Torti Taco (Marshall)
301 E. Michigan AvenueI ended up in Marshall two days in a row in the middle of last week. The second day, I was by myself. It was just a quick trip to pick something up for a co-worker in Grand Rapids. I literally had to drive to Marshall, spent about 15 minutes doing something for him, then it was back to Kalamazoo.
I was on my own though so I could take some time and seek out a place for lunch. I was kind of in the mood for tacos and there are a couple of taco options in Marshall…including one that’s somewhat familiar.
I ordered my lunch from Torti Taco on East Michigan Avenue in downtown Marshall. The small Mexican joint is one of three in the area. The original location is on Beckley Road in Battle Creek. The other Battle Creek location is in downtown Battle Creek in the old Pastrami Joe’s.
The Marshall location is on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Hamilton Street. The thee story brick building in front of the Oaklawn Hospital parking ramp was previously the Mediterranean cafe Zarzuela which closed in January of 2020. Torti Taco opened almost exactly three year later in January of 2023.
I chose Torti Taco for a couple of reasons. Obviously, I’ve had their food before at the Beckley Road location and really liked it. Also, they have online ordering which makes my life so much simpler.
I got to the restaurant a few minutes before my order was expected to be ready. I figured I’d just go in and wait if they were still cooking it instead of sitting in the car.
The restaurant was pretty busy as it was a Thursday during the lunch rush. The decor fits the old building the restaurant is in. I was never in Zarzuela so I don’t know what’s been changed. The restaurant has tile flooring now and high ceilings so there is quite a bit of sound with very little dampening. The large picture windows facing the street let in a lot of light. There is very little on the walls other than a couple of TV’s.
There’s a bar at the back of the space that I assume is left over from the previous life. This is the order counter now. This location doesn’t have a liquor license like the one in downtown Battle Creek so the bar just functions as the place to order.
My order was just finishing up when I got there. I had ordered five steak tacos Mexican style and an order of fries. The cost was just under $20.
When the order was finished, I grabbed the bag and headed to the car.
Tacos aren’t something I can eat while driving but fries are. That’s the reason I ended up ordering them. I was pretty hungry but wanted to get back to Kalamazoo and the fries would hold me over until I got there.
I don’t have very high expectations for fries from a Mexican restaurant. I just want something to munch on while I’m driving. The fries at Torti Taco are frozen battered fries..which aren’t really my favorite. They gave me a small cup of ketchup to go with the fries. I’m not a ketchup person and certainly not going to use ketchup while driving…..but these are the kind of fries that benefit from dipping in something. They were fine and did what I wanted them to do. They held me over until I got somewhere I could eat the tacos.
The tacos were pretty standard Mexican style tacos. Each of the five tacos was a soft, double layer of corn tortilla with a lot of tender steak, cilantro, and onions.
My only complaint with these tacos is they didn’t come with any hot sauce. Granted, I didn’t ask for any but I always thought it was pretty standard to get a couple with tacos. They tacos were tasty on their own but would have been even better with a little bit of the red hot sauce. That little set back didn’t stop me from eating all five and wanting more.
I will never not love tacos. I wish I had some hot sauce but that was just a minor set back. Torti Taco has always come through with delicious food and this location continues that.
SW Michigan Dining 