Lion on Lorain

Lion on Lorain
12703 Lorain Ave
Cleveland
(216) 252-6483
http://www.facebook.com/liononlorain

The Deal:
Tuesdays
$2.00 Tacos (beef, chicken, fish, lamb, pulled pork, black bean and taco specials)
$2.00 Bud Light, Miller Lite, Rolling Rock, Lions Head, Lions Head Light, Bud, Mich Ultra, MGD, Miller High Life

The Rating: 4.3/5.0
Overall Experience - 4.5
Taste - 4.7
Price - 4.2
Variety - 4.7
Shell - 3.3

A new fan favorite, Lion on Lorain is a new spot in the West Park area of CLE.  I thought it was an all-around great taco night.  Our server was great, the tacos were amazing, and the bar itself (technically a biker bar?) was pretty nice.  I was sitting on a Harley Davidson stool.  I guess there's a first for everything.

The tacos were huge and delicious, AND they came with tortilla chips.  I LOVED the veggie taco special (pictured below... empanadas... yummmm!).  It sounds like the steak taco was a hit, too.

That night's taco specials:
Oaxacan Steak taco: Ancho mole seasoned strip steak grilled medium rare, cilantro guava slaw and spiced mango preserves.
Empanada Taco: Vegetarian bean and cheese empanada with spring greens, tomatoes and a salsa verdeWe all planned on going back because the rest of the menu sounded amazing.  Mac & cheese sandwich?  Yes, please.

(uh-oh... Riverwood has some competition!)

West End Tavern

West End Tavern
18514 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, OH
(216) 521-7684
http://www.westendtav.com/

The Deal:
Tuesday
$1.00 Beef Tacos
$2.00 Corona & Cuervo

The Rating: 3.15/5.0
Overall Experience - 3.5
Taste - 3.25
Price - 5.00
Variety - 1.25 (ouch)
Shell - 2.75


We had a pretty small crew for this one.  So, the ratings are what they are.  Mediocre, I guess.

I really like West End.  I had only been there for brunch (which is ah-mazing, by the way), but it's a great little bar.  A lot of regulars sitting at the bar, and pretty good servers, too.  I've always thought about stopping in for dinner, and now I probably will after seeing the dinner menu.  It all sounds pretty good.  It was definitely pretty quiet that night, which surprised me after reading that it fills up pretty quickly.  We were the only table there.  Everyone else was seated at the bar.

Now... to the tacos.  I was pretty bummed to find there was no vegetarian option.  Nada.  C'mon, you can't throw some veggies and cheese in a taco shell?!  I ended up ordering a veggie quesadilla... but that just ended up bothering more.  It was really good, but they totally could have tossed the ingredients together and made it a taco.  I guess they preferred getting $6.00 out of it, instead of $1.00.  Can't blame 'em, but I can still bitch about it.

Flying Monkey

Flying Monkey
819 Jefferson Ave
Cleveland, Ohio
(216) 861-6659
http://www.flyingmonkeypub.com/

The Deal:
Wednesday
Choice of Bean, Pork or Chicken
$3.00 Margarita/Modelo
(Totally don't remember the taco prices... My apologies)

The Rating: 3.85/5.0
Overall Experience - 4.4
Taste - 4.4
Price - 3.4
Variety - 3.6
Shell - 3.4

LOVE this bar (particularly on a quiet weekday).  They were offering taco nights during the warm days (pretty sure it's on hiatus during the winter).  Since they do not generally serve food, we had to go to the back to order from the taco guy.  I hear he had a pretty great selection of hot sauces to choose from as well.

For being tacos not coming from a kitchen, they were pretty popular with the group.  I know the guys really liked the pork tacos, and I was a big fan of the bean.

Service is always a little spotty there as there seems to always just be one bartender working both sides of the bar.  They usually have a pretty good draft beer selection, which is always a big plus!

Riverwood

The Riverwood Cafe
18500 Detroit Ave
Lakewood
(216) 521-9999
http://www.riverwoodcafe.com/

The Deal:
Wednesdays
"$1 Award winning Tacos" (per Riverwood's website)
$2 Jose Cuervo Shots, $2.50 Corona & Corona Light Bottles, $3 Margaritas

The Rating: 4.3/5.0
Overall Experience - 4.38
Taste - 4.7
Price - 4.7
Variety - 3.0
Shell - 4.9

Before going in, we knew Riverwood was going to be a favorite.  So, I must admit there was a bit of bias.  However, the tacos are so.damn.good.  They don't advertise a veggie option, but they did make a very delicious vegetarian taco for me.  The tacos and beers are cheap and the taco shells are definitely everyone's favorite of all spots so far.

Very rarely do people write notes on their rating cards (yes, we have rating cards), but "best tacos ever" was written on two of them.  And my friends don't lie.

Zocalo

Zocalo
2071 East 4th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
(216) 781-0420
http://www.zocalocleveland.com/

The Deal:
Tuesdays
1/2 price margaritas and a GIANT list of gourmet tacos

The Rating: 3.6/5.0
Overall Experience - 3.77
Taste - 3.87
Price - 2.7
Variety - 4.75
Shell - 2.95

Being that we have a good friend that runs the joint, we were pretty excited about this one.  I mean, really,
1/2 price margaritas?!  Where do I sign up!?

There was a HUGE list of tacos to choose from.  I would probably say close to 20 (can't remember exactly).
However, we all kind of thought they almost had TOO many to choose from.  I think if they had a few less,
they could have executed the good ones a little bit better.  Everyone either loved their tacos or was not a fan
at all.  I was not a huge fan of the veggie taco, but their fruit taco was amazing. 

You can't go wrong with the location and the atmosphere, though.  And our server was FANTASTIC!  (We
are all huge suckers for good service!

Johnny Mango

Johnny Mango
3120 Bridge Ave.
Cleveland
(216) 575-1919
http://www.jmango.com/

The Deal:
$1 Beef or Bean Tacos; 95¢ Sour Cream and Guacamole
1/2 Price Beer and Wine; $2 off Cocktails from 5-7pm

The Rating: 3.34/5.0
Overall Experience - 3.7
Taste - 3.6
Price - 4.5
Variety - 2.0
Shell - 2.9

Johnny Mango was surprisingly not a fan favorite.  Granted, we had a HUGE group, and I don't think they were completely prepared for what was coming their way.  I was told (via Twitter by a Johnny Mango person) they took reservations.  When I called I was told they did not. Not a big deal.  We got there early enough to take care of the big crowd.  It was PACKED.  I think, unfortunately, they kind of lost us when we had to to attempt to split a check between 12-14 people.

Down to the tacos... I LOVED the bean.  A couple of others who got the veggie version were also fans.  The beef was not as big of a hit as I expected, but the $1.00 price tag is pretty exceptional!

I'm a big fan of Johnny Mango, especially as a vegetarian who loves margaritas!  I will definitely be back!

Parkview Nite Club

Parkview Nite Club
1261 West 58th St.
Cleveland
(216) 961-1341
http://www.parkviewniteclub.com/

The Deal:
$1.25 Beef or Black Bean Tacos
$2.25 Tuna with Mango Salsa Tacos
$3.00 for Two (2) Shredded Pork Tacos

The Rating: 3.71/5.0
Overall Experience - 4.33
Taste - 3.9
Price - 3.1
Variety - 3.44
Shell - 3.78

I absolutely loved the ambiance of this place.  I had heard really good things, and I kept meaning to go.  Now I know that I definitely have to go back.  I thought the tacos were great.  Nothing spectacular, but definitely hit the spot.  The shell was one of my favorites so far!

Luchita's

Luchita's on W. 117th
3456 West 117th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
(216) 252-1169
http://www.luchita.com/cleveland.php

The Deal:
$0.99 Ground Beef, Shredded Beef, Shredded Chicken or Veggie Tacos, Hard or Soft / Corn or Flour Shell; Half Price Appetizers
$1 off Margaritas and Imported Beer

The Rating:  2.6/5.0
Overall Experience - 2.9
Taste - 1.7
Price - 4.1
Variety - 2.14
Shell - 2.14

We all had pretty high expectations for Luchita's, which I think may have been its downfall.  They were super accommodating when our group kept growing in size and the service is always great there.  However, the tacos left a bit to be desired.  At 99 cents, I guess you can't complain too much, though! Their food is usually so exceptional that we will definitely all come back.  Just maybe not for bland tacos.