As Roseann Roseannadanna Used To Say ... It's Always Something, If It's Not One Thing It's Another

Mi Ranchito

707 W. 23rd Street

Lawrence, KS 66046

Phone number (785) 749-5600

Website: miranchitokc.com

Prices: $$$$

OK, maybe I was a little too harsh last time, giving them one BOMB out of ten, but their attention to detail is severely lacking, margaritas weak, chips way too thin, and service spotty at best. Having nearly killed my wife by serving her tomatoes after telling them that "she's allergic to tomatoes" last time we were there, I swore we would never return, but alas, the other Mexican restaurants in town are shit, so there you have it.

For example, last night we were greeted, if you want to call it that, by a redheaded, ponytailed hostess who was extremely rude. She took us to a table, without a word, in the bar, so we asked for a booth in the restaurant instead. If I wanted to sit in the bar, I would have walked into the bar and grabbed a stool, but their drinks suck and I would never have done that. She snatched the menus off of the table, grunted, walked to a booth in the restaurant, tossed the menus down on the table, turned around and walked away talking into her wireless mic. No "welcome", "I'm sorry", "of course", "enjoy your meal" ... nothing. Maybe she was having a bad night, but this young woman has no business being in the hospitality business and does Mi Ranchito a great disservice by being the first and last face that people see when they enter and leave the restaurant. The manager standing beside her must either be blind or clueless because he watched it all happen without appearing to give a shit less.

The food is "OK" by Midwestern standards (very low standards), but the service, chips, and margaritas all leave a great deal to be desired. We are going to Texas soon and I cannot wait for some "real" Tex-Mex, not the crap they serve in Lawrence and the rest of the Midwest that many "self-proclaimed" food critics refer to as "Tex-Mex" ... what a joke ... get a clue folks ... there is not a single Tex-Mex in Lawrence, Mi Ranchito included.

CombatCritic Gives Mi Ranchito (Lawrence) 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

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Read Chris S.'s review of Mi Ranchito on Yelp

Title: Lawrence, KS: As Roseann Roseannadanna Used To Say ... It's Always Something, If It's Not One Thing It's Another

Key Words: Mi Ranchito, mi, ranchito, lawrence, Kansas, 23rd, Mexican, taco, tacos, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Translation for Civilians: BOHICA = "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"

Port Fonda's Ship Will Soon Set Sail ... Into Oblivion

Port Fonda
900 New Hampshire, Suite B
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone number: (785) 856-2535
Website: portfonda.com
Prices: $$$$

RATED  I forgot my phone in the car, so please excuse the lack of photos. I have been wanting to try Port Fonda since they opened, but, to be honest, the menu never did do much for me. I like traditional Mexican food and am not enamored with the many Mexican-fusion menus and ingredients that have become so cliche lately. However, before I leave Lawrence and the Midwest for the Left Coast later this year, I thought I should give them a try.

I met a friend downtown and we walked over, entering a large, but mostly empty, dining room that looks more like a sports bar than a Mexican restaurant. I despise paying for chips and salsa, but we ordered it anyway ($5), coming in a small tin bucket accompanied by choice of two salsas (we got the corn and roasted tomatillo). The chips were a bit skimpy, but fresh and obviously homemade, and the salsas good. but not great. I was a bit disappointed for $5.
The "special" sounded good, a deep fried chimichanga filled with chicken, rice, pork belly and some other stuff topped with a poblano (or was it serano?) chile cheese sauce ($14). The chimichanga was quite tasty, but very greasy, feeling my arteries clogging with every mouthful. It was about half the size of your average chimichanga and came with zilch, zippo, nada, making it the equivalent of a $28 chimichanga, ale carte, no rice, no beans, at your run of the mill Mexican place. Not a great value by any stretch.

Because my ratings are based on value, bang-for-the-buck, and not on just the quality of the food, I cannot in good conscience give Port Fonda even an average rating (5 Bombs Out Of 10). Let's face it, their ala carte chimichanga belongs in the $6 to $8 range max, not $14, particularly at lunch. Additionally, I detest restaurants that charge for chips and salsa and $5 is ridiculous for what we were served. The highlight of our lunch was the server, who was very friendly and attentive, but then she should be as we were two of the few customers in the place at noon on a Thursday.

Now I know why the place is empty and why they have received such mediocre ratings. I doubt that this place will be around much longer and am surprised they have remained open for over a year.

CombatCritic Gives Port Fonda 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Port Fonda on Yelp

Port Fonda

Title: Lawrence, KS: Port Fonda's Ship Will Soon Set Sail ... Into Oblivion

Key Words: Port Fonda, port, fonda, New Hampshire, Lawrence, Kansas, Mexican, Mexico, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Translation for Civilians: SNAFU = "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

Taco Taco, Just Give Me A Taco!

Taco Zone 
13 E. 8th Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone number: (785) 424-7123
Website: thetacozone.com
Prices: $$$$

I was not extremely impressed the first time we ate here and am not overly so after the second. I hear many in Lawrence raving about Taco Zone, but have yet to see what all the fuss is about other than it may be the best of many mediocre Mexican food options in a city of nearly 100,000.

The food is pretty good, hence my rating (in comparison only to Lawrence, Kansas and the lack of decent retail food establishments), but in Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York City or other food havens, they would deserve 3-stars at best.

I am acquainted with one of the owners (through the American Legion where they do most of their preparation), a very nice man and well trained at the infamous Le Cordon Bleu in Paris on a scholarship from Julia Child no less, but think Taco Zone is trying too hard to be a "trendy", Mexican-fusion outlet when they should focus a bit more on the basics. There has not been a traditional Mexican taco filling option on the menu in my two visits ... "chorizo and potato", "chicken mole", "chile rojo beef and sweet potato", and "braised lamb and green olive" for example. They should stop trying to be quite so trendy and eclectic and stick more to the basics (carnitas, adobada, carne asada, al pastor, etc.), offering at least a couple traditional Mexican taco fillings.

Then there are the tortillas. I have rarely seen such tiny corn tortillas used for serving "street tacos" and when I have (which is rarely), there are traditionally two. The fillings appear generous when compared to the teeny weeny tortillas, but when you can eat an entire taco in three (not so large) bites, something ain't right. Their "Taco Plate" consists of three tacos for $7 or $2.33333333 per taco with no rice or beans, only some pickled carrots. On "Taco Tuesday" you can get the Taco Plate for $5, a much better deal, but the tortillas are still ridiculously small.

Their guacamole is decent, but also small for the price, coming with chips that are better than many places, but fried a little too long and a tad too salty. The strangest thing being the fact that they scrutinize the number of chips they put in each paper bag order, weighing them on an electronic scale to ensure you do not get one chip more than they have deemed necessary.

I really do want to like this place more because I encourage creativity, thinking outside the box, and the entrepreneurial spirit. If you are familiar with my blog or reviews, you know that I am also brutally honest and rarely give 5-stars (9-10 Bombs) and 4-stars (7-8 Bombs) is reserved for those who go above-and-beyond the call to duty. Taco Zone is average in my book, not a bad thing at all, no matter how many reviewers in general and LFK brethren in particular bestow the highest rating far too frequently in my eyes.

CombatCritic Gives Taco Zone 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... A Slightly Above Average Rating In My Book And A One Bomb Downgrade From My Previous Review Because My Recommendations Were Ignored ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

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Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Taco Zone on Yelp

Title: Lawrence, KS: Taco Taco, Just Give Me A Taco!

Key Words: Taco Zone, taco, zone, Lawrence, Kansas, KS, University of Kansas, KU, university, Mexico, Mexican, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: G2G = "Good To Go"

UPDATE - El Mezcal Open Again ... Same Location, Similar Menu, Upscale Decor, But No Margarita Specials

El Mezcal

1819 W. 23rd Street
Lawrence, KS 66046
Phone number: (785) 832-8775
Website: elmezcal.com
Prices: $$$$

Old information and reviews do not apply to "new and improved(?)" El Mezcal. There is a new menu and no great margarita specials like they had before they closed ... "We're still deciding" I was told ... Well, I am still deciding whether or not I want to come back! We used to eat at El Mezcal 3-4 times a month, now we eat there 1-2 times max.

Deep fried tacos (3 - $9.99) with shredded beef new on the menu, are a welcome addition, although they are much smaller and skimpier on meat than Mi Ranchito down the street. Unlike Mi Ranchito's deep fried tacos, El Mezcal's fall apart by the time you get to taco #2 and #3 and I do not like having to eat my tacos with a knife and fork. Otherwise, the food is pretty much the same and the decor more upscale after the infamous Italian/Mexican fiasco and expensive building renovation.

Cheese Quesadillas ala Carte

Taco "Plater" (Platter)

Cheese and Onion Enchiladas ala Carte

Fried Taco Falling Apart

KU students cannot afford $7+ margaritas, so they should add some margarita specials soon or we and many others will be eating at Mi Ranchito where the food is better. If El Mezcal is trying to make up losses for the expensive renovation, they are going about it the wrong way. I have heard from many friends that the lack of reasonably priced margaritas (like before) is one thing keeping them away and I am sure that is the case with KU students. Cheap, strong margaritas was one of the few things that made the "old" El Mezcal stand out from the other mediocre Mexican restaurants in Lawrence, so they are losing customers and revenue by trying to recuperate losses by charging more for drinks. They could also offer daily specials like $1 tacos (e.g. El Potro) on Monday night ... their place is packed, El Mezcal is not.

CombatCritic Gives The "New And Improved" El Mezcal 4 Bombs Out Of 10 With A 2 Bomb Deduction For Overpriced Margaritas ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Read Chris S.'s review of El Mezcal on Yelp

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie





... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: Lawrence, KS: UPDATE - El Mezcal Open Again ... Same Location, Similar Menu, Upscale Decor, But No Margarita Specials

Translation for Civilians: BOHICA = "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"

Key Words: 66044, burrito, KU, university, CombatCritic, eat, El Mezcal, el, enchilada, food, guacamole, Kansas, Lawrence, margarita, Mexican, mezcal, restaurant, taco, travel, TravelValue, value

Mighty Tasty Tex-Mex ... And Reasonable Too!

Mighty Tamales

1801 Massachusetts St

Lawrence, KS 66044

Phone number: (785) 218-6948

Prices: $$$$

We stopped by on a whim after learning of the existence of this new Mexican eatery on the LFK for DUMMIES Facebook page. 

Located in the VFW Post building across from the Dillons supermarket on Mass Street, the owners, Justin and Christi, opened this location after outgrowing their popular tamale delivery business.

The menu is limited for the time being, including pork and chicken tamale dishes as well as roasted, stuffed Poblano peppers that are TO DIE FOR. They offer rice and beans as well as daily specials (street tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and so on), but word has it that their menu will soon be expanding to include guacamole and more traditional Tex-Mex entrees. The adjacent VFW bar has a full assortment of drinks, beer, and wine to accompany your meal.

Their prices are extremely reasonable and I felt a bit guilty for paying so little for such an abundance of delicious, quality, well seasoned food. They could probably raise their prices a couple bucks per dish and still offer an exceptional value.

I will return soon to try their new menu and update my readers in more detail as this new restaurant grows and flourishes.

CombatCritic Gives Mighty Tamales An Initial And Very Solid 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie





... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Read Chris S.'s review of Mighty Tamales on Yelp

 


Mighty Tamales

Title: Lawrence, KS: Mighty Tasty Tex-Mex ... And Reasonable Too!

Key Words: Lawrence, Mighty Tamales, Tex-Mex, Mexican, University of Kansas, KU, Kansas, University, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Translation for Civilians: S&G = "Shits & Grins"