Session Taco - East Crossroads — Restaurant in Kansas City

This taco joint had the unfortunate place of coming right after a trip to Austin, where I ate at the fabulous Torchy's Tacos. So the bar was set pretty high. Unfortunately, Mission Taco Joint (MTJ) didn't come close. No one should be able to finish off a taco in three bites--there's not enough opportunity to savor the concoction of flavors nestled in a tortilla. Additionally, patrons should have the option to choose between corn or flour tortillas (MTJ only serves corn). I love variety (it's the spice of life) and ordered four different tacos. The BBQ Duck Taco ($3.75) with slow roasted duck, ancho-agave glaze, pork belly carnitas, smashed avocado, pickled onions, and crisp jalapeno strips sounded delicious. It was a big disappointment; the duck and glaze was surprisingly bland; fortunately the picked onions did what they could to help out. Next up was the Spicy Chorizo Taco ($3.50) made from their house-made chorizo sausage, fresh avocado, wood-fire grilled pineapple pico de gallo, pickled jalapeno, and cilantro-lime crema. This one had good flavor and spice but the chorizo had the texture of dogfood paté. My date insisted that is how chorizo is prepared, but I don't think it's supposed to be like a spreadable paste. Then came the Beef Brisket Birria Taco ($3.50) with slow roasted brisket, pork belly carnitas, avocado, and fiery arbol sauce. This one had little to no flavor and definitely no fire. Last up was the Baja Fish Taco ($3.25) which comes as either wood-fire grilled or fried, along with chipotle baja sauce, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and queso fresco. While the ingredients were fresh, again, there was no discernable flavor profile and it was just bland. In all, my table ordered 12 tacos and came in two taco-holder things. This made divvying up the tacos tricky because you had to make sure each person got the right one. MTJ should just invest in taco-holder things for 2, 3, and 4 tacos so they can serve their patrons what they ordered. Lastly, MTJ features their own house made pepper sauces. You will need them to add a...

Expect to buy 4-6 tacos to get full unless you have a cheesy appetizer maybe, and expect to pay $20-40 per person to get full. I've been going to Taco Republic for years and love it, so that was my yard stick. This place ranked way lower by that standard. No free chips like at TR, and the tacos had half to a third less filling in them. I'm not sure if they provided many of the pics on here because our tacos had half as much stuff in them -like an index finger worth of meat. We were kind of shocked how skimpy they were for the price. They have very good flavors going on, but there is so little in the taco you don't taste it that much. We shared salsa (okay but a little bland) and chips, and I got three tacos like I'm used to getting at TR. I had to eat more food when I got home because I was still hungry. I love fish tacos, which I think are easy to make good, and theirs was just okay. It tasted like the cheap farmed tilapia. Atmosphere is more metropolitan -hip and spacious, but and not nearly as cool and cozy as TR. It was very busy, half hour wait Friday night, so many people either like it or are trying it, and they are banking big time. Service was very good and attentive. Since the value is a 1-2 to me I'd rather hit up local authentic or my fave place, but good place to get some good flavored tacos when you are in the area and are craving them And have a full wallet. ;) If you are a taco fan then its worth a try of course, but hopefully now you know...

Dinner here was an unusual experience. It started with being told there would be a 20 minute wait for a table when there were several open tables throughout the restaurant and bar areas. We watched this process as we waited and then as we dined. There appeared to be no rhyme nor reason to when and how they sat people. As I said open tables when folks were waiting. Additionally, the dining room was poorly managed with parties of two being sat at 4 tops and booths that accommodate 6 and then larger parties waiting because there were only smaller tables available. The hostess, a nice young lady, seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time with a tablet that appeared to be their host/seating system. The room is small enough it can be easily managed with a pad, pencil, and some common sense, not fancy electronics.

As for the food. We had tacos, a burrito, chips and salsa and a couple of margaritas. Strangely enough, in a place called Mission Taco Joint, the tacos were poor. The burrito was excellent, it was the one with three meats. However, the tablespoon or so of queso we had it topped with for $3 was not worth it. The salsas for the chips were also stellar. The chips were ok and did not seem to have been made in house. The margaritas were fine but largely just tequila. The carne asada tacos were small, barely had any steak and flavorless and were $4 a piece. I don't recommend the tacos at all. There are other, much better,...