Underwhelming Bite: Beirut Taco was a unique dining experience but not worth the price

After the intense struggle of finding a parking spot and awkwardly walking into the sparsely decorated Beirut Taco, I found one of many open tables — which I now know was for a good reason — and I was immediately greeted by a very overzealous worker who shared the entire menu with me before I even asked.

Located on West 39th Street in Kansas City, MO, Beirut Taco opened on April 13 and offers Lebanese-Mexican food.

It goes without saying that this 20-minute drive and $46.61 spent for three minuscule items wasn’t worth it.  

At a glance, the menu was filled with authentic meals and dishes I’d never heard of before. I ordered the ones that caught my eye first: a Kebbe Queso Fundido, Subjuk Crunchy-Hard Shell tacos and churros.

After only 10 minutes, my Kebbe queso fundido came out. The entire middle of my plate looked like rabbit food. Kebbe consists of minced meat, fine bulgur wheat and Middle Eastern spices, which are fried to a crispy texture. Queso fundido is made of hot, melted cheese, but unlike queso, it’s a thick, stringy and stretchy dish. 

The beef and burghul shell filled with Oaxaca cheese, poblano peppers and fresh herbs tasted savory and earthy. The chewy texture from the bulgur and the kick from the onions and sauces in the filling made this meal a delicious pick. 

Even though it was honestly something I’d never order normally, it was an enjoyable few bites of food — but nowhere near worth a whopping $15 for three bite-sized Kebbe’s and what looked like a garden in the middle of the plate. 

Now, I would say you can never go wrong with a hard-shell beef taco, but somehow, Beirut Taco had me questioning if my picky eating was the problem, or if the food was just nowhere near my expectations.

The taco does get some points for the crispy hard shell, and the meat inside was lightly spiced and cooked, but said meat filled barely even a quarter of the entire taco — the rest was cabbage. 

I’ll admit I’m a picky eater, but when all I can taste in a taco is grass and grain, this isn’t a taco I’d ever go back for — not to mention it was $10 for two small tacos. 

Now, after feeling disappointed and like this drive wasted my money and my packed Wednesday night, I intolerantly waited for my churros, hoping they’d at least taste somewhere near the beloved Costco ones that I grew up loving.

Coming out warm and exquisitely topped with tahini — a paste made from ground sesame seeds — chocolate sauce, the four mini churros were coated with cardamom, sugar and cinnamon. The tahini chocolate sauce was unusual, offering a hint of spice to the chocolate; the extra sauce was wiped off the plate by the time the churros were gone.

The churros themselves weren’t anything to behold, but they did make a satisfying end to my dining, with the warm dough being topped with an excessive amount of cinnamon sugar, and then plated next to the amazing chocolate sauce. 

While it was a unique dining experience, with menu items that introduced me to Lebanese culture and dishes, my picky eating and horrible patience didn’t make me eager to return. 

To be fair, I would much rather spend $10 on a filled Chipotle bowl, rather than make the 20-minute drive from SM East to get overpriced and underfilled food.