Awhile back, I blogged about a sub-par Taco Rosa experience I had, while promising to go back and try some menu suggestions from readers.  I also wanted to give the restaurant’s tacos another chance to redeem themselves.

Christian, the OC Mexican Food blogger and frequent Taco Rosa diner, rounded up a group of insighful O.C. food bloggers to join in on the experience. While I suffered through some of the same problems I had with the food on my prior visit, I did sample some good dishes (the amuse of mini chimichangas, pictured above, was one). Reader Joanna suggested that I try to restore my faith in the restaurant by ordering the Chile Relleno. Blogger Shelly ordered this dish, offering me a sample, and I found it to be a good representation of what this restaurant can really do. The fried batter is light, the Poblano pepper still crisp and unaffected by the frying, and the cheese is neither overwhelming nor oozing grease. It’s a great dish.

But, for the most part, I agree with blogger John Olsen in his comment that he left on my original blog post: “For a restaurant in this price range, I really expect things to be a lot more consistent and more importantly - memorable.” Service was spotty and hurried (a wrong drink order, a misplaced takeout box), but to the restaurant’s credit, the waiters had quick recovery. I again ordered tacos, this time the carne asada and the lobster. The lobster taco came as two mini flour tortilla tacos, much different than the ones in the corn tortillas I was served on my last visit. The fried flour tortillas are a much better suit than the restaurant’s bland corn tortilla. The carne asada taco, however, is wrapped in the corn tortilla, and I found the flavors to be unbalanced. The corn tortilla is too thick (all diners at the table agreed), and when paired with a slightly spicy, very flavorful beef, it feels like something is missing. And this is why, upon the suggestion of another blog reader, I ordered the carne asada burrito (pictured at right). With the carne asada taco, there is nothing between the flavorful meat and the bland tortilla to bridge the two together. In the burrito, you have layers of other ingredients — the ubiquitous beans and cheese — to blanket the somewhat overseasoned meat and to pump up the flavor in the tortilla (a whole wheat tortilla, the menu says. It tastes like a regular tortilla to me). It’s balanced, and you get an array of flavors. The punch-packing carne asada really has no business being served without a buffer against a corn tortilla with little taste.

Tacos, even though they’re part of the restaurant’s namesake, aren’t the menu’s strongest points. I doubt I’ll go out of my way to revist this restaurant, but if I ever find myself there, I’ll know what to order. Many thanks to readers for the suggestions.

Posted in: Mexican • Restaurants by price: $15-$30 |

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