Howling Wolf Taqueria

LUNCH REVIEW

HUGE Portions, good prices. Consider that this was on a weekend in October.

On our first trip to Salem, our girlfriend and I wanted to go on a weekend in October because of all the Halloween events happening. What we didn't really internalize until we got there was how PACKED it was going to be. This city is tiny and is not built to accommodate the sheer number of people who come in on weekends in October. It took 45 minutes to finally park. Take the train if you can.

I say all this because like Salem, the Howling Wolf was PACKED. When we initially arrived, they quoted us a 1 hour and 45-minute wait. We went back after finding parking and they seated us immediately which was a nice surprise. This probably wouldn't be your experience if you go on a random weekend so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I asked the waiter what the biggest thing on the menu was as I was HUNGRY and one of the things he said was the fajitas...and he was not wrong. Look at the picture below. A full plate of sizzling steak, onions, and peppers and then another full plate of rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, and pico de gallo. For $15, that's one heck of a deal! The food wasn't the best Mexican I've ever had but it was good and there was a lot of it. That's what you want at a Tex-Mex type place like this.

One negative that I need to call out...the bathroom situation. There are only 2 individual bathrooms for the entire restaurant. When I went, there was a line of 6 people and I had to wait 10 minutes which really interrupted my meal. When my girlfriend went to go wash her hands, there were 10 people in line and she had to wait even longer. I will admit that it was a busy day but this was a really big negative to the experience at the restaurant.

Overall, great experience! Maybe go to the bathroom elsewhere though.