Taco Boy and Uccello’s. I spent a good many hours between their locations installing point of sale registers and networks. I ate at both a few times and am interested in opinions from locals.
The following are all IMHO:
Taco boy (on Plainfield in Grand Rapids) seemed like it used to be gyro place maybe. The staff was nice as could be, and they cooked their taco meat on a huge cooking surface with lots of spices added and plenty of TLC. I tried one of their famous burritos and it tasted (to me) like a burrito I might have made at home, or might have had at a generic cafeteria.
Some people LOVE Chipotle burritos. I like them quite a bit and I don’t think they can be fairly compared to Taco Boy’s ground beef burritos. They’re very different. Some people really like Taco Bell burritos, and I’d have to say I actually prefer them to the Taco Boy burritos.
Their burritos didn’t taste bad at all, but seemed as pedestrian as I could imagine, yet, the line was out the door all the damn time. Please explain MI.
Uccello’s: One of their pizzas was called “The Faro” after Faro Uccello, the namesake and overseer of the chain. I chose an image of Marlon Brando as Don Corleone just because it was in there, and Faro liked it but he said “I have much more hair”. I digress…
While I was there they served garlic bread left and right, maybe free, but it was some of the best garlic bread I’ve ever had, and I’m a huge fan. Do they not serve it anymore? Their online menu doesn’t mention it. Seriously, their garlic bread was one of the two major things I remember about that chain, and IMO was trip worthy.
The other thing about Uccello’s was the way things were cooked in the kitchen. If you got Fettuccine Alfredo, you got all the ingredients added into the skillet, not a squirt of sauce from a bag. Everything was cooked to order and nothing was reheated, except maybe potato side dishes? While I was monitoring the kitchen to make sure all the tickets printed correctly, I got to watch a lot of the cooks uh, cook. It looked like something out of a Hell’s Kitchen episode where most things go right.
I saw on Yelp that one reviewer went there just because they have soccer on whenever possible. That made me laugh a bit because one of the head guys (Mario and his brother Mario, seriously not joking, they are Mario brothers) really loves Juventus which is a soccer/football club. I think the other Mario liked AC Milan, but I can’t be sure.
So, was I too harsh about Taco Boy, or is it a regional thing? Does it not taste like cafeteria food to you?
Has Uccello’s kept up the reputation they had when I was there? Their garlic bread was ALWAYS going out to tables, and it was almost a signature thing. Did it go extinct? Even Olive Garden has unlimited breadsticks, and those are not really that great.
Do they still have quality food cooked fresh, or is it more fried bar food now?
Coming out of the pizza business, I had a very high level of respect for how they cooked their food.
