As we walked into Torchy’s Tacos, the atmosphere was modern and inviting. There was a lot of smooth metal paneling that was cold to the touch. We could tell the floor was clean even though it was gray; the colors were all dark with hints of red. As we walked in, we could smell the spices that reminded us of cooking with our moms. We could practically taste the flavors of the tacos before we even sat down.

Kerbey’s atmosphere is a little different. It’s a lot brighter, the color scheme seems to be blues and silvers. Like Torchy’s, Kerbey Lane is very modern, complete with sleek, shiny tables and metal accents.  

Torchy’s food was great; we always go for the fried avocado and some green chili queso. The queso is very rich and creamy and is topped with guacamole and pico. It’s very good but all the different flavors are almost overwhelming. However, their fried avocado taco was amazing. The avocado was very crunchy and full of flavor, and once you put on the pico and poblano sauce it makes it nearly perfect.

We ordered the same thing at Kerbey Lane to be consistent. Their queso is similar to Torchy’s but has more avocado and pico and fewer spices than Torchy’s which in this case makes it better. We didn’t really like Kerbey’s fried avocado taco, it was very bland and the avocado’s crust wasn’t very crunchy. The whole thing just seemed a little too floppy. Both places were great but we will never forget Kerbey Lane’s incredible queso.

The prices are also something to take into account. At Torchy’s, the price for one Fried Avocado taco and one cup of Green Chili Queso comes out to exactly $9.00. Whereas at Kerbey Lane you get 2 tacos and a larger queso for $18.00.

Personally, we prefer Torchy’s tacos over Kerbey’s tacos. Torchy’s taco was very flavorful, and Kerbey’s taco was a bit bland. But we liked Kerbey’s queso better than Torchy’s queso. Ultimately we had to pick Torchy’s because even though Kerbey Lane had better Queso, the taco at Torchy’s was better and that is the main part of the meal.