Des Moines Taco Tour 2009 Round 3

OMG I cannot believe it has taken this long but we are finally at the end. Last time we reviewed The Taco Truck in front of Laureles and Taco loco where Taco Loco won with their cheesy as hell quesadilla.

Who will win this time? Taco Marianna’s or El Bait Shop?

Taco Marianna’s
As soon as I walked in this place I swear I was back in the valley. Everything was pink and green and the food was very bad for you. PERFECT!

The Tacos

Adobo – Seriously. I think I was getting tacoed out. The taco looked good. The tortilla was a little greasier than the rest we had all day but all I could muster was “It’s good” That’s it.

2.5 out of 5 on the Tacoism chart.

Tripas for my buddy Todd – I ordered the tripas taco so my new Iowa buddy Todd could see firsthand what a tripas taco looked liked. Just the thought of a tripas taco back at Taco Loco seemed to stop him in his tracks. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the best Tripas taco I have ever had. In fact, probably towards the bottom of tripas tacos I’ve had in my lifetime. I like my tripas well done but these just seemed over cooked and burned.

2.5 out of 5 on the Tacoism chart.

El Bait Shop.
Let me start off by saying these are not nice people after 9:00pm. Something about an Iowa law that once a restaurant turns into a bar then NO ONE under age can enter. No ifs, ands, or buts.

We literally got there at 9:10 and there were plenty of families sitting outside finishing up their dinners.

Cory and I walked in and asked if we and the families that accompanied us could sit outside and eat one fish taco. NO! We were told. We explained our situation, that we were in town with a bunch of people and just need a place to sit to finish one fish taco….The waitress couldn’t make her own decision and needed to ask the manager…NO! We were told. We then asked if we could eat one fish taco while that family waited outside…”Let me ask the manager” Apparently nobody can make decisions at this place without consulting the manager….AND I was surprised that he never came out to see who these people were that kept asking questions. We were told the kitchen was still cleaning up and could get us one plate of the fish tacos. We agreed to one plate of their fish tacos……BOY did we start a ruckus for no reason at all. I would have rather just been denied tacos then eating what they had to server. The awesome part to this whole ordeal was that my cam battery died right before the tacos came out….It was like that camera knew it wouldn’t matter.

The Taco
Fish Taco - Yes, I am going to say it. I am a nice guy and try to be fair with my taco reviews but this fish taco was the worst taco I have ever had. The batter was just too strong. No fish taste whatsoever. I kept burping the batter taste all the way back to Montezuma.

I would say I would go back next year but the waitress was just overall mean and rude.

1 out of 5 on the Tacoism chart

Des Moines Taco Tour 2009 Round 3 from Nelson Flores on Vimeo.

Conclusion for Round three?
Taco Marianna’s wins it…but what kind of competition did they really have from El Bait Shop?

So putting all the places together I would have to say that Tasty Tacos and Taco Loco tied for first.

Taco Loco - Tasty Tacos
Taco Truck in front of Los Laureles
Los Laureles
Taco Marias
El Bait Shop fish taco.

There we go for the Des Moines Taco Tour. It was really really fun. I made friends. And found a couple of taco places I’ll visit again next year.

Thanks Des Moines for your hospitality! See you next year.