Place: Abelardo's
Lunch: #5 combo (crispy ground beef taco, ground beef enchilada, rice, beans), Mr Pibb
Abelardo's is one of those regional fast food Mexican chains you see in Southwestern markets that are owned and operated by actual Latinos who routinely take over old abandoned major fast food structures, throw up some festive paint colors, and open for business selling cheap eats with 24-hour drive-thrus. In Utah, you have Rancherito's. In Vegas and San Diego, you have Roberto's. They usually have ridiculously extensive menus similar to full-service Mexican restaurants. They're commonly referred to as "Alberto's copycats", referring to the California chain most consider the original to utilize this concept. (Indeed, the taco holding guy in the Abelardo's logo is an exact replica of the one in Alberto's logo).
I was surprised to stumble upon this particular one as these operations are few and far between in the Midwest, let alone discover this is their third location in town...all opened this year.
The first went into the old Hardee's on Ingersoll. That was as busy a Hardee's as there ever was back in the nineties, especially at night with its 24-hour drive-thru. Long abandoned, it was a gutsy move for Abelardo's to move in since there's a relatively new Taco John's right next door. But the Taco John's isn't open 24 hours, so I bet they make a killing overnight.
This location is in the old Radio Diner space in an upscale lifestyle center that couldn't have been developed at a worse time economy-wise, so I'm guessing the rent is cheap. It's apparently open 24 hours despite the fact it has no drive-thru. (EDIT: New signs say 8am-10pm.) (EVEN MORE EDIT: They now have a drive-thru.)
The tacos here are great. Generous amounts of ground beef with one of the better seasoning mixes I've had. The beans are even better. Nice and soupy and not too smoky. Just about perfect. My new favorite beans in town. They have a nice little salsa bar to enhance your purchase that includes a spicy jalapeno-carrot mix that I don't understand but which every one of these chains has and people always point out as something awesome in reviews. (EDIT: Shredded beef tacos are a must try too.)
Menu pricing? Horribly inaccurate. The combo shows up on their website as $5.99. The menu board in the store shows it as $6.29. The actual price rung up on the register as $6.99.
Yeah...they need to fix that.
The food here IS worth the price though, and I'm under the impression everything on the menu is available all day, including the breakfast items. Ground beef tacos for breakfast? Here's hoping.
Christmas finally arrives next week.
Is it just me, or has December moved along at a pace that feels like the whole rest of the year combined?
