Tacos El Guanajuato

There are those who say that Taco Trucks are a scourge to civilized society. That they represent the lowest that the Western World can sink. That they epitomize all that has gone wrong with the world, since Rome fell so many years ago. But amidst the busy lights and words of those who lament the passing of something that they never knew, other voices can be discerned. Whether it is the busy wage slave who desperately seeks some nourishment and a little variety or the 2:00 a.m. reveller who needs something to satisfy when most places have shut their doors...there are those who will always seek out the TACO TRUCK.


We set out on a cold February day to discover what kind of culinary delights we could find at the Tacos El Guanajuato taco truck (usually parked on the East side of the Village Square Mall in Dodge City. We pulled up and a friendly guy jogged out to take our order. Nice, considering how darn cold it was!

The prices were reasonable and the "waiter" spoke a little English and was polite and helpful in taking our orders and answering our questions.

On to the reviews!




K-Dawg had a steak burrito and a tongue taco. His review is summed up with "I was hungry and now I'm not". He noted that the meat was a little overcooked but he still enjoyed it and said that the tongue taco was great. He gave them a 4.5 on our 5 point scale-so far, the highest that a Taco Truck has scored!





I had the same steak burrito that K-Dawg had but found that overcooked meat to be a real downer in what was otherwise a pretty good burrito. The pork taco was good, though. I gave them a 3.5 but I'd like to try them again, since K-Dawg insists that this burrito was not typical.





The Scotsman : He had a steak burrito and a beef taco. He lamented the corn tortillas and once again mentioned that he's a "flour man". His quote "this is more than adequate" and he backed that up with a 4 on our 5 point scale.


I think that T.G.'s (as I'm calling it) has a niche. I would totally join the throng of weekend partiers that get early morning food there. I also thing it is a great alternative to the dismal eating options in North Dodge. It's solid-and actually scored higher than many sit down places we've reviewed.

El Pollo Feliz

Today, three of us trekked to Water Street and S. 2nd (behind the tortilleria and vegetable market) to El Pollo Feliz-which my rudimentary Spanish translates to "The Happy Chicken". The waiter exited the Coachman Leprechaun and promptly came to our vehicle and took our order. It didn't take long because he explained that all they have (at that time, presumably) was "chicken meal: 1 chicken, drinks, salsa, and tortillas". I am sure I asked him to repeat that-I really do not recall ever having gone out to eat somewhere that only one item was available to order. I was a little disgusted by the lack of choice but intrigued at the same time.





K-Dog, The Scotsman and I decided to go for the only thing that they had on the menu: the $14 chicken dinner! As you can see, it came with some corn tortillas, some pink onions, and some tasty orange salsa-plus a chopped up grilled chicken and two generic sodas. K-Dawg ended up buying a Mountain Dew so our total price for this meal was less than $15.

K-Dawg: 4 (on our 5 point scale). "This is great chicken. I wish that they had other menu options -maybe next time".

The Scotsman: 3.5. "All they got is chicken. I like it but there's just chicken. Also not a big fan of corn tortillas. The lack of flour tortillas cost Pollo Feliz a star. That's how serious I am about this".

I did not have as strong feelings as The Scotsman about the tortilla types, but I did have some stress...the food was delicious and it was very fun to order from a Coachman Leprechaun but how do I review a place that only has one item on the menu? I settled on a 4-I cannot deny how tasty the grilled chicken was or how great a value it was .





We destroyed the chicken meal and it was really tasty.

El Charro

Today we embarked on a journey to El Charro, at 1209 W. Wyatt Earp. I would argue that El Charro is the "default" Mexican eatery in Old Dodge City, at least among those who count English as their native tongue. My family and I have frequented El Charro for years-I still remember coming here with my high school buddies in the late 1980's. I was excited to actively review it, to see how it compares with the "new contenders" and see if the old dog had any fight left in her.




I took a quickie photo of the menu-I've had many good experiences that began with seeing this big leatherish menu before me at El Charro.





Here is a photo of El Charro's chips and salsa. Their salsa is very heavy on the tomatoes and not too chunky. I have always liked it and believe it is probably El Charro's "signature" item.



I had a combination plate (#8). It consisted of rice, beans, chili relano, a taco and a cheese enchilada. El Charro's has really good consistency and the flavor and quality were similar to what I have had in the past. I struggled to rate El Charro's food-I've eaten here so many times and I have so many memories associated with the place.

Chips and Salsa: 3.5 Though it is not spicy and not chunky, it is flavorful and pretty consistent. Their chips and salsa are solid, though a bit overrated.

Food: I rate it a 3. The food is good but over the years I can't help but notice how the shrinking portions (combined with price hikes) lessen the El Charro's experience. It really isn't competitive with the newer Mexican places in town (where similiar or better quality can be had for less $). I believe I paid $14 or so for this plus coffee.





K-Dawg had some kind of taco special that included a sopapilla.
Chips and Salsa: 3.5
Food: 3.5. The food was good but I would have scored it lower if I included the price into the rating. It is good but not very authentic. They do have great service.




The Scotsman had an enchilada supreme and a taco.
Food: 4 I really like this-it is what I'm used to. It really satisfies my gringo palette.
Chips and Salsa: 4




Driz is our newest Taco Tour Tuesday adventurer. He had some kind of burrito and an enchilada.
Food: 4. The food is good but pricey. The beef is just ground beef-nothing fancy.
Chips and Salsa: 4


After we left I was struck with two feelings-a kind of disappointment that the cuisine at El Charro's is so expensive and that is isn't very spicy. The second was that full feeling that I get when I eat at El Charro's-like I'd just had something that hit the spot and that life is good.

Will El Charro make it into the winner's circle of the top 3 restaurants in Dodge City-not likely. Will it continue to be a frequently visited Dodge City icon-I hope so!

El Korita

El Korita's is located at 2001 W. Wyatt Earp in one of those buildings in Dodge City that seems to cycle through restaurants. It is best known for its ($1/item Mexican Buffet) which has that price on certain days/times.




This is the sign on the door-we had some enjoyment because the way it reads, one can make an assumption that the Real Mexican Food Buffet is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday-so we went on Friday. We were certain that, regardless of what they serve the rest of the week, we wanted "real" Mexican food so we came on Friday!

Sadly The Sarge has gone off to other adventures and was not able to enjoy the wordplay-I know she would have gotten a chuckle.


Here's the chips and salsa. If you go buffet, you won't have any waiting time and you'll probably be like us and not really get to try much of them because your food will be served el rapido.






I had green pork, a tamale, a chili relenao, some beans, and a Mexican Coke. It is very convenient to pick from the buffet line but (to me) the food here is bland and sometimes that stuff has been out a little too long. I give the food a "3" on our 5 point scale. It's not bad but there's nothing exciting here. The green pork smelled a little off to me but I enjoyed the pork tamale.
The chips and salsa are good as well but will not be enjoyed much because of the speed of the buffet. I rate them a 3 as well.




K-Dawg had rice water (his new favorite drink at Mexican places, I think), a chicken tamale, spicy steak, and chicken mole. He said that the spicy steak and chicken mole were best but commented that the rice water was a little heavy on the cinnamon. 4 of 5.
K-Dawg did not comment on the chips and salsa.



The Scotsman had red pork, a beef enchilada, a chicken tamale and a strawberry Mexi-soda. He said that the beef enchilada was the best and that he really liked it; he also said that the tamale was pretty good. He rated his meal a "4" on our 5 point scale. He REALLY liked the strawberry soda and I fear we may have created a monster here-future dinings will tell!
The Scotsman did not evaluate the chips and salsa.

Stay tuned for two new developments in Taco Tour Tuesday: The Quest For Taco Wagons and Who is the New Guy?

Tacos Jalisco

Jalisco Mexican Restaurant (at 2601 Central in Dodge City) is better known as "that Mexican place in the mall" or to some "that Mexican place with the really good margaritas". I had heard that they have a similar (the original, I guess) in Hays, KS but I am not certain.




The Scotsman
Chips and Salsa: 4 "The Chips are warm-I like that".
Chimachanga Plate: 4.5 "This place is very good-not too spicy. I really like the cheese sauce and I will order this again".




I had the shrimp fajitas. The fajitas were okay but I could have used a little more flavor from the shrimp. It came with a lot of goodies (foil wrapped tortillas, sizzling meat and veggies, beans, guacamole, etc)...but I felt like the flavor just wasn't there. I like it spicy and this place is clearly more geared for folks that prefer tame foods like mashed potatoes, white gravy, and corn. I score it a 3.
Chips and salsa: 3. They were decent but nothing remarkable.



K-Dawg
Chips and Salsa: 3 "It's average".
Burrito Deluxe: 3 "I've had better at this place but this burrito is a '3'. I am not a fan of their hamburger meat and this was full of it".



Sarge:
Chips and Salsa: 4.5 "This is my kind of salsa. It is not too hot and I can taste the veggies".
Tamale Deluxe Meal: 4. "The flavor is good but I really don't like the burger".

This place has a lot of fans and good service. Additionally three out of our four either really liked their meal or have had really good experiences here in the past. In fact, if K-Dawg ordered something different and I wasn't present, I suspect that Jalisco would have scored as one of the best Mexican places in town-so if you are a fan of a mild Mexican food, I think Jaliscos would be a great choice.

Tacos Jalisco

Tacos Jalisco is located at 412 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd. The metal building is a stark contrast from the tiny little run-down shack that was Tacos Jaliscos a few years ago...and it is one of my favorite Mexican places in Dodge City. I expected it to score well compared to the other places in town and it did not disappoint.



The chips and salsa were promptly delivered. Tacos Jaliscos differs from other Mexican places in Dodge in that it has a little "relish bar" where they have pickled spicey peppers mixed with carrots and onions and such. It's spicey and "dilly" but pretty good. They also have radish slices, which I find help cool things off.


Sarge
Chips and Salsa:5. Keep in mind that the Sarge never gives "5"'s. She's tough that way. She said "the interplay of the various flavors is great". She never talks that way-I almost reached out to tear off her "Sarge Mask" and see who was posing as Sarge but then I remembered that if it WAS Sarge, she would probably execute me-so I let it slide. Suffice it to say, she liked the chips and salsa.
Flautas: 4. "They are nice and crunchy-and I like the garnishes".


I too enjoyed the chips and score them a solid 4. The salsa is flavorful and a bit spicy and the chips are always good.
My meal was a pork torta (sanwich) and a carne asasa taco (combo plate). The combo plate was really good (4) but I would have preferred a little more of the cheese covered refried beans. Every time I go to TJ's the bean portion shrinks a little. Are they trying to tell me something?

I also washed it down with a Mexican-Coke-In-A-Bottle and some flan (kind of a caramel-butterscotch custard). When I was finished I wanted nothing more than a long nap!


K-Dawg
Chips and Salsa: 4. "I love their salsa".
Hot!Hot!!Hot!!! Torta: 4. K-Dawg ordered the Hot!Hot!!Hot!!! Torta (sandwich) after I assured him that I had ordered it before and lived. I may have exaggerated some of that (I don't remember my torta being 100% immersed in hot sauce and delivered in a lake of fiery goodness). Watching K-Dawg's face turn bright red and tracing the beads of sweat as they rolled down his forehead provided great entertainment to all of us.


This is what remained after K-Dawg called it quits-he did some major damage on that thing! "It was very good, but MAN it is hot".



Pioneer Woman:
Chips and Salsa: 5. "It has the right flavor, seasoning, and cilantro".
Chicken Taco meal: 4.5 "It was pretty good but I was hoping for a fried shell. Good flavor, though."

There you go-the lowest score on our foursome was a 4-making Tacos Jalisco one of the best Mexican food places that we've found in Ole Dodge City yet!

Mariscos Nayarit

Mariscos Nayarit is located at 509 N. 2nd, hidden away upstairs in the old Eckles building. Several of our intrepid band used to eat here a few years ago but we all kind of forgot about it. Mariscos Nayarit's lack of signage and advertising probably contribute to this...but I'm really glad we rediscovered it because we all had a really good meal here.

We entered the building, scaled the stairs, and found ourselves in a more or less empty eatery. A waitress came out and immediately got us going on our orders. K-Dawg talked me into going "off the reservation" a little on my ordering-more on that later. I am starting to think he's a bad influence, though.

Sarge remarked (on the eclectic decor) that "this place has strange artwork. Reminds me of some random yard sales". The service was good, though, and (unlike a couple other places we've been), was a quiet and relaxing dining experience.



Here are the chips and salsa. Chunky!



Sarge:
Chips and Salsa: 4. "A little hot but has personality. Also big chunks. I like big chunks in my salsa."
Chili Releno: 4.5. "Excellant. Really good chili relano."



The Scotsman:
Chips and Salsa: 4."Good sauce. I like it."
Beef Enchilada and Pork Tamale: 4 and 3. The Scotsman didn't have much to say about his meal but did spend a lot of time eyeballing and snatching my soup!




I enjoyed the chips and salsa-the salsa is (you guessed it) chunky and flavorful. I rate them a 4.

Pictured above is my Marinero Soup-it came with a sterno thing inside and (though my camera did not capture it) had a blue flame shooting out the top that kept it warm. The soup was awesome as a conversation piece-in addition to the blue flame (flaming meals ROCK!), it was chock full of various pieces of seafood including shrimp, clams, fish, crab, and some weird stuff that I could not identify. It was so popular that several of my dining companions snatched some up and enjoyed it. It wasn't cheap ($12, I think) but it was delicious, a full helping, and something that two people could easily share if they wanted. I rate it a 4.5 on our 5 point scale.



K-Dawg
Chips and Salsa: 4 "Two-thumbs up".
Devil's Shrimp: 4 "At first I didn't think it was that spicy but it catches up to you!".

Overall, Mariscos Nayarit was a really good experience. We all rated it high and I am certain it will be voted in the top 5 Mexican places in Dodge.

One word of caution though: they do not accept any plastic so bring cash or checks!