Happy National Taco Day AGAIN

TACOGRAPHICS HERE.  Yes - I haven't been here since April.  Tacographics lost the will to assign salt and fat ratings to various meat and carb combinations. BUT I MIGHT COME BACK SOON. I'M THINKING ABOUT IT.

I actually finally tried tacos from Kogi tonight since I was near one.  SALT AND FAT EVERYWHERE.  I thought the short rib > chicken > spicy pork.

NO PICTURES.

Johnny Carino's - Chicken Parmigana

MOMMA MIA. Tacographics at an italian restaurant chain?  You bet ya. I am not the biggest fan of italian food (even though I'm 1/4 italian) but took my parents here for a dinner out. While eating this I couldn't decide if it was great or simply mediocre.  I mean..I haven't eaten too many chicken parmigana meals out...but know that every time I've tried it at a place the chicken has sort of a weird deal...where it isn't string-y like chicken is suppose to be...

Other than that, I enjoyed it.  The sauce wasn't chunky but wasn't watery either, the chicken breast was pretty damn huge and fried golden brown.  There could have been a bigger helping of spahgetti but eh.

Fat rating: 6.5/10

Salt rating: 7.5/10

Taste rating: 6.5/10

In N Out - Double Double and Fries

Time for some good ol' fashion tacographics controversy.  For the non-west coasters, In N Out is a legendary burger chain with like 3 things on the menu - burgers, fries, and shakes.  Their shakes are really damn good, but I already felt bad after consuming this meal so I didn't get one.

I was starving, so taking the first bite of the burger was pretty damn awesome.  The second and third were too, but after that I sorta felt bad eating this greasy thing.  After a while the veggies got slimy and disgusting.  The burger tasted fine, the charbroiled patties are unbeatable in fast food, but still - the textures of the veggies made this burger gross after a while (welcome to burgers, tacos are superior always and FOREVER).  I know I could have gotten no veggies, but the first few bites w/ the veggies was sorta worth it.

The fries are fresh cut potatoes fried in clean vegetable oil - probably the best thin cut fries ever, they're perfect salted and/or with ketchup.

Fat rating: 8/10

Salt rating: 7.5/10

Taste rating: 7/10

Senor Baja - Carne Asada Tacos

Had a second interview so I went back to get some more tacos at a different place.  These were only 99 cents for a daily special, so damn that's some good eatin'.  The carne asada was decent, having an ok asada texture and taste.  I added cheese to them for 25 cents or something, which was a good idea.  These tacos had cabbage, pico, and cilantro - they weren't that delicious, but the green sauce at the taco bar was (no pic).  The other salsas at the bar were pathetic but the green sauce delivered greatness.

Fat rating: 5/10

Salt rating: 5/10

Taste rating: 5.5/10 (7.5/10 with green sauce)

Taco Bell - Doritos Locos Taco

I'm probably not the only person in existence to think of a Doritos taco.  I did when I was a young kid knocking down taco after taco while eating Doritos with them.  If these came out when I was 12 I would've probably inhaled them.

So how are they? They're exactly what you expect - a taco bell taco with a doritos flavored shell.  It was good, the only negative seemed to be that the shell wasn't as crunchy as the normal shell.

Fat rating: 4.5/10

Salt rating: 5.5/10

Taste rating: 6/10

El Gran Burrito - Shredded Beef Taco and Potato Taco + Chips and Salsa

Going to job interviews sucks, tacos don't.  I ate at this place afterward - tacos are there to aid my jobless existence.  They weren't that great unfortunately.  Yeah, I understand that if a place has burrito in its name that I should probably get a burrito...but once again I will point to the title of this blog, dog.   This shit ain't Burritographics.

This place had a free chips and salsa bar.  The chips were standard and the salsa was pretty bad watery/mild/medium-ish. 

As for the tacos...they came pretty damn fast to my table, I could barely eat a few chips.  They looked delicious but were just ok.  The shredded beef taco had lettuce and cheese.  They needed some flavor so I put some salsa on it even though I didn't even like the salsa.   The potato taco had lettuce, cheese, and somr pico.  I liked it but it just left something to be desired.  It tasted a bit like a tater tot taco now that I think about it.  Not bad, just not great.

Fat rating: 6/10

Salt rating: 5/10

Taste rating: 5.5/10

Lazy Dog Cafe - Tex Mex Salad

By now, it's well established what Tacographics demands: fuckin' good tex-mex cuisine.  If you can't deliver, then Tacographics will not have any reason to purchase your sub-standard food once more.  Lazy Dog Cafe is on the border of being in this category.

I got the Tex Mex: chicken breast, black beans, jack, cheddar, avocado, corn, tomato, bbq &, peppercorn ranch, and tortilla strips.

It was boring.  Sure, it looked nice and tossed, but the fancy way it was presented didn't really have much effect on it being just meh.  There was an overwhelmingly dull ranch taste to the salad - I didn't really taste any "peppercorn".  There was very little bbq sauce, I would be interested in tasting more (in hindsight should have asked for some). 

Aside from the fact that this salad had everything I like in my tex mex, it was a disappointment taste wise.  I think one way to boost the taste would be to have some salsa instead of just plain ol' chopped tomatoes.      Lettuce was boring iceberg, and the rest of the ingredients were just a hodge-podge.  I will say that tortilla strips were a good touch.  Every salad needs crunch in one way or another. 

Fat rating: 5.5/10

Salt rating: 5.5/10

Taste rating: 5/10

Domino's - Parmesean Bread Bites

Bread is pretty good.  Garlic and Parmesean is pretty good.  Add them together and you have bite-sized food from Domino's.  These are basically crazybread from Little Caesar's, but higher quality (more parmesean, subtle garlic flavor) and less greasy.

I didn't have sauce on hand, but paired with Domino's marinara sauce these would be great I bet.

Fat rating: 3.5/10

Salt rating: 3.5/10

Taste rating: 5.5/10

Chili's - Fried Onions and Jalepenos and 6 oz. Sirloin Steak

Got the 2 for $20 at Chili's.  The appetizer was included so I ordered the fried onions and jalapenos.  I was surprised how many came in the order. - it felt like me and my friend ate a ton of these with ranch and there was still a good amount left.  They were undercooked so there was slimy onion texture at times.  It goes without saying these things have a high fat and salt rating...BUT THIS IS TACOGRAPHICS SO I HAVE TO RATE THESE CLOWNS.  As for the pic, this isn't even a full order - the cup of ranch was the second one we had: 

Fat rating: 8/10

Salt rating: 7.5/10

Taste rating: 6.5/10

The STEAK entree was very good all the way around.  The 6 oz. cut of sirloin ordered well done came with some melted butter and seasoning.  The amount of juice was decent, but after a while I didn't have any left so A1 came in to play.  Along with the loaded mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread,  this may be one of this blog's most mouth-watering images to date.  People in the food industry say we taste with our eyes, and this is a good case of that. 

Fat rating: 6.5/10

Salt rating: 7/10

Taste rating: 7.5/10

El Curtido - Carne Asada Taco and Revuelta Pupusa

I'll admit my taste in food is pretty entry level, and this blog is proof of that.  Before I created TACOGRAPHICS, my taste in fast food was even more limited. I've slowly expanded my horizons over the past year (mainly because I've had a couple people to try places with).

I've wanted to try El Curtido for a couple months before going yesterday.  It's a mix of Mexican (GOD TIER food) and Salvadorian food (never had). 

They had a happy hour menu, and my eyes sorta lit up seeing all the choices.  I ended up with a carne asada taco, which was meh.  The meat had flavor, but was chewy and overcooked. 

Fat rating: 4.5/10

Salt rating: 5/10

Taste rating: 4/10

I also got a revuelta pupusa.  You may be thinking WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THAT?  Before you open a new tab and google, relax bro, I'll tell you what it is dude.  A pupusa is a thick doughy corn tortilla, and revuelta is a mixture of pork, beans, and cheese inside.  So yeah, it was great.  The tortilla was fresh and held the contents inside pretty well.  There wasn't an overwhelming amount of filling, but there was an adequate amount. The mix of beans, pork, and cheese was tasty without being too salty. 

It came with a side of a sort of coleslaw that wasn't a typical creamy/mayo coleslaw (mayo fucking sucks), but it was more a light shredded cabbage and carrot blend that (texture and taste wise) complemented the pupusa well.   In conclusion, GET THIS IT WAS BUENO.

Fat rating: 5.5/10

Salt rating: 6.5/10

Taste rating: 7.5/10