Latin Burger and Taco doesn’t live up to its hype

The Latin Burger food truck.

I had been following Latin Burger and Taco’s every move on Twitter for some months now, and I finally decided to head over to a food truck roundup at the Johnson & Wales campus in Miami and try it out.

This food truck is the brainchild of celebrity chef Ingrid Hoffman, host of the show Simply Delicioso on the Food Network.

Latin Burger and Taco has three burgers on its menu.

The Latin Macho Burger: a mix of chuck, sirloin and chorizo beef with Oaxaca cheese, caramelized onions, jalapenos, and red pepper mayo.

The Machito Burger: same as the Macho Burger minus one patty.

The Burger Beast Burger: named in honor of the food blogger, it's the same as the Macho Burger but replaces one patty with barbecue pulled pork.

The burgers come with a soft taco of your choice, a generous side of fries with adobo seasoning and a soda can, all for $15. You can also get two orders for $25. Machito Burgers are sold separately for $5.

Some say an important element to good food lies in the way it’s presented—it seems like the guys at Latin Burger never heard about this.

The burger looked messy; there was less love put into the making of this meal than in a McDonalds’ combo.

The bun tasted like a potato roll, which gave it a nice flavor, but the lower half got really soggy from the sauce and the meat.

The patty was done on a flat iron top, something I found to be good and bad at the same time. While cooking the burger with this approach seals all the juices inside, the fact that burgers were probably too close together also boiled the meat and made it taste more like a sweet meatball.

The highlight was the combination of the Oaxaca cheese and the caramelized onions. The Mexican cheese was really gooey and formed a sort of paste with the onions, which provided a fitting partner to the patty.

Overall the burger wasn’t bad and showed some originality. The food truck’s motto seemed appealing: gourmet burgers at the price of street food—but both assertions turned out to be false.

This is what others are saying about Latin Burger and Taco:

Burger Beast:

One of the best burgers I’ve had this year. It was devastatingly good. It’s different and in this case, it’s a way good thing.

Comments on Foodtrucktalk.com:

Carlos says: This truck no longer has ties with Ingrid Hoffman but they are still delivering amazingly fresh and tasty food. Highly recommend their Latin Macho as well as my favorite, the Burger Beast. Great fries as well, ask for the guachup dipping sauce. The tacos are not too shabby either!!

J says: Tried them the other day, really not impressed. Other than the burger being a little spicier than normal it really did not stand out against the other food trucks and restaurants around South Florida. Not to mention they take forever even without a line.

Comments on Yelp.com:

George G.: I haven't dived deep enough into the menu to give the 5 star treatment.
But let me tell you something!!!!! The Macho Burger the s@#t!!!! So good, tender juicy, done just right!!! So far this is the best thing I have had from a food truck!!!! My son has had the pulled pork twice and loves it?

Celia M.: So on this particular night, I bought a latin macho burger. Now, it's not just any burger, prepare yourself for 2 patties filled with chorizo, chuck & sirloin and oaxaca cheese..I asked for no onions and I'm giving them 4 stars because they were out of their avocadolicious sauce; sad but true. On another note, I ordered a large order of fries & trust me when I say, I left a few because I couldn't breathe anymore. Don't let the burger's size fool you! You will be stuffed!!

LGS S.: FAIL. Can I get a refund and 2.5 hours of my life back? This truck has mediocre food and rude servers. After an eternal wait, one server had the nerve to tell a customer "It's not my fault its taking so long, I can just throw away your food right now." .... Um no, you can't, actually. Been to it twice, disappointed both times by the food and the service.