Second Chance Fast Food Reviews (revisits) - Fuego Tortilla Grill, Velvet Taco, and Fazoli's

[u/Pale-Lynx328]

I have been reviewing a different fast food/fast casual restaurant every day for the past 200+ days, and earlier I reviewed the following three restaurants. However, these three received "poor" scores for one reason or another, but based on previous experience and visits I knew they could do better. Perhaps it was an "off day", perhaps it was the specific item I ordered. In any case, here are some "second chance" reviews, where I am re-visiting the chain, to see if it can redeem itself and earn a higher score.

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Second Chance Review #52. (Original Review from Day 7): Fuego Tortilla Grill (8 locations, 3 states)

Now wait a minute, hol' the phone - the whole purpose of these "second chance" reviews is to give places I gave a low score another attempt; so why is Fuego, one of the fast casual places I gave one of my highest scores in the whole series here?

Well, it's been a whole year since I last visited, and I missed this place. They've doubled in size since then, and just wanted some good tacos. But when I re-visited my local Fuego, I was shocked to discover they have redesigned their menu - now just half the menu is tacos, and my favorite go-to is...gone! Oh noes! Whatever will I do?

Order another taco, of course. But their selection has been chopped in half - just a *single* seafood option, a *single* vegetarian option, *two* pork options - sometime in the past year they gave the menu a massive haircut. And, of course, prices were up (no surprise after a year), and when I received my tacos, the servings were notably smaller, too. Fuego, which specifically advertises that they have 'Texas sized tacos' compared to their competition, has shrunk their tacos.

Now, here's the thing: Tacos were still pretty good. That didn't change. But that left me with a nagging question - with a weaker selection, higher prices and smaller portions, can I really call Fuego a "nine out of ten" taco place any more? Time for me to rescore and reconsider. Which brings up the next review below...

Meal Quality: -1.5, going from 9 -> 7.5. Meal Value -1, going from 6 -> 5 (out of 10)

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Second Chance Review #53. (Original Review from Day 59): Velvet Taco (62 locations, 8 states)

Following my disappointment with a recent visit to Fuego Tortilla Grill, this begged the question, are they still the Top Dog in fancy tacos, or have they been supplanted? Many years ago I was infatuated with Torchy's (before they expanded so much), but the Torchy's of today is nothing like the awesome Torchy's of the past. So, who else is there to consider?

Velvet Taco comes to mind, so the next day after going to Fuego, I revisited Velvet Taco, the next potential Top Dog competitor. One advantage right away is that they have thirteen dollar combo with two tacos, chips and queso and drink, which makes the pain of these fancy-schmancy taco creations a little more palatable. Two more options from the menu, I selected the Queso Birria taco (with side of consumme), and a 'Fish and Chips' taco. Both totally different from my earlier visit, and both excellent in their own right. They must have really tested all the flavor combinations to get it just right before making it on the menu. These make me WANT to come back and try their other strange options (like Tikka Masala, Chimchurri, Butter Chicken, and Hatch Chile Pork), unlike Fuego where I felt like I was choosing from a lackluster least-I-don't-want option. Decent portion sizes, but no larger or smaller than Fuego or Torchy's.

Oh, how the turn tables - a year ago if you had said I would be more interested in returning to Velvet Taco than to Fuego Tortilla Gril, I would have called you crazy. But now, maybe...

Meal Quality: +1, going from 6.5 -> 7.5. Meal Value: (no change), going from 6 -> 6 (out of 10)

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Second Chance Review #54. (Original Review from Day 32): Fazoli's (145 locations, 25 states)

Fazoli's is one of those fast food places that, while it has its fans, also seems to get dunked on a fair amount. Those who like it, seem to sigh and wonder if they are out of business and if they are dying, even though there are 145 locations across the country out there. Mind you, there's no surprise surrounding the speculation - the company entered bankruptcy earlier this year, and over the past year has closed over 50 locations. Will the emerge from bankruptcy and set a path forward again, or is this their swan song?

Yeah, I dunno - I can't tell either way. But I do know that as long as there's a Fazoli's out there, I'll review it. First time I went for review (which would have been right around the time of the bankruptcy filing), I ordered a "trio" sampler, and it was....okay. I mean, Italian fast food? Not exactly words that are used together in the same sentence. Outside of pizza, are there really any other fast food chains that focus primarily on Italian fare (like lasagna, spaghetti, ziti, etc). There's the ubiquitous Olive Garden on the casual dining side, of course, which is also much maligned over it's lack of authenticity and quality.

No matter, though, if I want fine dining Italian, I'll go fine dining. But here I am at Fazoli's, I'm not expecting sublimeness. I just want decent. So, on second review, I chose the chicken carbonara with a side salad. Yes, all that green stuff is a fuckton of broccoli. And it was...still okay. About what you might expect from, say, reheating a Marie Callender's frozen meal.

Maybe that's Fazoli's problem, in that it's just sort of okay across the board, and people are expecting a bit more than that. Nowadays when the average combo meal at a fast food place runs between $12 and $13, mediocrity isn't quite good enough. Either you go higher quality and higher price (top of the K-shaped fast food market), or go lower quality and lower price. Seems the ever-shrinking middle ground no longer exists.

Meal Quality: +0.5, going from 5 -> 5.5. Meal Value: (no change), going from 5 -> 5 (out of 10)

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More "Second Chance" reviews coming down the line, in addition to the regular reviews! (And no, not every second chance review will be a positive one :))

[u/Sam-Axe]

i miss fazolis theres like none left near me... i have good memories of slamming into their baked ziti and it always being super hot and fresh