El Pollo Regio - Pollo is in the Name for a Reason

My very first taco review is for El Pollo Regio. You can visit their website here http://www.elpolloregio.net . I went to the location at 105 S Bowen Rd, Arlington, TX 76012.

Now, I realize I should have ordered something with "pollo" actually in it. But I didn't.

I had been to a Pollo Regio before and loved the food. I was geared up for a mouth disco, when I made the unfortunate choice of barbacoa for my tacos.

Here are the options

While I was waiting on my tacos I visited the condiment bar. Impressive. The complimentary self serve chips were hot, thick, and crunchy. The selection of salsas was surprising. It was definitely fresh and made in house. I chose a medium chunky red salsa that possibly had roasted veggies in it. The green sauce had tomatillos and cilantro. Both were a medium on the hotness scale. The third sauce, a light green concoction, tasted like some sort of crema with avocado. It wasn't bad, just not my favorite. The best parts about the salsa bar were the raw peppered purple onions and the cabbage mix.

I was more than excited when my plate arrived. There were five tacos accompanied by fresh cilantro, grilled onions and a grilled jalapeño. I loaded up the grilled onions and then topped them off with the peppered onions, cabbage, and cilantro. I poured about half a small paper cups worth of red salsa on it. Then, I took the oh so anticipated first bite.

I immediately knew there was a problem. There was a....squishy feeling in my mouth. Not a good squishy either. I pulled the culprit out of my mouth and it was VERY fatty meat.  Now, I'm sure barbacoa lovers out there like this quality, but fat or gristly meat triggers my gag reflex. I only like Chipotle barbacoa. I know...I'm lame like that.

I proceeded to pick through the rest of my tacos with a fork. There was, in my opinion, so much fat that I was pretty much left with vegetarian tacos by the time I was finished picking it off. I did find two pieces of edible meat, so I tried them for flavor. There wasn't much. The salsas and other condiments saved the day as I used these to fill my tortillas. Oh! I almost forgot the tortillas. The tortillas were corn. I felt they were too greasy and had a taste of grease. I know you need some oil to keep corn shells from breaking apart, but these were a little much.

Would I eat here again? Probably. I think a different choice for meat would have improved my situation. Next time I'll try the "pollo".