
photo via Yelp
I'll make this simple and to the point. Howdy's Taqueria in Culver City sucks.
I ate at Howdy's last week but needed a week to calm myself down to get to a place where I could calmly say "this place sucks".
If I would have written this report right after eating my tacos this entry would have been full of so many f-bombs I would have had to go into rehab.
Lets get one thing out of the way though. The name Howdy's Taqueria doesn't bother me. If the food was great they could call themselves Howdy Doody's Taqueria for all I care. I'm not bothered by the name.You can't however call yourself a taqueria if you have a chicken ceaser wrap on the menu.
Howdy's is really part of the "fresh mex" family. If Rubio had sex with Wahoo's fish taco you'd get Howdy. There's a little bit of Rubio's phony authenticity with a little of Wahoo's casual kick back atmosphere.
The prices are really outragous. I know it's physically attached to a movie theater but do they really have to take a credit report when I want guacamole? (guacamole and chips $6.95)
For just two tacos(chicken, steak, or carnitas) it's $5.95. Figuring two tacos wouldn't be enough I went with the two taco combo(chicken, al pastor) for $8.60.

Ordinarily I think rice and beans are just a waste of stomach space. I'd much rather go with the extra taco but Howdy's menu is so estoopid, you can't order single tacos. You can order dos tacos($5.95), dos mahi tacos($7.95), "tres tacos al pastor" ($5.25) and even the "tres magic mole tacos" ($5.95) but you can't mix and match.
The al pastor is advertised as "mexico city style pork tacos with our secret adobo marinade". I'm not sure why they keep the recipe a secret. The al pastor was too sweet, too tangy, and the pork was poor quality. I could only get through half the taco before giving up.
But the most outragous offense was the filler in the chicken taco which came with more lettuce than chicken. Lettuce has no business being in a soft taco. Any taqueria worth their salt would know this.
On Howdy's website they boast of bringing a bit of Mexico City to Culver City. Who are they fooling?
Certainly not this taco reporter.

Howdy's Taqueria 9512 Culver Blvd, Culver City
even the pic makes me sick. That's the white stuff on the tomatoes? Yuck.
ReplyDeleteel chavo,
ReplyDeletespeaking of lame..one of their menu items is "tres crispy tacos"
rw,
I forgot to mention that sauce.
it was kind of like a del taco secret sauce devoid of any flavor.
It's all right, Taquero Bandini. You've got to eat at places like this to appreciate the places you love. It's part of the program, it's good-taco detox. The pathetic part is Howdy's Doody is probably really popular -- mmmm, love that lechuga!
ReplyDeleteThis is un-taco related, but is lettuce related.
ReplyDeleteSimilarl to your Howdy Doody experience, I hate it when you go to have a nice plate of sushi and find that some overeager pup of a chef has defaced the fish with lettuce as filler in the hand rolls. The horror, the horror . . . .
well it is because the original howdy hails from malibu.
ReplyDeleteJust pricy - they used to have a taco called a "big crispy" that I liked and now it is gone.
Seriously bad grigo-ized, over-priced tasteless mall food. Baja Fresh and La Salsa actually come closer to decent tacos. I don't mind lettuce in my tacos; heck, when I'm trying to drop a few pounds, I'll freak out grill cooks by asking for it in my burrito, but the meat's gotta taste like something for it to work.
ReplyDeletePossibly the worst Mexican food I've had since the first (and last) time I ate at a Qdoba!
This is in response to Tallicaman's question about taco bell...WHOAH relax. By saying "some white bitch" then saying "NO OFFENSE" you are just as bad, actually worse, than the people that responded "ground beef." Chill out, taco bell is not SUPPOSED to be real Mexican food. In fact, although I love my mom's tacos, tamales, chilaquiles and yummy yummy taco truck tacos...I personally don't mind taco bell. My motto is my Mexican food has to be either REALLY authentic (like homemade) OR really fake (like Taco bell) but NOT in between..I can't do El Torito or Acapulco's or any of that Ish (that is nasty). Taco bell is FAST FOOD and that is what it's meant to be. Just like PANDA EXPRESS is not REAL Chinese food and Mc Donald's isn't even real American food (Cmon u call that a burger) TB is just food, take it for what it is and don't get your panties all up in a bunch!
ReplyDeleteOpened by the guy who started La Salsa.
ReplyDeleteHe also owns the Mexican Seafood restaurant across the street. I forget the name.
Problem is he won't listen to anyone. He knows it all.
He knew so much the place has closed.
Sorry about all the investors who tried to tell him what needed to be done.
Yep... sucked!
I agree. Never been there but I will trust the pictures.
ReplyDeleteRice and beans as fillers? How original (insert sarcastic expression here).
I love black beans but keep them away from my tacos.
Once again, people with money but no imagination or knowledge have opened another "food establishment" at a mall near you and ruin your culinary experience.
^^^ You're totally crazy and should look into some meds. No one on the planet actually believes Taco Bell is authentic Mexican food. Even people in the Northwoods of Minnesota, with no authentic places around know better. Still, it serves its purpose.
ReplyDeleteYou asked Taco Bell for such items and you have the nerve to call someone else dumb? Bwahaha, fool.
It's all right, Taquero Bandini. You've got to eat at places like this to appreciate the places you love. It's part of the program, it's good-taco detox. The pathetic part is Howdy's Doody is probably really popular -- mmmm, love that lechuga!
ReplyDelete