Moe's Southwest Grill — Restaurant in West Melbourne

Moe's Southwest Grill 225 Palm Bay Rd., West (by gawd) Melbourne, FL 32904

3 Stars – Chain restaurant review

Moe's Southwest Grill is a fast-casual chain that began in Atlanta, GA, 24 years ago. Boasting 619 locations across these here United States including 2 in Paradise (Hawai'i). The majority are located in the South East with Florida taking the gold with a grand total of 94 locations throughout the Sunshine State. Chances are, if you live in FL, there is one nearby. The only one in CA where our vaunted Editor-in-Chief resides is on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendelton. As Marines will pretty much eat anything, this does not reflect the quality, just a nod to the Left Coast.

Most places with a proper name are named after someone who meant something to someone involved in the past or currently. That is not the case with Moe's Southwest Grill. “Moe's” is an acronym for “musicians, outlaws and entertainers.” At one point, this theme ran rampant throughout their locations. For some reason, they focused on art work and menu puns that featured deceased music legends, they even licensed a special rock soundtrack from Muzak that only included music from deceased musicians or bands with a notable dead person. Morbid but darkly cool. However, after being visited by a lawsuit brought forth by the estate of deceased Deadhead Jerry Garcia, they got rid of all of that stuff.

I put in an order for their Homewrecker Ground Beef Stack and one Adobo Chicken Burrito. I took in the relaxing atmosphere and lazy vibes of West (by gawd) Melbourne, snapped a few pictures and soon saw my order ready. Practiced in the art of ereption, it wasn't long on the counter and I returned to my table. First up on the Big Boy's palate was the Homewrecker Ground Beef Stack.

This was their version of a fried quesadilla, which I think was invented by Taco Bell, but don't quote me on that. The outside was fried to a perfect golden brown and was crispy, as one would expect. The interior conglomeration of ground beef, beans, queso, and veggies was better than Taco Bell's, but nothing to get excited about. The ingredients were low quality but executed well.

Moving on to the Adobo Chicken Burrito. I found this to be on the same level as the Stack. Low-quality ingredients but adequate taste. This is just another grub shack that uses low-cost ingredients at a high price and is served in a grab-and-go style (think Subway). It was better than Subway, but that's not saying all that much, as Subway is the bottom of the barrel among fast-food sandwich places. Unlike Subway, this place doesn't practice hidden chicanery and is upfront about everything.

The Big Boy says, “No blood, no harm, no foul. For an overpriced average meal, you can't go...

Good place for a good meal in Palm Bay This restaurant is located in a strip center on the northwest side of the I-95 and Palm Bay Road. It is located on the corner of the center. There is a fair amount of parking to the front and side of the restaurant and plenty if you don’t mind walking. The restaurant has seating both inside and out. The outside seating area is 3 large circular tables that are fenced off from the sidewalk. The inner seating area has a mix of booths, tables and counter dining. As you enter, you are greeted with the signature, “Welcome to Moe’s” salutation. There are at least 2 ways to order: online or in person. I saw a lot of people who ordered online and were waiting on their order. I ordered by walking through the line. I got an Adobo chicken burrito and a drink. They preheat the burrito and then ask you what items you would like in it. At the end of the line, they wrap it up in Aluminum foil and if you are eating in, put it on a platter with a good amount of chips. You pay at the end of the counter. Drinks and sauces are self-serve via full service coke machines and a sauce bar. The staff was friendly. The restaurant was clean. The tables were a little close together but nicely arranged. The cost was reasonable, the portion was large and the meal was good. Overall, this was a very nice experience and I would recommend this for...

We have been loyal patrons at this location since it opened. Sadly, today is our last meal at this location. We started seeing a distinct difference in service after Kevin (store manager) left. Today, we are greeted by 6 young ladies behind the counter. My order went fairly smoothly, but my son's and husband's orders are a different story. My son loves the Chicken Moo Moo Mr. Cow. The girl started out by tossing rice on his shell, she didn't ask him what he wanted besides meat. We had to tell her she needed to ask him what he would like. The girls were having more fun hollering as loud as they could "Welcome to Moes"! That's great except the orderer and the person making the meal can't hear. My son asked for tomatoes, lettuce and black olives. He got a few tomatoes, to which he asked for more. Nope, she stuffed it with lettuce. My husband decided to do the Taco Trio today. He asked for queso on one of them. She said, "that'll be an upcharge". Fine, he's going to do the meal. When he informs her, she gets an attitude about how the queso runs all over. Um, so what? We've certainly had it made that way before. Lastly, he had ordered the meal, tacos are given with no chips. Look alive folks. I don't get how service has gone from build it the way the customer wants it to cop an attitude because I don't want to build...