El Taco Torro
79th and Michigan
Indianapolis, IN

My first review/visit was a mixed bag.  I liked the burrito, but some of the tacos were filled with low quality meat.  At the end of the review, I didn’t think that I could give it a wibia-yes or no.  I decided to give it another try thinking that a second visit would help me make up my mind.

The chips and salsa are still pretty bad.  They give you a red salsa and a green salsa and cold chips.  At Mexican restaurants, I commonly eat so many chips that I don’t have room for my entree.  Here, I just push them aside, not worth the calories.

I ordered two chicken tacos, an al pastor taco and a carne asada burrito.   The tacos are served with cheese, lettuce and sour cream…not an authentic preparation of just cilantro and onions.  However, I liked the chicken more than the al pastor and I would say that both meats were of average quality.  They use a full-fat sour cream and it makes the tacos a little too rich for my taste.  With the sour cream and cheese, I tasted more dairy than I did meat.

Mirrored from my last visit, the burrito was slightly above average.  This version had a lot more pinto beans.  The shell was warm and there was a good meat ratio to the beans and rice.  They throw a little lettuce in for crunch.   I wouldn’t say that it is significantly better than surrounding taquerias, but for $4.99, it is a great value.

Would I Buy I Again?  I hate to say it…Yes and No.  Overall, I would give this meal a 6/10…slightly above average.

Yes: A solid burrito alternative (to Chipotle and Qdoba) on the NW Side.  Cheap.

No: All the meats are average.  I prefer neighboring El Pastorcito for tacos (directly across the street).  Chips and salsa are horrible.

I wouldn’t have any reservations visiting El Taco Torro, but at the same time, it is not my go-to taqueria in the area.

-wibia

[Editor's Note:  Please note the date of this review.  This is when this product item was under development and being sold in the Indianapolis area test market.]

What I Got:  Taco Bell Shrimp Tacos $2.49

You can probably tell how this is going to go by looking at the pic. I saw the commercial yesterday and decided to stop by.  I love fish tacos, but had huge reservations about Taco Bell’s interpretation of any seafood in tacos.

Six marinated shrimp, lettuce, pico and a ranch based sauce.  First impression, where are the shrimp?  I had to dig for them through the over-sauced taco.  I pulled out three and set them next to a hot sauce packet so you can see the size.   Wow, really small.

As far as taste, it wasn’t horrible, but it was close.  Compared to a real dish fish taco, it was laughable, but I expected it to be worse.   It was difficult to taste the shrimp by themselves because they were small and most of them covered in sauce, but the “marinade” tasted like any run of the mill bottled margarita/southwest flavored marinade.

Would I Buy It Again:  No. For $2.49 and under, there are a lot of choices on the Taco Bell menu and 99% of them are better tasting and a far better value.  If the shrimp were an honest size, it would be a lot better…though I am not sure it would save this taco.

I can’t find any nutrition info online, or any details for that matter.  Wondering if this is a market specific launch?

-wibia

What I Got:  Volcano Taco $1.19

In honor of a the new Volcano Nachos and it has been 8 days from our last review… I thought that I would release this from the archives.

Standard $0.89 taco plus Lava Sauce.  Lava Sauce is not that spicy, but this is coming from a guy that thought that “Wall of Flame” was a good idea.  However, I like the sauce.  A little bit of a burn and a little hotter than their Fire sauce.  There wasn’t a lot of Lava Sauce on the taco, but enough to understand that this has a little kick to it.  The red shells are nothing more than red shells.  No extra flava.

I realized after eating this that salsa, pico or tomatoes are a must on tacos for me.  I like a little sour cream at times as well, but I can’t go without tomatoes.  IMO, Taco Bell needs to turn up the heat on Lava Sauce.  Take a less from Cheetos v. Flaming Hot Cheetos.   They turned up the heat and nailed it.

Would I Buy It Again? No. I am not that big of a fan of the standard taco from Taco Bell and the Lava Sauce wasn’t enough to take it over the top.  However, if you like the $.89 taco, then you will probably like this.  I am more of a supreme guy.  I liked the flavor of lava sauce and would like to see it used in other parts of the menu.

Note to Taco Bell:  Make Volcano Sauce hotter!

-wibia

-WIBIA

Taco Bell Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito
Price: $2.79

Taco Bell was basically off my radar until I read the about how they opened their test kitchen for WIBIA friends, Epic Portions and Grub Grade. Since then, Taco Bell sounds pretty good…your plan worked Taco Bell….damn you!!

The Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito was packed full of said ingredients along with some ground beef and sour cream as well.  I was impressed with the size even before I took a bite.  I was relived to see some substance since Taco Bell has the tendency to be skimpy at times.

Right away, you get a nice bacon flavor.  Throughout the burrito, I didn’t taste the sour cream at all.  It was all about the cheese and bacon while the potatoes and the ground beef were more filler than anything else.  My wife asked how it was and she tried a bite…”Hey…that is pretty good!”  She was right.

Would I Buy It Again?  A strong Yes. Bravo Taco Bell, damn fine job.  This is actually now my favorite burrito from Taco Bell and I hope it stays on the menu.  However, I would’ve like to see them incorporate some Lava Sauce in here somehow.  It would’ve benefited from a little kick.

Yum:
Basically a loaded potato skin in a burrito
Packed with ingredients
Filling
My Favorite Taco Bell Burrito

Yuck:
680 Calories, 36g Fat

-wibia

Taco Bell New Grilled Chicken Burrito

89¢ Value Menu

IndianapolisEater already did a Review on this, but since it was new, I thought that I would give it a try at my closest Taco Bell.  He gave it the thumbs down…

WTF is this?!?!?!  89¢ for a tortilla shell and three small pieces of chicken and a sprinkle of rice, lettuce, cheese and avocado ranch.  I took this picture, nothing removed, Scouts Honor.

Even at 89¢ on the value menu, this is a rip off.  Taco Bell, please stop making this.  It is a bad value abd at 440 calories it is not good for you and tastes horrible.

Would I Buy It Again? No, hell no.  Glen Bell is rolling in his grave.

[Editor's Note: This was posted prior to Glen Bell's death and was an oversight on our part.  Now that Glen actually has passed, he will be sorely missed.]

-WIBIA