Amaya’s Taco Village @ I-35 and 290

Located close to the intersection of I-35 and 290, Amaya’s Taco Village offers Tex-Mex food. The place had some Mexican decoration but it misses to get a full environment. This makes the place very common and without flavor.

With respect to the food, ALR ordered a taco plate and the special of the day. The taco plate consisted of three beef tacos with beans and rice. The special of the day was grilled chicken with queso sauce with beans and rice. The tacos were the classic Tex-Mex taco with “hard” shells which in the case of Amaya’s, the shells are softer. The flavor of both options was Ok, it was just the standard Tex-Mex flavors that anyone should expect without launching them to a great level.

The cost of the special kept it below $7 plus tip making the overall value just Ok. Service was defective since the checks were mixed up with a different table and water was not refilled promptly during the time we were there.

Amaya’s is definitively a below average place that carries similar issues from other small Tex-Mex places that struggle to bring a better experience to the customer.

Link to Amaya's Taco Village website

Dos Batos @ Anderson Ln and Burnet

Dos Batos (Two Guys) specializes on wood fired smoked tacos and tortas (a type of Mexican sandwich). At the time ALR arrived, the line was short and we were able to order in few minutes. Their menu is simple and is basically divided in tacos and tortas. I ordered a quesosteak torta while the rest of my friends ordered the pirata taco. My torta came on a plastic basket with few chips and green salsa. The tacos are served on a similar way unless you ordered the combo which included charro beans and a drink.

 We all were pleasantly surprised by the great flavor of the steak. Their wood fired smoky technique is really above the rest giving it a tender, juicy, and distinguished flavor to the food. All our selections included avocado which is a must on most of the Mexican cuisine. My torta included cheese which was very well integrated with the steak and the bread had a definitively buttery flavor at each bite. In the case of the tacos, they were quickly consumed and Big Jay decided to go for a second one. Based on the feedback from some of the ALR reviewers, the charro beans were not the best ones because they were not pinto or black beans. The green salsa that came with my torta had a good spicy flavor which I enjoyed.

Dos Batos is a simple place with a straight forward setup of tables. It looks that the extra-large mural that is painted on one of the walls tried to add some decoration and at the same time is disconnected. The place didn’t reach a specific style and it can be called a very common place on this category.

The service is a little above the norm of a fast food restaurant since you order the food at the cashier and they bring it to your table. They also picked up your baskets and clean up the table for you. Overall the value was oh, well a little expensive. A $7.95 taco or torta even with that fabulous steak is still expensive for the overall value expected on a lunch. A combo which included the beans and a drink pushed the lunch to $9.99.

In summary, Dos Batos has definitively good tacos and tortas. Their steaks are juicy and full of wood fired smoky flavor. Unfortunately, the place is missing personality and their overall value is not there. This is a difficult area that other tacos places are struggling too.

Link to Dos Batos Web Site