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

Los Reyes De La Torta
9230 N 7th St
Phoenix, AZ 85020

Man v. Food in Phoenix was an episode in the most recent season.  This was a featured segment, but not the eating challenge of the episode.

Just like any other taqueria food, I love tortas.  I have had my fair share of them, that is for sure.  When I saw this episode and knew that I was going to Phoenix in August, I had to give it a try.

What I Got:  Del Rey, $7.95.  Beans, breaded beef, two egg omelet with chorizo, ham, pork, tomato, guac, cheese and a hot dog.

There were two guys sitting next to me that were pretty big dudes and they both ordered it and finished only half, so I was a little bit worried.

The sandwich was huge…Carnegie Deli huge.  At first bite, I liked it quite a bit.  The breaded steak and the pork were standouts.  The bread was a little too wimpy and the sandwich struggled to stay together in my hands.  I polished off the first half with no problems.  After a few bites on the second half, I decided to start knife and forking it.  I found the hot dog to be absolutely useless and I pulled that off my second half.

I left about a quarter on the plate mostly because I was tired of eating it, but I could’ve finished it.  The torta was served with Ruffles, which I thought was kind of strange.  They didn’t offer chips and salsa service.

Would I Buy It Again? No.  (yes, I changed it from the RSS feed this morning) The Del Rey was good, but not great.  Considering the amount of Mexican restaurants in Phx, I think that I would try something different.  Plus, I’d rather have a torta that was more focused than one that throws everything in the kitchen on some bread and calls it a sandwich.  Even though the owner is from Mexico City, I felt it wasn’t that authentic.  My wife enjoyed a grilled chicken torta, but she didn’t love her meal either.

This however has confirmed that Man V Food recommendations (as a hole) are not very good. It will probably be my last time that I search out a MvF location.

However, the place is doing a lights out business. Standing room only the entire time I was there, so they have to be doing something right.

-wibia

El Pollo Tapatio
4112 N High School Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46254

I can say with a good amount of certainty that I have tried the majority of taquerias in Indianapolis.   El Pollo Tapatio has been on my list for a while, so I decided to cross it off on a rainy night, dining by myself.  I kind of chuckled at the name as it basically means “A Chicken from Guadalajara.”  Tapatio is also a brand of hot sauce as well.

I walked in about 35 minutes before closing, but they said they were open.  The waitress spent the majority of the time talking to her boyfriend which was the only other person in the restaurant at the time.  Chips and salsa were provided.  The chips were straight out of a bag and I found the salsa to be good for a taqueria as I usually dislike taqueria salsa.  This one had a hint of dried chile de arbol which I didn’t love, but overall it is better than the majority I have had.

The menu is straight forward.  A good amount of seafood which I wasn’t 100% trusting, so I decided to stick to what I know.

What I Ate: Super Burrito $4.00. Mixed meat, carnitas and carne asada, lettuce, pico, sour cream,

The waitress advised that I could combine up to three meats in a burrito.   I went for the above mentioned two.   I would think that they would split the burrito half and half, however they put the meats side by side in the burrito.   I can’t say that I enjoyed this and it was difficult to tell the difference between the meat.  Both meats were shredded, but they neglect to fry the carnitas before putting it in the burrito to achieve a little bark on the outside.  Basically, they were pulled out of a roasted pan, grease and all and sat the meat in the burrito.

The pico, sour cream and lettuce were really non-factors.  It was a very meaty burrito.

Would I Buy It Again?  No to the burrito. My problem is that this burrito was really greasy.  The grease made the shell transparent and when you squished the grease out of the meat, it just wasn’t that flavorful.   However, maybe to El Pollo Tapatio. Four tables after me ordered the same thing, Whole Chicken for $10.95.   It appeared there were two whole roasted chickens accompanied with tortillas and fixings.  I saw a few families eating just this and loving it.

All in all, it wasn’t a horrible meal, but I literally had to stop and get a few napkins to wipe off my steering wheel because or residual grease on my hands…and yes, I washed them after I was finished.

-wibia

El Meson
8920 Wesleyan Road
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Phone: (317) 872-6400
http://www.elmesonmexicanrestaurant.com/

Nestled in around Michigan Road and Interstate 465, El Meson has a very odd looking building.  The back of the building faces Michigan Road (the busier road) so I am never sure when they are open.  The place also looks a little sketchy right in between five chain restaurants.

The interior was a lot bigger than I thought it would be…and it was a lot nicer.  See:

Normal setup as a chips and salsa guy hooks you up right away and then a totally different guy comes and takes your order.  The chips were stale, but the salsa wasn’t that bad.

What I Ate: Burrito Gigante, Thursday Special = $4.99

When this burrito hit the table, it quickly proved that it was appropriately named.  It was packed with refried beans, rice, chicken and lettuce.  Overall, it was okay and satisfied my gluttonous lunch.  I wouldn’t consider this authentic and I can’t say there were any surprises here.

The guac that was plopped on top of the burrito was pretty bad and I removed that quickly.  It was too smooth and I didn’t taste a hint of cilantro.

I spent most of the meal thinking about how cheap this was instead of any standout flavors.  I was stuffed from this meal and I can only imagine the calorie count.

Would I Buy It Again?  Maybe, but probably not.  If I am looking for a cheap burrito fix without wanting to drive to my favorite taquerias, this might satisfy my craving.  I have had a lot worse…and a lot better.  If I worked on a number scale, I would give it a 6/10; slightly above average for a non-authentic “authentic Mexican restaurant.”  If you have been to El Rodeo, La Hacienda, Cancun, I can’t say that you will be surprised by El Meson, but it would not stand a chance against the real taquerias in town.

-wibia

Riviera Maya
8657 E. 116^th Street
Fishers, IN 46038

http://www.rivieramayamexicanrestaurant.com/menu.html

[Editor's Note:  There also appears to be a scanned copy of the menu at Coupons4Indy.com's site.  There are additional coupons for the restaurant there as well.]

This downtown Fishers location used to be the home of smoke-filled breakfast placed called Papa’s, a short lived night club and a failed tavern to name a few.  During the winter, a sign was posted that Riviera Maya was coming and I watched the place slowly transformed as workers gutted the place and cut stone for weeks.  Somebody was finally putting some money in here and I eagerly waited its opening about fifteen days ago.  This is the owner’s second location outside of the original Columbus, Indiana location.  The Fishers location does not yet have a menu online, but the Columbus one I linked in this review matched Fishers with the prices being higher in Fishers.  So how is the food?

Chips and Salsa

If you can’t do the chips and salsa right, you are in big trouble.  Fortunately, the chips were a darker corn color, warm and fresh but need some salt for my own taste.  The salsa is good and picks up a punch the more you eat even though it is not heavily spiced.  The salsa is a very basic smooth textured salsa, but not runny, which is my favorite kind.  I like a little cilantro in mine, but as I said, it is a good simple salsa.

What I Got:

Burrito Loco $9.99: A large 12 inch burrito stuffed with chicken, steak, shrimp and topped with a white melted cheese that never left a heavy feeling as I ate it.  The steak was so soft that it melted in my mouth and the shrimp was marinated and cooked to perfection which is rare as most places overcook shrimp for my taste.  This is quite frankly one of my favorite burritos I have ever had and the quality of all the meats was high and cooked to perfection.  My only complaint is that the burrito did not come with rice or beans which I may request next time.

Chimichanga Acapulco $8.99: My wife got this deep fried flour filled tortilla with chicken, steak, shrimp covered in cheese and served with typical sides like beans, Pico, rice and guacamole.  I do not eat deep fried food, but tried this chimichanga and begged my wife for a second bite.  It was so good that my wife ordered it again on our second visit three nights later to celebrate my birthday.

Quesadilla Rellena $6.99: A typical quesadilla with chicken and refried beans that is served with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole.  I tried a bit of my kids’ meal they happily shared and ate some themselves.  Any time I can find a menu item that a two and three year old love, it makes the whole experience better for everyone.  By the way, the guacamole is top notch and I ordered an extra bowl for $2.50.

Fajitas Especial: $11.99: On my second trip for my birthday, I decided to give the fajita a try.  There are many variations and combinations of fajitas you can order to meet your preferences.  Not only did my fajitas come with the same good chicken, steak and shrimp I mentioned previously, but they also came with a Mexican sausage similar to chorizo but better.  Along with this combination came all of the typical menu additions you find with fajita elsewhere including grilled onions, peppers, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, Pico, rice and beans.  This was easily two meals for $11.99 and easily my favorite fajitas when comparing them to other area restaurants.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes.  I was shocked when I walked into the place as it has been completely transformed and we were quickly seated in a spacious booth.  The fast and efficient service would be the pattern throughout dinner.  Fishers finally has a winner filling what was once and often a vacant location.  In both of my visits to Riveria Maya, the food has been very good and the service kept up with keeping my drink full and fresh chips and salsa on the table.  Both of my experiences have been very positive in the fifteen days they have been open and the parking lot is packed nightly as Fishers takes its first taste of the Riveria Maya.  With dishes ranging for the typical $8 combos to $18 fish dishes, a large menu and a family friendly atmosphere, Riveria Maya has something to offer everyone and I highly recommend you stop in a give Fishers newest restaurant a try.  I will continue to follow-up this review of other menu items each time I visit.

-EatHSE

On The Border
http://www.ontheborder.com/

I approached On The Border like I did watching the movie “Titanic.”  You know how it is going to end, but there has to be more to the story, right?  Not always the case.

OTB is a Brinker restaurant (Chili’s, Maggiano’s), although they are currently in the process of being sold to a private investor and that sale should close by the end of 2010.  It is casual Mexican, family environment, right by a mall, you get the drift.

What I Ate: Lunch Burrito.  $8.99  Filled with steak, cheese, pico de gallo and topped with queso.

I always call this gloopy-glop mexican.  Cheese everywhere.  The burrito was bland and the steak that filled it was flavorless as well.  The queso had skin on top from being heated too long.  Black beans and rice were pretty bad as well.  Flavorless, straight out of a bag and box.

Would I Buy It Again?  No, absolutely not, never ever again.  Indy is a great city for Mexican food and this is about as bad as it gets.

However, I think that the On The Border Tortilla Chips in the grocery store are pretty good.

-wibia

Within the past few days, Taco Bell has debuted yet ANOTHER menu item (seems like this happens about once a month).  This time, they’ve introduced a line of tortadas with one being a Bacon Ranch Tortada and the other being a Salsa Roja Tortada.  If you look at the title of this review, you can obviously figure out which one I got.

What I Got:  Salsa Roja Tortada $3.29

The Salsa Roja Tortada is, in Taco Bell’s words:

“A warm flour tortilla loaded with fire-grilled marinated all-white meat chicken, crisp shredded lettuce, fiesta salsa, flavorful salsa roja, and a blend of three cheeses – cheddar, pepper jack, and mozzarella, all grilled together hot and toasty.“

Well, I can confirm that is the case.  My Tortada included all of these things and I must admit that I was a big fan of the salsa roja.  I thought it would be the same thing as the fiesta salsa that you find in all the Fresco style items and I also thought listing salsa roja and fiesta salsa would be redundant because they would be the same thing, yet I was surprised by the taste.  The salsa roja it had a slight bit more kick to it than your usual fiesta salsa (or at least it seemed that way), so it was a great addition to the Tortada.

The remainder of the Tortada was just a conglomeration of items that Taco Bell ordinarily has on hand (they are good at that).  The cheese was gooey, the tortilla was toasted and grilled quite well and the chicken was flavorful and tender.

As a quick note, this is a fairly decent sized item too as they serve it in the same packaging that they ordinarily serve their quesadillas.  It’s not as big as a quesadilla, but it is somewhat comparable in size.

Would I Buy It Again? Well, that’s a tough question and here’s where I sometimes struggle to give definitive answers for this blog because the taste of an item doesn’t always match up with the price of the item.  If I was buying on taste alone, then yes, I would buy it again.  If I was buying on taste combined with value, then no, I would not buy it again.  This was a very tasty menu item, but I don’t think it is worth the $3.29 that they charged me for it.  If it was in the neighborhood of $2.50 or so, it would be an exceptional value.  At $3.29, it’s a bit too much, even though you are getting a decent sized menu item.

Even still, if you want to try something different, then give this Tortada a shot.  You won’t be disappointed.

-IndianapolisEater

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