Qdoba Mexican Grill – Portage
6800 S. Westnedge AvenueAnother lazy Saturday. The rain just makes it so hard to get off the couch. J had a taste for quacamole, but didn’t want to go to a restaurant. I wanted to pick up a movie. We figured out a way to do both.
We get movies from Redbox. The movie I wanted was available at the Walgreens in Portage near the mall. I made the reservation online then J mentioned there’s a Qdoba not too far from there. She had just eaten there a couple days ago, but likes the place enough that it didn’t bother her to eat there again. I’m pretty indifferent to the place. It doesn’t bother me to eat there, but I don’t crave it either.
The Portage location of the Denver, CO based chain is in a small shopping center just in front of the Crossroads Mall. The parking lot is only accessible from Westnedge. There are no other roads that lead in to and there’s no back exit or anything that will get you in to the mall.
The layout of the place is typical for the Qdoba chain. There’s a dining room as you walk in and a half-wall leads you towards the order area. It’s sort of layed out like a sandwich shop. Your food is made to order in front of you. You put in your order then you’re asked along the way how you want it customized.
The thing that makes Qdoba stand out from other fast food Mexican restaurants is the freshness of the ingredients. Tortillas are made on site as is the guacamole that J wanted. In fact, most of the ingredients are made in each store. At the time we were in there, the grill was full of chicken being cooked to make into filling.
All J wanted was chips and guacamole so that’s why she ordered. She got a really big bag of chips and a cup of guac. She also got a salsa and she chose some kind of corn salsa. The chips are white corn tortilla chips that are seasoned with a kosher salt and lime mixture. In the past, we’ve had some really, really salty chips. The ones she got tonight were actually seasoned really well. There were more than enough chips in the bag. She gave half to me and still had some left over. The guacamole is hand smashed and she said she could tell that it was fresh and not something out of a can. She got what she wanted for dinner and was really happy with it.
I ordered three tacos. I opted to go with hard shell tacos with pulled pork, cheese, and salsa roja. I’ve never tried the pork before. I usually get the shredded beef, but I love pulled pork. The pork is slow roasted, hand pulled pork and it actually has a really great flavor and texture. The three tacos all started with the pork then topped with salsa. I went with the hot, but not the hottest salsa. I was on the fence almost going for the salsa verde, but I’m not really a huge fan of green salsa. It just doesn’t look right. I’ve had it before and it tastes delicious. I just have a thing with green salsa.
After the salsa, I had the choice of adding cheese and sour cream. I just went with cheese. As far as fast food tacos go, these are really good. I love that you get choice of meat and I really like that the meat is made and in house. It just makes everything taste better.
After we added on two Coke’s, our total bill was just over $13. That’s the reason I’m not a huge fan of Qdoba. It really is a place where you pay for quality and freshness, but if you’re in the market for quantity, you’re not going to get it from Qdoba. $13 isn’t bad for fast food, but I only had three tacos. When you look at the competition, you can get tacos for $.69. They’re not going to be nearly as good as what you can get from Qdoba, but you’ll get a a lot more, so it really depends on what you’re in the market for. I’m starting to be a pretty big fan of Qdoba. I just want more.
Fresh Chips and Guacamole
Three Pulled Pork tacos w/some of J's Chips
SW Michigan Dining 