A new semester brings a new food truck to campus: Mi Taquito Grill. The eye-catching, green food truck serves a variety of tacos, burritos, fries and a salad. It can be found near the physical sciences bridge, near Glenn Hall.

The truck sells two types of tacos: 

• J’s tacos, which come with your choice of meat, including chicken, steak and adobada, onion, cilantro, and either hot or mild salsa — $2.99
• Supreme tacos, which come with your choice of meat, onion, cilantro, cheese, sour cream and either hot or mild salsa — $3.75

The supreme tacos came with a side of salsa as well as a lime wedge and four radish slices. The two street-style tacos were double-wrapped and full of meat, in this case chicken, and completely coated with cheese so thick you can’t see the rest of the contents.

Once the sauce is self-drizzled and the lime slice is squeezed, the citric acidity blends perfectly with the seasoned chicken. The bright red sauce stands out against the white canvas of cheese, which is perfectly gooey.

The tacos are a little hard to pick up, but you miss them just as you finish them. The price for two tacos is steep, but is completely worth it.

It is slightly ridiculous the two types of tacos only have a two ingredient difference, but the supreme tacos cost 76 cents more than the J’s tacos. The person working suggested I order the J’s tacos instead of the supreme due to this.

The fries offered include: 

• M.T.G. fries, which have french fries, your meat of choice, nacho cheese, sour cream, mozzarella cheese and either hot or mild salsa — $10
• Chico fries, which have french fries, your choice of three meats, nacho cheese, sour cream, mozzarella cheese and either hot or mild salsa — $13

The Chico fries were honestly perfection. The three types of meat I chose, steak, pork and chicken were bountiful and spread across the sauce-soaked fries. The sauce holds a spice level that pairs well with the savory essence imbued into the fries.

The chunks of meat were a little too large for my preference, but seasoned well. The cheese that covers the entire dish acts like glue that holds all the components together.

The fries were given to me in a box on its side within a bag, which leaked everywhere and caused all of the sauce to pool in one corner of the box, making it messy to open and thoroughly soaking some of the fries. This was not the greatest.

The burritos offered include:

• Breakfast burrito, which has your choice of meat, beans, two eggs, home fries, mozzarella cheese and either hot or mild salsa — $10
• Regular burrito, which has your meat of choice, rice, beans, onions, cilantro and either hot or mild salsa — $9
• Chico burrito, which has your meat of choice, rice, beans, nacho cheese, mozzarella, sour cream and either hot or mild salsa — $10.50
• Cali burrito, which as your meat of choice, french fries, nacho cheese, sour cream and chipotle salsa — $9.50
• Vegetarian burrito, which has rice, beans, onions, cilantro, mozzarella cheese, sour cream and either hot or mild salsa — $9.50

The regular burrito was no different from any other “regular” burrito you could find elsewhere. The tortilla was dry and even after adding the lime juice and side of salsa, the rest of the burrito was too. The rice was probably the moistest part of it and was the star of the meal, easily better than the meat.

The size of the burrito rivaled that of Aca Taco and Chipotle’s products and was packed full, but overall it was far too expensive for such a “regular” burrito.

The cali burrito was just as large, but far better, almost as good as the fries. Well, it actually has fries in it. The first few bites were purely fries, nacho cheese and sour cream, creating a soft, mushy texture, detracting from the dry tortilla.

I didn’t taste any meat until about half-way through the burrito. It would’ve been better if the ingredients were better distributed. This would do well as the centerpiece for one of Jack in the Box’s munchie meals.

There is only one available salad, which comes with your choice of  meat, mixed greens, croutons, and either cesar, chipotle or balsamic vinegar, priced at $8.50.

The salad was very disappointing. It seemed like meat, cheese, croutons and greens thrown together to make the truck’s menu seem more healthy. 

The croutons, other than being a traditional salad ornament, were useless. The meat and cheese were too sparse, and even the greens seemed dry. Even once the chipotle sauce was mixed in there was no cohesion and did not fit the flavor profiles of the rest of the truck’s offerings.

It’s unimportant enough to not have a name.

To go with your food, you can get a Pepsi, Red Bull, Dr. Pepper or Manzanita Sol, a type of apple soda.

Every Tuesday the truck has “Taco Tuesday,” where you can get four tacos, either adobada or chicken, for $9 and there are other daily deals that change every day.

This Mi Taquito Grill truck also provides catering and is associated with the main Mi Taquito Grill truck that can be found at 3005 Esplanade Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Mi Taquito Grill is on campus Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., though these times and dates may change. To keep track of the food truck schedules, check out Associated Students Dining Services’ social media.

Ariana Powell can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].