Mexico City Grill
11653 Fishers Station Drive
Fishers, IN 46038
http://www.mexicocitygrill.com

Saturday night brought me to a restaurant location that EatHSE has reviewed on this blog before, Mexico City Grill.  I have been to this restaurant several times before and always ordered the same thing, so I figured I would mix it up a bit this time and order something different and do a review.  I reiterate the chips and salsa part of his review, so I’ll just stick to what I got as my entree and here we go…

What I Got:  Pollo Loco; ~$9.50 (can’t remember the exact price and the menu is not posted online for me to verify).

My outstanding three years of Spanish in high school tells me that Pollo Loco loosely translates in English to “crazy chicken” so I was handed a seasoned and grilled chicken breast served with Mexican rice, lettuce, two avocado slices and pico de gallo.  Served on the side were three warm flour tortillas (not in the photo).  If you can’t tell in the picture, this chicken breast was pounded thin and when I say thin, I mean extremely thin.  Frankly, it was so thin that it was borderline comical and I’ve got to say that I was disappointed in how absurd it was.  I guess the thinness of this chicken breast was the loco part because no one in their right mind should pound a chicken breast that thin unless they are telling a joke.

I was disappointed in the flavor as well because while the seasoning was nice, the chicken breast was pounded so thin that it probably took about 7.3 seconds to grill and that was about 2.5 seconds too long because they dried this one out quickly.  When I was able to mix the chicken with the rest of the plate in a flour tortilla it was palatable, but once I ran out of tortillas and had to start eating just the chicken breast, I was pretty disappointed because not only was it dry, but it was also tough.  What a major, hardcore disappointment.

The remainder of the dish was pretty much standard stuff.  The avocado slices were nice and I always appreciate that and the rice, while fluffy did taste as if it was made in a big batch and then kept in a warmer tray for a long period of time.  Thankfully, it hadn’t dried out yet and was still flavorful with a bit of spice too it, but it was nothing to write home about.  The pico de gallo had a slight tang, but again, nothing to write home about.  All of this stuff wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either.  It just existed.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes to Mexico City Grill, but no specifically to the Pollo Loco dish.  I have had good meals at Mexico City Grill (the dish with seasoned pork chunks is my go-to dish, but I can’t remember the name and the lack of menu stops me from looking it up), so I’ll just stick to the stuff that I know well and like and not venture out again next time.  I know that there is a large seafood tortilla that my mom and her husband swear by too, so they do have good dishes here.  Unfortunately, I chose one of the dishes that is not one of those good ones.  Oh well, you live and learn.

-IndianapolisEater

Pancho’s Taqueria
7023 Michigan Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46268
http://www.panchosmexicantaqueria.com

If I had a list of my favorite foods that I like to eat, burritos would be firmly planted towards the top.  Even a bad burrito can be palatable.  When I talk about Mexican food in Indy, I always get recommendation to go to Pancho’s Taqueria.  Indianapolis Eater already gave the Allisonville location a try and gave it a WIBIA-Yes rating.  I tried it about three years ago and it didn’t leave any lasting memories, so I thought that I would take another swing at it.

What I Ate: Lunch Special #12 – Burrito with sour cream and lettuce.  Drink was included; $7.90 with tax.

Now, this was a little misleading.  A sign on the front said they had specials from $4.99, but I didn’t see any lunch specials for that amount.  Also, the sign said that all lunch specials were served with refried beans and rice.

As you can see, no beans and rice.  When I opened my burrito, there were beans and rice inside, so I would assume that is what the sign meant?  Kind of confusing.  Pancho’s has a salsa bar with seemingly freshly made pico and four different types of salsa.  I tried the pico and the “salsa for chips.”  Looking at my plate, I thought…what am I going to do with iceberg lettuce topped with sour cream and a nasty looking tomato?  I opened the burrito and dumped it all in and with a full scoops of the above mentioned salsa.  The burrito shell was slightly grilled and made it difficult to reassemble with the increased amount of ingredients.

Pancho’s gives you the ability to choose from about seven different meats.  Normal fare includes chicken, steak, ground beef, chorizo, carnitas, tripe, etc.  The carne asada (steak) was cooked well and cut into very small pieces.  I picked a few pieces out to taste them outside of the burrito and I found it to be a little bland.  However, the meat was gristle free and had very little fat.  The beans and rice were filler.  If you have had ‘em once, I guess.  The pico brightened it up a little and the salsa made the burrito a little too runny.

Would I Buy It Again?  No. This was a boring burrito.  $7.90 for a burrito and a drink is about as much as Chipotle and I am not sure if I would pick Pancho’s over Chipotle.  For burritos or tacos, I prefer neighboring El Pastorcito or even El Taco Torro.  It wasn’t a bad burrito and you should give it a try to see if you are with the masses.  I found Pancho’s to be a step above the El Rodeo’s of the world, but a step below the burrito elite in Indy.

-Wibia