Chicken Fajitas from El Toro

Again, Food Adventures asks who’d you rather get it on with. This time a plate from El Toro or a plate from El Rancho Grande?

In this battle for the border, we know Daytonians are picking sides and drawing their line in the margarita salt. Comment below on which of these two Mexican Restaurants you like better and why ! One winner will be chosen at random and will win dinner with The Food Adventures Crew at their favorite, either El Toro or El Rancho. You will act as a referee for us as we also invite our biggest critic, the witty Michael R Hawk ! Let the insults fly !

Now, before you Dayton foodie purists jump all over our white cheese sauce… We love Mexican Restaurants Taqueria Mixteca (feature article) and Taco Loco (feature article) as our personal faves. Since we have featured those more obscure restaurants that most people have not been to, we decided for a more familiar fight…

Sound the bell, it’s time to rock the pinata !

First off, margaritas are chick drinks, so we will let the girls sound off and fight it out over who has the best margaritas of the two places.

Both places have fantastic service and tie in that category. The tacos, and chimichangas are impossible to tell apart. Also, the desserts like flan and fried ice cream are pretty much the same at both locations.

Del Mar Trio at El Rancho Grande features Lobster, Shrimp and Fish

As for everything else.. Here is how the Food Adventures judges saw it.

JAX’S VOTE: EL TORO

— Jax says “The Salsa at El Toro is Better.” The taste and chunkiness is second to none. This gives El Toro an early knockout in my book.

— Hungry Jax says “El Toro’s Fajitas Reign Supreme.” The fajitas at El Toro are the best. I love fajitas. Whether you get, steak, chicken or pollo (fish) fajitas, they are very filling and huge portions.

— Jax says “El Toro Gets the Slight Edge in Carnitas Tacos and Enchiladas. To put it bluntly, these two restaurants have a bunch of dishes, that under the cheese sauce, none of us can tell apart from each other. I like pork tacos and enchiladas, and El Toro is better by the slightest of margins, and the consistency is good across the 9 locations. So, El Toro gets my vote by low blow.”

THE BIG RAGU’S VOTE: EL RANCHO GRANDE

Beef Tacos from El Toro (we added their terrific salsa)

—The Big Ragu says, “The Del Mar Trio dish at El Rancho Grande is the champ of both menus. A must eat! Grilled lobster, tilapia and shrimp served on a fajita plate? FIGHT OVER !

— The Big Ragu says “El Rancho has Pacifico beer on tap. I have never seen that beer anywhere in my life, other than in bottles. Also, they feature Negra Modelo on tap. The other place is too punch drunk to beat that!” El Rancho Grande has similar draft beer choices at the 8 locations from North Dayton to Middletown.

— The Big Ragu says “El Rancho’s Chilles Rellenos are a deal maker.” Stuffed with cheese, these huge poblano peppers are melt in your mouth delicious. Stick a fork in them, they’re done!

Sound off and tell us which one you like, here is your chance for a free Food Adventure !

***** FREE DINNER WITH THE FOOD ADVENTURES CREW *****

LET’S HEAR FROM THE PEOPLE ! It is now your turn to comment on “Who’d you Rather : El Toro or El Rancho Grande?”

Pacifico Clara on Draft at El Rancho Grande? YES! YES! YES!

Hold onto your sombrero, muchacho! One person who comments on the story below will win dinner at their favorite, either El Rancho Grande or El Toro with Food Advntures! They will be joined by Food Adventure’s biggest critic, Michael R. Hawk, for an interesting evening of fun and food.

Want to see our WHO’D YOU RATHER stories over the past 3 years? Click on the individual links below !
Who’d You Rather? FRICKERS or ROOSTERS?

Who’d You Rather? CHIPOTLE or QDOBA?

Who’d You Rather? FIVE GUYS or SMASHBURGER?

Check out our photo gallery below for some great photos of El Toro and El Rancho Grande offerings. Dont’ forget to join the thousands on Facebook who “like” Food Adventures by clicking HERE !

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Beef Shoulder Taco, Squeeze that lime on it

Food Adventures Crew knows there are only a couple of truly authentic Mexican Restaurants in the Miami Valley, and we have found a favorite. It is a humble place called Taco Loco located at 5392 Burkhardt Road. It is clean, it is cheap, it is authentic. But most of all, it has some of the most delicious Mexican food we have ever eaten. We have some close friends from Mexico, and upon their recommendation we stopped in. The experts were right, every trip to Taco Loco is a new Food Adventure.

Why the name Taco Loco? The owners, a mom and pop duo from Mexico, had to renovate before they could open. They were fixing the old vacant building, putting in many hours painting, putting down flooring etc. The long days caused them to sometimes sleep in their van in the parking lot overnight, since they lived in Cincinnati. When a neighboring resident visited the construction she told the owners, “You are working too hard, and sleeping in your van, what are you CRAZY?” Since ‘Loco’ means crazy in Spanish, they decided the name fit.

Here’s the Skinny:
1) This place is very authentic, so don’t expect the typical queso sauces, cheese and tomatoes like you see on some Tex-Mex dishes at other Mexican restaurants.
2) The prices are low, so you can explore many types of food and have your own Food Adventure.
3) The staff is friendly, the place is a hole in the wall, the dining area is small, and the environment is clean.
4) You know the food is good, when most of the patrons in the dining area are people from Mexico.
5) Not only is the food delicious, but they have a variety of rare, non-alcoholic drinks made from scratch using fresh herbs and other ingredients.
6) Locally owned by Lola and her husband Octavio. It’s a true mom and pop establishment!

The Chicken Torta – Big and Delicious

Must Eats:

Horchata: Start off your meal with one of these milky beverage specialties. It literally tastes like rice pudding in a glass. We were blown away by the taste of this unique drink.

The Beef Shoulder Taco – Tasty meat on a corn tortilla. These are authentic style tacos, like they eat in Mexico City. We will tell you it is one on the best tacos on the planet. Ingredients are cilantro, onion and meat choice. No cheese, but you may order ‘Tacos Locos’ which means add tomatoes and sour cream.

The Chicken Torta – A sandwich that would give any sub shop a run for its money. Diced grilled chicken, and the perfect complimentary toppings on homemade telera (Mexican sandwich bread). An incredibly filling sandwich for $5 and one of The Big Ragu’s favorites.

Whole Fish – Do you want to kick it authentic old school? Then try this whole, fried tilapia on for size. You have to deal with a little bit of bones and the fish staring at you, but the taste is worth it. At the price of $7.50 this is a steal.

The Food Adventures Crew have eaten so many menu items in our trips to Taco Loco, that some deserve an honorable mention:

Whole Fish – Food Adventure on a Plate

The Large Quesadilla’s are fantastic. Filled with rice, beans, cheese and your choice of meat, this giant menu item will dwarf your plate.

Carne Asada, a skirt steak dish, is a specialty here. If authentic means anything, we noticed that besides us, a lot of Latinos were eating this dish too.
Have you eaten Sopes before? Sopes are made with a circular foundation fried masa dough (ground hominy) topped with refried beans, lettuce, and crumbled cheese. We think of it as an authentic taste version of a tostada. Ragu loves this unique menu item. Taco Loco serves similar menu items called Huaraches which are bigger, oval versions of Sopes. We love them as well, especially the thick base, which almost tastes like potato dough.

The Burritos are delicious. They come wrapped in foil and are so big, we can usually only eat half of them.

Want authentic fajitas? The steak ones here are fantastic, and the flavor of the grilled green peppers make the dish.

The Tamales were good too. Filled with shredded pork and topped with crumbled cheese, they are one of the few items covered with a queso sauce.

Enchiladas Verdes – Fresh Ingredients, Freshly made

A filling meal is the Enchiladas Verdes, stuffed with green chiles and your choice of meat, and covered in lettuce and avocado.

Besides our favorite Horchata, other specialty drinks include a “Tamarindo”, which is made with tamarind fruit. When Lola brought the fruit out to show us, we made a mustache with it. Yeah, that’s us. We take our own pictures, too.
We also drank a “Jamaica” drink (pronounced hamica). This beverage was a tea made with fresh hibiscus flowers, some of which Lola showed us as well. We told you this was a great place for a Food Adventure.

For dessert, we suggest the creamy, homemade Flan. For those of you not familiar with flan, think of an upside down, firmer version of creme brulee. Lola made us proud with this dessert!

Finally, we have to mention the complimentary table salsas. Served in two squirt bottles, one is a mild Verdes Salsa made with tomatillos. The other is a red chile salsa, made with chili peppers. Careful, the red one has a kick! Both of these salsas are made in house, and kick up any menu item. Experiment to your taste with a dash or a squirt on the free basket of extra thick corn tortilla chips.

With Cinco De Mayo coming up, it is good timing for you to try some really authentic Mexican fare at Taco Loco. Not many people know about this little secret, but now you know the scoop. Celebrate with good food and cheap prices. If you do not check out Taco Loco soon, then you my friend, are CRAZY !

Give us your take on TACO LOCO by commenting below. Make sure you browse through the photo album for some AMAZING food photos from this little known secret.

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