas.

Steak Cantina:  I am always leery of the quality of the steak from a place like Taco Bell.  Have you ever had the pre-made steak you can buy in a zipper bag in the processed meat section at your local grocery?  To me, this kind of steak usually has an odd texture and is missing the grilled taste.  This was the case for my experience with the chopped steak on the Steak Cantina as it tasted like hard pellets going down.   A problem with all the Cantinas is how quickly they fall apart even though there are two corn shells supporting the insides of this taco.  The double taco shell has a purpose but leaves flaps of corn shell hanging off making it an even bigger mess.  Surely Taco Bell could have a double thick shell made for this taco.  I ended up taking one of the shells off and giving it to my carb crazy daughter who loved it.

Carnitas Cantina:  Although wibia is a big fan of Carnitas, I have never been myself.  Of all the Cantinas, this taco was the big winner for me.  For some reason this one held together the best and the pork was soft and almost creamy with a nice juice.  That juice softened the chopped onions making them softer creating a blend of the ingredients that went well with the lime.  Due to the pork, this taco comes in at 200 calories with 60 from fat making it the worst choice of three for those counting calories.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes & No. I commend Taco Bell for trying something new that leans toward the authentic side a bit more.  The Carnitas were a hit for me and it would be something I get every time I go to Taco Bell.  The chicken is worthy of another try and a good choice for those with a chicken preference that like that cilantro chicken combination.  At all costs, stay away from the steak which had poor texture, little taste and was very dry.

-EatHSE

Friaco’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina
11680 Commercial Dr.
Fishers, IN 46037
317-578-7511
http://friacosrestaurant.com/

Yet another new restaurant has opened in Fishers, this time across from the Target on 116^th street .   Previously this location housed Stefano’s Pizzeria, which I was sad to see close.  I was surprised to see a Mexican restaurant going in there, as there seem to be so many others around, but was happy to have another to try out.  My wife is not a big fan of El Rodeo (though I like it pretty well) and neither of us wanted to drive to Castleton, so we thought we’d poke our heads in, check out the menu, and see how it looked.  Walking in, it was actually nicely decorated, with the typical Mexican music playing, and we even spotted some friends that looked happy with the meal they were wrapping up.  So we decided to try it out. Sitting down, we were pleased to see that Friaco’s is part of a small chain, with two locations in Illinois, as well as a location in Mexico.  We figured this means they must have some sort of proven formula and know what they’re doing.

What I Got:

We started out with a bean dip appetizer ($4.49), which consisted of a layer of white queso over refried beans.  It was very tasty with chips, but what was even tastier was the salsa they served with the chips.  It had a bit of bite, and was pureed to be smoothly chunky.  But both were very good.

Next, we moved onto entrees.  I love carnitas.  What is there to not love about them?  They’re chunks of fried pork, and hard to screw up.  They’re the chicken parmesan of Mexican restaurants.  So, I ordered the carnitas entrée ($10.99).  They came with rice, refried beans, lettuce and tomato topped with a slice of avocado, which was a very nice touch.  The carnitas were absolutely delicious – the only disappointment was that I could only make it through about half of them.  I might try the carnitas chimichunga next time as that also looks good.

My wife ordered the sour cream enchildas, which we both liked.  They were filled with shredded chicken with just the right amount of seasoning, and topped with a tasty sour cream sauce. They also had rice and beans on the side.  My entrée was not loaded with peppers and onions as per my request (I’m not a big fan of either), but both dishes tasted terrific and far from plain.  We also shared a 27 ounce blue margarita that was on special ($8.99) and which was quite good.  But really, is there such a thing as a bad margarita?

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, absolutely.  Everything we had was very good, and the atmosphere was pleasant enough to make it a nice location for a date night.  Some friends of ours also enjoyed their meal, and dropped off an extra “buy one get one half-off coupon” from coupons4indy.com.  They had signs up advertising that kids eat free on Mondays and $4.99 lunch specials during the week.  There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but Friaco’s hits a sweet spot for us as a great sit-down, slightly upscale Mexican restaurant.  It’s a big improvement over Don Pablo’s.  We’ll be going back there for sure, possibly with the kids in tow.

-BigRedEater