Taco Salads-2017 Local Reviews

If you've been following us on Twitter (@TheBusinessSnob) you know that I am a doughnut expert. But you may not know that I also enjoy a good taco salad. I have experienced taco salads from Skyline Chili, Wendy's, Taco Casa (Cincinnati), Jason's Deli, and Taco Bell. I'm sure there are others but these are the ones that stand out in my mind.

I've decided to rank them for anyone who cares:

#5- Wendy's: This salad is a little bland for my taste. The chili doesn't have much flavor and tastes like tomato sauce, to me.  I'm also not a huge fan of their cheese; which tastes like imitation. Don't get me wrong, if I'm in a pinch and  really want a taco salad, this one will get the job done. I do like the fact that they offer a half size for a few pennies less.

Full Size: 660 calories | 32 g. fat (Menu.Wendys.com)

#4- Jason's Deli: Jason's is known for being healthy/all natural. The fact that this salad is supposed to be "clean" (nothing artificial), is why I will likely order it again. I get the lighter portion chicken chili salad which doesn't fill me up. The lettuce is crisp and cold, which I like. The taco chips are crunchy and lightly salted. If you want something light and "clean", this is probably your best option. But watch out for the calories and fat...

Taco Salad-Chili-Lighter Portion | 870 calories | 50 g. fat (JasonsDeli.com)

#3- Taco Bell: Although I typically eat all natural home cooked food 90% of the time, this taco salad is my go-to cheap comfort food.  The "old school" version is loaded with beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, taco chips, salsa...all in a crispy edible taco bowl! The updated version has rice, which I request on the side. Salsa and sour cream come on the side too, which gives me more portion control.

Taco Bell Fiesta Salad (beef) | 760 calories | 39 g. fat (TacoBell.com)

#2-Skyline Chili: My mom was eating a three-way chili when she went into labor with me and I haven't looked back since! Their nacho salad is superb. It is small, simple, a little pricey but worth it.The salad consists of crisp lettuce topped with warm spicy chili (on the side), mounds of orange stringy cheese on a pile of salty taco chips. However, looking at their recent menu I don't see it offered anymore. I hope this is just an oversight.

Skyline Nacho Salad | 570 calories | 33 g. fat (Skylinechili.com)

#1 Taco Casa: Whenever we are in Cincinnati, my goal is to stop at Taco Casa. I've been eating their taco salad since the 90's. They have a similar salad to Skyline, but what sets them apart are their chopped onion, pinto beans, creamy ranch dressing, and thick golden taco chips. I have never had a taco salad with so much flavor. It also comes in 3 sizes!

couldn't find dependable nutrition info | who cares | enjoy your food! (tacocasacinti.com)

Whole Foods- Easton

We have been  long time shoppers at Whole Foods, way before it was trendy to shop there. We actually used to spend a small fortune each month shopping there about a decade ago, when the prices were crazy high and everyone in there was vegan. We only visit rarely now. But my hubby has swore them off pretty much since we had a stupid run in with a guy behind the meat counter.

Back in the day, the Whole Foods in Dublin used to have a lot of comp services. They would allow you to taste things throughout the store (like really, you could literally open up a  bag of chips and taste them to see if you liked them). They would even take your purchased meat and season it or grill it up for you! We thought that these services still existed and would be available at Easton. We actually had just asked someone to season our chicken cutlets at Easton a few months prior, and it was gladly done.

Well, on this particular day the meat guy looked at us like the request was crazy and a waist of his time. He had a horrible attitude before he even addressed us. I believe he left us standing at the counter while he finished his conversation with a co-worker.

So after an irritated greeting, my husband asks him to season something for us. He reluctantly takes the food from my husband and then says, it's going to be an extra $3 to season this. By this time, my husband has had it with his bad attitude, and explains how this service has always been free in the past. The meat guy argues with him, but before it escalates, we just walk away (real business snobs never argue: we call managers, owners, and head quarters).

We immediately leave the store and drive down the street to Fresh Thyme in Gahanna, which we like better anyway. While standing in front of Fresh Thyme, I decide to call Whole Foods to speak with management and tell her where we are and why we aren't spending money in her store. She apologized profusely and said knew exactly who we were talking about in the meat department, as if he had a reputation for being rude. She asked if there was anything she could do to get us to come back, but we told her no.

 My husband has avoided Whole Foods ever since.

It didn't help that a few months prior, we purchased a very pricey crab cake that smelled like ammonia when we opened it (within 15 minutes of purchasing it from their fresh sea food department). It was obviously rotten when we bought it. My husband took it right back to the store. We were offered new cakes, but we just wanted our $9 back. We haven't purchased sea food from Whole Foods since.

Amazon, you have your work cut out for you. Good luck.

Done with Redbox

My hubby has never been a fan of Redbox, and we swore them off for a while due to the fact that rentals aren't necessarily 24 hrs (they're due back by 9pm the next night no matter what time you rent it the day before).  But somehow our kids always get us to rent from them again. So last week I had a coupon for .75 off my first night's rental and decided to rent something for my son. We returned the dvd on time and everything seemed as it should.

When I looked at my debit card statement, they charged me two separate fees. One was correct and I had no idea what the other one was. I called them and the agent told me that I failed to return a dvd on time, 3 months prior, and they decided to go ahead and charge my card for the late fee.

I had never received a notice that any dvd wasn't returned on time. I am a stickler for making sure those things get turned in on time (because I'm SO thrifty), or at least preparing myself for the ridiculous late fee. But this had been 3 months ago and there was no reason for me to think that we owed Redbox anything. I don't know many businesses that will allow you to owe a late fee for 3 months, without a word. They even continued to send promo coupons and bait me to rent from them. Now, I see why.

They apparently waited for me to rent another dvd and then used my card to pay off some late fee that I was totally unaware of, from 3 months ago. I didn't even bother to take the time to see what dvd they were referring to. I explained what a dirty business practice they had and told them they would never get another penny of my money.