Tea-Amor Boba Cafe

We haven't had a boba tea place in the Grand Parkway Marketplace area so this fills a gap. I stopped in the other day to check them out--had an avocado and banana smoothie. They offer adjustable sugar levels--I had mine standard, full sugar, but they will sweeten less or not at all. The sugar drowned out the avocado, I would do less sugar next time. Nice and creamy though. The interior is fairly plain but quite clean and ready, with games to play if you want to hang out. Bathrooms were the same.

The online menu lists sandwiches, but those aren't available yet, so it's strictly snacks. Prices are in line with other boba tea places. If you're looking for a boba fix in the neighborhood this will do nicely.

My Yelp Review

Bigotes Street Tacos (Sports Bar)

Their original location at London Way closed awhile ago, and they have just opened a sports bar in the former Jack In The Box at Rayford and Kuykendahl that has inherited the review history. We came in for a family meal to see what's new. We got their taco special, the huevos rancheros with chorizo (breakfast all day) and the sopes (barbacoa and carnitas). We led off with a spiral potato and finished with the churros, filled with Bavarian cream.

I would say my favorite item was the spiral potato. It's a potato cut in a thin spiral and skewered, then deep fat fried and covered with cheese, bacon bits and ketchup. The thin spiral cut makes it eat like fresh-made potato chips, which I love. I can absolutely recommend this.

Bigotes' food is usually very mild--no spice at all. That is still mostly the case, though the chorizo on the huevos rancheros did bring some heat. You have to add sauce to get any flavor. I am not so much a fan of this, but if you need your Tex-Mex mild (and I know some do) then this place is a decent choice.

The huevos rancheros was a generous portion, and was pretty spicy with good flavor--see the note above. The street tacos were fine--tender beef and the toppings were good, but very mild in line with most Bigotes food. The sopes were an interesting choice--the meat and toppings (cheese and sour cream) are piled high on a thick corn base. They hold together quite well so you can pick them up. The meats were tender but needed sauce for flavor. The sopes were very dense but crunchy. Overall kind of a gut bomb but OK.

The churros were pretty standard, a bit on the heavy, chewy side. The cream filling was nice.

Little things keep me from giving a higher review. They did not have coffee to accompany the breakfast items. The server was friendly and helpful but the food was slow to arrive, so the evening dragged a bit. Our dessert order got dropped for awhile, further slowing things. We got an apology but that's it.

The restrooms were cleverly decorated. Not in perfect condition but it was a Saturday night. TVs line the entire inside, so it does live up to its name as a sports bar. Overall would not be my first choice but it's OK, and delivers what Bigotes has delivered for a long time.

My Yelp Review

Bocado's Cafe

Bocados Cafe is related to the food truck that has been at La Plaza de los Food Trucks on Gosling for a couple of years. I stopped at the cafe to give them a try. I was thinking to try an appetizer and burger, but my server (also the manager or assistant manager, I think) directed me to the montaditos when I asked about pork belly. I am glad she did. Montaditos Los Roques is an appetizer--three small servings--but works as a lunch. Their pork belly on a fried plantain base, with coleslaw, Venezuelan white cheese and ketchup. The coleslaw is very fine and its mild sweetness complements the pork belly well. The pork belly itself was done perfectly--tender with a nice crust. The plantain is an acquired taste--it is pretty chewy and a little hard to eat--but I've had plantain at several Venezuelan places and it's always like that so I assume it's intentional. I would get the dish again.

I decided to try a dessert and got the Chocolate Marquise. It looks a little like tiramisu but is nothing like that. It is made from dense cookies layered with milk chocolate and garnished with Nutella. Six people could easily share this, it goes a long way. I might have liked some other marquise (they had passion fruit and lemon as well) better. They also have churros and cheesecake.

I washed all this down with a papelon con limon, my favorite Venezuelan drink. It's made from iced tea and lemonade sweetened with brown sugar. Theirs was strong and tasty. One note: They treat this like a cocktail. I ordered a refill and was charged for two.

The location is quite nice--spare but comfortable decor. There are a few TVs but it's easy to escape them. I sat outside because it was a beautiful afternoon, and their patio is very usable--it is set back from the street and parking lot so it is quiet and friendly for conversation. Unusual for this part of town. The menu is very large, like a Venezuelan Chili's.

My tab for the meal came to more than $50 after an average tip. That puts it in special event space for me, and I don't usually think of burgers that way. But the food and service are excellent so it's going on my list of places to revisit. I wish them success!

My Yelp Review

Taqueria Azteca at Stop 'N Bye

This location recently rebranded from 7-Eleven to Stop 'N Bye and the food inside is no longer branded as Laredo Taco Company. On the outside, the food brand says Taqueria Contigo, but inside there's a sign saying Taqueria Azteca--I'll go with that as the name.

I like Laredo Taco Company and wanted to see if this new food brand holds up. Not so much. The signs on the outside advertise hamburgers, which would be new. But one needs to be flexible--the grill and fry maker didn't really look ready to go so I got their special--four tacos for $8.99. Pretty good price. One each of beef fajita, chicken, Al Pastor and chiccharones.

The tortillas are now store-bought. The tacos themselves were OK--came with salsa already on them. Can't say anything better or worse. Certainly not anything like the Laredo Taco Company food.

The drink machines were not in great shape. Several drinks were sold out or not working, and the Coke Zero was not marked but obviously not working either. Got a regular Coke and it was pretty weak.

The bathrooms were usable but not real clean. The people were friendly. I come by fairly regularly because they often beat other Exxon and Mobil locations on fuel price. Contrary to an earlier review you can in fact use your ExxonMobil app here. I'll keep buying gas but am not tempted to go inside.

My Yelp Review