Keeping Up With The Kulture
Birria Taco Review by Kayla Cordero
Birria Taco is located in Concord, NC. It is 25 minutes from Misenheimer, so it is quite easy to visit. The outside of the building is really eye-catching, and there is a beautiful mural of Frida Khalo.
As soon as you walk through the door, you see the environment you are going to be dining in. The walls are full of people signing their names, representing their Mexican cities, or just a drawing of a silly face. They were playing Mexican music throughout our lunch, and they also turned the football game on for my Dad!
The waitress was super nice, and we were seated quickly. One thing that I thought was a little weird, was the appetizer. In other traditional Mexican restaurants, they usually give you chips and salsa before your meal. This is so you can snack a bit while you wait for your food. But at Birria Taco, they give tostadas. It is the same concept, but I did not like having to break the tostada, I prefer the regular nacho chips.
The service was great, they took our order of drinks and brought them to us right after. They have a large variety of Agua’s you can try. I ordered an Agua de Horchata. It was sweet and tasted just like a real Horchata drink.
I did not have the usual issue of having the grains at the bottom of the glass, like with fake Horchata. Most places with Horchata make it out of the bag, and it never tastes like the real kind. But I really enjoyed this one, and that says a lot because my Mom makes some really good Horchata.
Their food menu had many options. You can order Birria Ramen or even Birria Pizza! I ordered two quesabirria tacos (a crossover of a shredded birria taco and a quesadilla), which came with consome. This is a broth that you can dip your tacos in. The tacos were super tasty, and the tortillas were thick! This was great because there was no possibility of my taco falling apart mid-bite. The tacos are lightly fried and crunched with every bite. I loved how much the cheese was melted throughout, but it still stretched as you bit into the taco.
This entire place did a great job of creating an authentic Mexican spot. The waitress gave us markers to write whatever we wanted on the walls. It was interesting to read all the writings on the wall, and I was able to find my name from the first time I came last year!
Along with the environment, I really felt like I was at a taco spot in my hometown in Mexico. However, each taco is $4.50, and if you usually go to taco spots, you know this is definitely an expensive taco. I can get tacos in Mexico for a dollar each. But I know this is not Mexico, and although there are spots here where tacos are cheaper, these were worth it. I wouldn’t come here regularly for my tacos de asada, but I will definitely be returning for the Birria.
Yummi Banh Mi Review
The presentation was really pretty you know I had to take that food pic 🤳LOL. Every now and then, the cashier would come around and ask how we were doing and how the food was. The food was delicious, and full of flavor. They give you chopsticks and forks if you need them. The staff was super attentive and service was fast. Your meal also comes with a sauce that was just a bit spicy. After our meal, we decided to get a canned boba! I was a little nervous, cause I’m pretty picky about boba. This was a milk based drink with tapioca pearls. I got the taro flavor and surprisingly loved it! Overall, Yummi Banh Mi has something for everyone and has an inviting environment that we enjoyed. I would definitely recommend this place for everyone looking for a new place to eat!
Yummi Banh Mi is a Vietnamese restaurant in Salisbury, NC. It’s about a 25-minute drive from our Misenheimer campus. Yummy Banh Mi is located in a little corner beside a few other shops. It was pretty easy to get a good parking spot. As soon as you see the street-side cafe, you see the art displayed on the outside of the building. There are lights along the top, and it definitely creates a unique ambiance.
There’s also a nice outdoor dining area that would be great during a warm day. The moment I made it inside, I was overwhelmed. There were so many things to think about and choose from. They have a very large menu; Banh Mi fries, Pho, Vietnamese rice bowls, Banh Mi sandwiches, Yummi tacos, lettuce bowls, noodle bowls, and a few more sides and appetizers!
I loved that there was something for everyone to be able to enjoy. I was a little lost on exactly how to order, but the cashier helping my friend and I was very helpful. He was able to explain everything to us, and we could tell he knew the menu pretty well. I was pretty open to trying anything, but I wanted to eat a traditional meal that would really capture Vietnamese food. I ended up ordering a Vietnamese rice bowl. This was my first time eating Vietnamese, so I was pretty excited. We took a seat at a table and waited about 10 minutes for our food. The cashier brought our food to us and was very attentive.
Viva Chicken Review
Viva Chicken is a Peruvian restaurant located in Concord, NC. They describe themselves as a “fast casual charcoal-fire Rotisserie Joint specializing in the authentic Pollo a la Brasa found on the streets of Peru.”
They serve rotisserie chicken, sandwiches, salads, wraps and desserts. Upon walking in, we were met with friendly and helpful staff. They were able to answer any questions we had and helped us pick out what to eat. We ordered a whole chicken that came with 3 family sides. They have a ton of options for sides such as plantains, Peruvian corn, yucca, fresh fruit, fries, green beans and fried rice. We ordered fried rice, yucca, and fries.
They give you a number to take to your table and once your food is ready, they bring it right out to you. We chose a table outside since the weather was nice. The chicken was very good, it was well seasoned, and you got to pick if you wanted white or dark meat. Each meal comes with a choice of sauce. There are three different sauces and three different heat levels. We chose a mild green sauce that had a unique flavor we really enjoyed.
The fries were crunchy and fresh! They weren’t limp or skinny, they were some of the best fries I’ve had in a while. The environment was busy but clean. We really enjoyed our food and the house-made aguas frescas (directly translates to “fresh or cool waters” described as a refreshing fruit flavored beverage) they offered. Everything was full of flavor and pretty healthy. It’s a great alternative to regular fast food and worth the price!
Let's Meat KBBQ
Let’s Meat KBBQ is a Korean barbecue joint in the South End of Charlotte. We were all seated around a grill after a small wait. Once you order your meat, the waiter explains how the grill works and brings you the tools you’ll need. It’s an all you can eat restaurant so it is a little pricey. Each person has to pay $38.47, no one can sit there and just chill. We were a group of 6 so it was a pretty big bill. In addition to that, no one can take anything home. If you order too much food and there’s a ton left over they charge an additional 10% to your bill. There’s also a 2 hour limit if there is a wait. I will admit when we got there and found out about all these rules, I was surprised. My cousin even told me that she and her friend got their grill turned off because they were at their maximum time LOL. I understand that there are other people waiting to be serviced but it came as a surprise that your waiter can just cut you off.
There’s a big variety of meats you can order from. Some beef options offered are: Ribeye steak, beef chunks, beef brisket, bulgogi and beef tongue. You can also order options from chicken, pork and seafood. They offer many sides such as: rice, noodles, lettuce, broth, and dumplings. The easiest thing for us to grill was the steak and bulgogi. When we began to cook the spicy chicken, everything began to stick to the grill. This was stressing me out. I was already hungry and then we started fucking things up and it was super inconvenient. The waiter would come around and just giggle at us. This was annoying because I am clearly in distress and he wasn’t helping. Anyways after asking for it, because he clearly wasn’t going to help he switched our grill to a new one. This gave us a fresh start to try all over again. So we did. After following his tips and trying a few more times, the chicken was still burning. I can’t even tell you what we were doing wrong! He switched our grill again and we got to try again.
Honestly, I decided to come here because I thought the food would be really good but it was kinda disappointing.
I loved the environment and being able to cook it myself but I wasn’t any good at it. The next time we’re going to pay that much I don’t want to be the one doing the work. Overall, it was an alright experience but I wouldn’t recommend it as something otherworldly to anyone. My brother and cousin love it though so it may have just been me! Try it out for yourself. Either way you will not be able to check it out anytime soon as they had an unexpected fire and suffered serious damage. They are temporarily closed but plan on reopening in some time.
