Took my kids last night only because we needed to go to Wal-Mart and they had a taste for Mexican. But it was quite disappointing.
Price to Value: HIGH
Quality: BELOW AVERAGE
Service: FAIR (but completely unnecessary)
1. Unlike other taquerias and Mexican restaurants where it is complimentary, they charge a whopping $6.50 for chips and salsa. Yes, for dine in! Clearly written on their menu, though I've never actually paid attention before. (I guess that's one of the reasons why I've always thought I left with an empty wallet). Corn tortillas are still cheap, despite inflation. And it doesnt cost much to give a small dish of salsa with them. If they feel compelled to charge, the $2.50 is appropriate. But for $6.50, I can get a bag of El Milagro Totopos and a jar of salsa from Wal-Mart next door.
2. I get inflation, and I get how it is affecting everyone. With that being said, I have long felt that Humtley's Tacos Locos was overpriced. Ever since they changed locations from further north on IL-47 a handful of years ago, they just seem to have been more and more pricier. I swear they got even more expensive when they added the gaming machines. Maybe that's the problem...not enough people use those machines (which take up half of their dining space), so they lose customers...hence, menu prices go up to try to offset their losses. But they just seem to be overpriced even in an inflationary economy, especially when you factor in quality and portion size...
3. Burrito Loco Dinner - $12.95. I swear it's gotten more expensive AND smaller. It's not as full as it used to be. I'm also certain the tortilla size has been reduced to put less product in it.
Quesabirria Tacos - $16.75. This is the better value of the three dinners we ordered. My daughter does enjoy these very much.
Steak Fajitas - $16.45. Meat was tough. I'll say it again...TOUGH!!! This was a cheap cut of meat they're trying to hand tenderize to pass off as something you would eat in this presentation. I firmly believe they use the same cut of beef as they use for the braised beef in the Quesabirria tacos. The difference is that if they're using something like beef chuck (or a similarly tough cut of beef) to braise for Quesabirria, it is not a good cut of meat to grill. Served with lettuce and tomatoes, but no cheese or sour cream? Every Mexican restaurant serves cheese and sour cream. So, between the TOUGH cut of meat I had to exercise my jaw to chew through and the lack of accompaniments, the Fajotas are a POOR value. Charge me a few more dollars, improve the quality of the meat, and give some sour cream and cheese.
4. I don't understand the point of servers here. Like I said, half of the place is gaming machines so they only have 2 high top tables and maybe 6 standard tables. The order counter for carryout is right there. So why not eliminate the servers and just have people order through the counter / pick up from the counter. Our server was pleasant, but there wasn't really any wow factor. Took our orders, delivered our food, brought our check. Very robotic with no personality. I asked for two boxes for the kids' leftovers, which she brought out quickly along with the check. However, she walked away while leaving my empty plate and fajita skillet in front of me. Should have been removed, so I wound up stacking them and pushing them to the side. This is why servers here are unnecessary. If there's no real purpose for them, get rid of them and save the additional labor cost...and I can save the $9 gratuity I left, which wasn't really warranted.
ONE MORE THING!!! Be cautious if you order through GrubHub. I just noticed the prices they charge on GrubHub are HIGHER than what they charge in house. I don't think that's right. They shouldn't inflate their prices on GrubHub just because they want the extra business but don't want to lose margin because of the cut that GrubHub takes.
All in all, I don't know if I will go back to Tacos Locos. There are so many options for Taquerias and Mexican restaurants around, and I have already found a few that offer a better overall quality and value. read more