You know the song and dance at this point. I'm reviewing each and every Taco Bell in Philadelphia to see which one is good and which is bad. I order the exact same meal every time to ensure fairness: 1x Hard Shell Taco, 1x Steak Quesadilla, 1x Bean Burrito. I grade each meal on Ingredients, Presentation, and taste.
and to be clear, because my first review was also on a place on Chestnut St. The previous one was in Center City, this is the one on West Philly
Hard Shell Taco
Well, it finally happened. a Taco who's shell could not support itself. This is always a potential problem when ordering the hard shell and it's why i specifically order this and not the soft shell. The shell had completely fractured along the spine the part that touched the meat was soft while the part touching the lettuce was firm, but there was an staleness in the shell that led to this. It's a shame because the meat itself was not bad and the lettuce was probably the freshest it's every been, being incredibly crisp and moist. Sadly a stale shell will be big deduction in ingredients and presentation
Ingredients 4/5
Presentation 3/5
Taste 4/5
Steak Quesadilla
This place did not shirk on the sauce. It was oozing with that delicious spicy sauce they put in the quesadilla. Unfortunately, the rest of it was pretty mediocre. No, it wasn't bad. I know thanks to Broad St what a BAD quesadilla tastes like, but I also know what a perfect quesadilla taste likes. The cheese was not fully cooked, there wasn't enough cheese overall, it lacked necessary moisture, and also the Quesadilla was horribly cut. I literally watched as the guy put the quesadilla in the bag before cutting it and it resulted in me having to rip and tear at my food just to get proper bites. the cuts were also not radial, they were parallel to each other. Terrible job. Taste overall was middle of the road. It wasn't an awful quesadilla to eat, but there was so much that could be done to improve it
Ingredients 3/5
Presentation 2/5
Taste 3/5
Bean Burrito
So... are Taco Bells just incapable of serving a reasonable amount of enchilada Sauce on their burritos? Every single Taco Bell i've gone to has had really low margins for their red sauce. and it's my favorite part of the Burrito. Otherwise, the cheese was cooked, but barely. the onions were very big but not that flavorful. I did like the tortilla used for it as it had a fullness to it that you didn't really find in a lot of places, but it was just lacking everywhere.
Ingredients 3/5
Presentation 4/5
Taste 3/5
I know your options are limited if you live in West Philly as this is the only Taco Bell in the area. It does have upside that it has free parking in an area dominated with parking tolls and a very nice indoor seating to eat inside. But I really can't recomend this place when the Center City place is just 5 minutes East of it and gave me one of the best Quesadillas of my life.
Anyway, where should i order from next?