FoodQuest Rerun: Moe's
OPEN: JANUS FILE #0404
Recently, I saw a post on IReallyLikeFood debating which chain was better -- Chipotle Mexican Grill or Moe's Southwest Grill. Considering that Chipotle doesn't have any locations here in Louisville, and Moe's has four (five, if you count one in Southern Indiana), I have to go with Moe's. Now, if you want to get into a debate whether Moe's or Qdoba, then I could get into the debate. Louisville has both chains, and I enjoy eating at both.
I was a fan of Moe's long before I started FoodQuest, so a regular entry didn't fall into the parameters I had set for FoodQuest. But a couple of weeks ago, I saw a mention on Facebook about a new item that Moe's had added to their menu. This would be the Taco Stacks, and I started thinking that writing about these might make a good FoodQuest Rerun. I also get the occasional promotional email from Moe's, and a little over a week ago, I received an email with a birthday present attached -- one free entree, fajitas excluded. That didn't bother me, because I'm not a fan of fajitas.
A couple of days ago, I decided to use my birthday present, and got lunch at Moe's. Once I confirmed that I could use the email to get a Taco Stack, I ordered a Steak Taco Stack.
One thing I like about Moe's is that you watch your food being made right in front of you. It started with a flour tortilla, steamed to soften it. A small pile of shredded cheese was placed in the center of the tortilla, and a corn tortilla was placed on top of the cheese. On top of the corn tortilla was placed pinto beans, grilled steak, grilled mushrooms, and Moe's queso. (Grilled onions are also part of the steak Taco Stack, but I decided to pass on those.)
Any of the free ingredients were fair game (extra cost for guacamole or bacon), and I added diced tomatoes, sour cream, more cheese, lettuce, and diced cucumbers to mine. The resulting pile was topped with another corn tortilla, and still more cheese was placed on top of that before the flour tortilla was carefully wrapped around the corn tortillas and their contents. This was then placed on the grill for a couple of minutes on each side before it was placed in a basket along with a pile of tortilla chips, and was then handed to me.
While my Taco Stack was on the grill, I talked with the guy who had done the assembling and grilling. I asked how popular the Taco Stacks were, and he said that he hoped that they would become a permanent part of the menu. This surprised me, because I had seen a few comments on Facebook -- supposedly from Moe's employees -- who complained about how much of a pain they were to make. The guy who grilled mine was a little surprised when I told him this, because he didn't have any problems making them. Before Moe's, he had worked at Taco Bell, and as he told me, "The Taco Stacks are basically the same as [Taco Bell's] Crunchwrap Supreme." I had to disagree, because it looked like the Taco Stack was an improvement on the Crunchwrap.
I took my tray to a booth I had already claimed (placed my backpack there), got my drink and some salsa to go with my chips, then proceeded to enjoy my meal. Put simply, the Taco Stack was wonderful. When I get a burrito at Moe's, I usually choose the steak option, and the marinated grilled steak didn't fail to please this time. I also loved the mushrooms; an ingredient option that Qdoba unfortunately doesn't have. All of the different flavors blended together delightfully, for lack of a better term.
The tortilla chips are freshly made, and are kept warm until a big scoop was placed in a basket on my tray. I tried a couple of different salsas, but I found that I enjoy the chips best just by themselves. And if you're dining in, you can get refills on the chips.
I'm not certain if the holds true for the whole chain, but this particular Moe's offers free Wi-Fi. I took advantage, combining a pleasant meal with browsing the Internet.
I'm already a repeat customer, so I'm definitely going to be going back.
Moe's Southwest Grill
1001 Breckenridge Lane
Louisville, KY
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0404
Recently, I saw a post on IReallyLikeFood debating which chain was better -- Chipotle Mexican Grill or Moe's Southwest Grill. Considering that Chipotle doesn't have any locations here in Louisville, and Moe's has four (five, if you count one in Southern Indiana), I have to go with Moe's. Now, if you want to get into a debate whether Moe's or Qdoba, then I could get into the debate. Louisville has both chains, and I enjoy eating at both.
I was a fan of Moe's long before I started FoodQuest, so a regular entry didn't fall into the parameters I had set for FoodQuest. But a couple of weeks ago, I saw a mention on Facebook about a new item that Moe's had added to their menu. This would be the Taco Stacks, and I started thinking that writing about these might make a good FoodQuest Rerun. I also get the occasional promotional email from Moe's, and a little over a week ago, I received an email with a birthday present attached -- one free entree, fajitas excluded. That didn't bother me, because I'm not a fan of fajitas.
A couple of days ago, I decided to use my birthday present, and got lunch at Moe's. Once I confirmed that I could use the email to get a Taco Stack, I ordered a Steak Taco Stack.
One thing I like about Moe's is that you watch your food being made right in front of you. It started with a flour tortilla, steamed to soften it. A small pile of shredded cheese was placed in the center of the tortilla, and a corn tortilla was placed on top of the cheese. On top of the corn tortilla was placed pinto beans, grilled steak, grilled mushrooms, and Moe's queso. (Grilled onions are also part of the steak Taco Stack, but I decided to pass on those.)
Any of the free ingredients were fair game (extra cost for guacamole or bacon), and I added diced tomatoes, sour cream, more cheese, lettuce, and diced cucumbers to mine. The resulting pile was topped with another corn tortilla, and still more cheese was placed on top of that before the flour tortilla was carefully wrapped around the corn tortillas and their contents. This was then placed on the grill for a couple of minutes on each side before it was placed in a basket along with a pile of tortilla chips, and was then handed to me.
While my Taco Stack was on the grill, I talked with the guy who had done the assembling and grilling. I asked how popular the Taco Stacks were, and he said that he hoped that they would become a permanent part of the menu. This surprised me, because I had seen a few comments on Facebook -- supposedly from Moe's employees -- who complained about how much of a pain they were to make. The guy who grilled mine was a little surprised when I told him this, because he didn't have any problems making them. Before Moe's, he had worked at Taco Bell, and as he told me, "The Taco Stacks are basically the same as [Taco Bell's] Crunchwrap Supreme." I had to disagree, because it looked like the Taco Stack was an improvement on the Crunchwrap.
I took my tray to a booth I had already claimed (placed my backpack there), got my drink and some salsa to go with my chips, then proceeded to enjoy my meal. Put simply, the Taco Stack was wonderful. When I get a burrito at Moe's, I usually choose the steak option, and the marinated grilled steak didn't fail to please this time. I also loved the mushrooms; an ingredient option that Qdoba unfortunately doesn't have. All of the different flavors blended together delightfully, for lack of a better term.
The tortilla chips are freshly made, and are kept warm until a big scoop was placed in a basket on my tray. I tried a couple of different salsas, but I found that I enjoy the chips best just by themselves. And if you're dining in, you can get refills on the chips.
I'm not certain if the holds true for the whole chain, but this particular Moe's offers free Wi-Fi. I took advantage, combining a pleasant meal with browsing the Internet.
I'm already a repeat customer, so I'm definitely going to be going back.
Moe's Southwest Grill
1001 Breckenridge Lane
Louisville, KY
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0404