Savory and Selfless: A review of the new Mexican restaurant, Tacos 4 Life, and a look at their charity partnership

Tacos 4 Life has finally hit Kansas City with bright, Christmas-y lights welcoming in customers. Originally founded in Arkansas in 2014, the new location is situated at 12180 Blue Valley Parkway in Overland Park. On top of eye-catching decor, every entree purchased provides a meal to a child in need.

Though they offer a drive-thru and curbside pickup option, the interior experience proved to be impressive — packed with bright teal and orange walls, custom light fixtures, colorful chairs and a large hanging menu.

The menu offers taco combos, Mexican salads, bowls, nachos and even quesadillas for non-taco lovers — as well as shareables like queso, salsa and guac. Two friends and I split three meals with all unique tacos consisting of chicken bacon ranch, chipotle steak, classic beef, chicken fajita, hawaiian shrimp and seared tofu.

The chicken bacon ranch taco was a bit bland for my liking. The chicken lacked flavor with a mere drop of ranch, and the pile of lettuce on top took over my tastebuds. I’m not a huge bacon lover and was hoping this taco would change that — but it didn’t.

The chipotle steak taco was my favorite by far. The steak had a spicy kick without making my eyes water, and the onions, peppers, cheese and pico de gallo didn’t distract from the flavorful steak. My only complaint was that the steak strips took an entire mouthful rather than smaller pieces that would’ve been easier to chew.

Next up was the classic beef taco — delicious but honestly boring. I’m always up for a classic beef taco, but among the other wild flavors on the Tacos 4 Life menu, I wasted a taco sampling with this basic munchie I can get anywhere else. And again, the much-too-large handful of shredded lettuce took over.

The chicken fajita taco exceeded my expectations. I don’t love fajitas themselves but the combination of the vegetables themselves and the flavorful chicken with a scoop of refreshing guac on top surprised me in a good way. 

The crispy-and-unusually-sweet Hawaiian shrimp taco gave me mixed signals. While the fried shrimp tasted fresh straight from the sea, the tart of the pineapple Ono sauce and toasted coconut on the tortilla following the shrimp’s crunch threw me for a whirl I didn’t like. While it was a unique take on my classic taco order, I just prefer my shrimp paired with a more savory taste. 

The seared tofu taco was disappointedly dull. Topped with salsa, roasted corn, pico de gallo and avocado, I was let down by the lack of flavor the tofu added to the taco. The lime wedge on the side, however, brought a nice touch. 

Our sides included refried black beans, cilantro pesto rice and queso rice. The beans were topped with chipotle sour cream and cotija cheese which gave a slightly sour after taste. The cilantro pesto rice included pumpkin seeds, garlic and olive oil. The cilantro seemed to take a bit too much of the flavor spotlight in my opinion, but the pesto was a new twist that brought a more Italian-feel to my tastebuds. The queso rice was my favorite, a self-explanatory steamed rice topped with home-made queso which added flavor and a hint of spice to the rice.

While the tacos easily satisfied my hunger, the environment and restaurant itself wowed me more than the food. Hung from the ceiling are self-made lanterns from a Haitian artisan named Claudy, who now can help provide for his wife and three children after receiving money for his beautiful work thanks to Tacos 4 Life. The napkin holders on each table tell the stories of people in third world countries and how Tacos 4 Life has helped them, their health and well-being. 

Knowing that the food I was eating was going to help others around the world was the most fulfilling part of Tacos 4 Life. The servers also aided in creating a welcoming environment and simply looking around the restaurant to read the walls, pictures and frames made it clear that Tacos 4 Life is more than just another taco joint.