Ex-vegetarian Bwog Staffer Mia Rinehart and self-proclaimed picky eater/guest-Bwogger Bella Lubelchek put the alluring El Toro Rojo birria tacos (and more!) to the test.

After being a vegetarian for four years, I lasted six days at Barnard before caving for Ferris chicken tacos. It was bound to happen. I’ve found that the vegetarian protein options at Barnumbia consist largely of soy meat and sadness… What was I to do? I have 19 meal swipes a week, and I intend to use them. Tonight, though, was an exception; I decided to fulfill my lifelong(ish) dream of trying birria tacos dipped in consomé at the El Toro Rojo food truck outside of Columbia’s main gates, and I brought my friend Bella (and my roommate Olivia!) for support and a second opinion.

Chips and guacamole

Mia

★★☆☆☆

The first thing we tried, and honestly a little bit of a letdown. For starters, I paid seven dollars (seven!) for the tiniest cup of guacamole you’ve ever seen, and it wasn’t even particularly awesome. It was kind of runny, and definitely browner than it should be. Bonus points because the chips were salted nicely and they were good dipped in the consomé… but more on that later.

Bella

★★★☆☆

I LOVE CHIPS AND GUAC. To me, the quality of good guacamole is measured on two parameters: Consistency of avocado and ratio of avocado-to-non-avocado additions. This guacamole had a nice ratio of avocado-to-non-avocado additions; personally, I’m a chunky guac gal. However, the consistency missed the mark, being a touch too watery. The chips were delish, nice, and salty for all my sodium lovers out there!!

Beans and Rice

Mia

★★★☆☆

I’m a BIG fan of beans and rice in all of its many forms, so I was excited about this one. In my opinion, they were just fine. I wasn’t disappointed or anything, they were just your standard pinto beans and yellow rice. By no means were they the star of the show, but are they really supposed to be? A solid side choice. Bella found them to be “too wet” (???), but I did not notice this.

Bella (sans beans)

★★☆☆☆

A little bit too wet… please please please please I implore the rice chefs to dry this rice off just a little bit. Also strangely long, longer than any rice I’ve seen before. But nice flavor!! I love fried rice, and this one was tasty, just seriously put off by the dampness. 

Tacos – Birria de Res for Mia, Chicken for Bella

Mia

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I had to do it. Maybe it’s because my taste buds still haven’t recovered from four years of vegetarianism, but this is definitely the best taco I’ve had in a long time (maybe ever). It was flavorful. They did not skimp on the brisket, and dipping it in the consomé was the cherry on top. It tasted exactly how I imagined it would when I jealousy-watched birria mukbangs on TikTok. Beautiful work, El Toro Rojo. This was everything I wanted and more.

Bella

★★★☆☆

As a frequent consumer of chicken tacos, I have to say that this one didn’t really stand out. Don’t get me wrong, the chicken was well-seasoned and the cheese was melted nicely, but THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH FILLING. I want my taco to be so full that the filling spills all over my plate and my floor and my chair and my pants, but this taco kept all its fillings inside?? Weird. Also, the tortilla was slightly stale, but honestly, that’s kind of nit-picky. I enjoyed what there was, but there wasn’t enough of it for me to rate it higher than three stars.

Chicken Tinga Mulita

Mia

★★★★☆

Technically my roommate Olivia’s dinner, but she gave me one in exchange for a birria taco. I enjoyed it! I had never had a mulita before, and it was essentially a combination of a taco and a quesadilla. The chicken tinga was the “special” protein of the day, and it was delicious. They did not give us knives with our order, so we had to pick it up and eat it with our hands… felt a little primal honestly. My only criticism beyond that was that they got a bit soggy, so eat yours quickly! 

Bella opted out of this one.

Final thoughts

Mia: ★★★★☆ (Lost a star for the expensive chips and guac…)

Bella: ★★★★☆ (Rounding up from 3.5 because I couldn’t find a half star… you’re welcome).

Overall, we were impressed! The quality of the food exceeded our expectations, though the prices were a little bit heinous (SEVEN! DOLLARS!), especially for two girls from outside the city on a college student budget.

Thank you El Toro Rojo for a break from the weird Ferris pizza (Bananas should never EVER go on pizza… end of story.) and the men in Columbia athletic wear who seem to have overtaken Hewitt. We will be back!

Had to edit myself in, but here we are! Olivia, Bella, me :)

Images via Author