Howling Wolf Taqueria – initial review
Howling Wolf Taqueria
76 Lafayette Street
Salem, MA 01970
Tel: 978.744.WOLF (9653)
The much anticipated taqueria has opened across the street from Salem Fire Station and Engine House pizza. Answering the many cries from Salem residents to bring quality quick burritos and other Mexican fare to the masses, people are already packing into Howling Wolf.
Howling Wolf Taqueria
In what could be a hit or miss location, the folks from Howling Wolf offer a fun, open dining experience. They still need to expedite the ordering and food preparation process, which is sure to come with time. There is a large chalkboard that displays their menu. I found it odd that no tacos were listed on the menu for this taqueria but, they do offer a good selection of burritos and quesadillas.
the menu at Howling Wolf
Each item is made to order right in front of you and our cook (prep person) checked with us before adding every single ingredient. This did get a tad tedious when ordering a loaded steak burrito ($6.75) hold the guacamole (an additional $1.75 just for quac) but there is nothing like personalized service.
personalized service
We also tried a chicken burrito ($6.75) and opted for the home made chips and salsa ($2.00). As fans of spicy food, we went with the Howlin’ Salsa, their hottest. A thin salsa, it had a nice zip and subtle burn with a good full flavor, not one of those “hot for hot’s sake” salsas.
Howlin' salsa
Our burritos were not as hot (temperature) as we would have liked, but they were packed full of tasty ingredients, big chunks of steak and chicken. At almost $7 (for the steak and chicken), their burritos have a lot to live up to and they deliver. The slightly smokey Mexican barbecue sauce in the almost over stuffed burrito was plenty for a full lunch meal. My burrito made me move my belt down a notch!
loaded steak burrito
The bar didn’t appear to be open while we were there, so another trip back is in order. Our overall first impression left us (lu)pining for more.
Price: $$
Atmosphere: B
Drinks & wine selection: N/A
Food: B+
Service: B+
Overall: B+
Happened to walk by last night and peeked in – it was packed! Quite a few families with kids, strollers, etc. Looked like there was pretty backed up at the service counter. Maybe they need the 5 Guys approach; detailed order at the outset and a crew of assembly people.
I tried Howling Wolf on Thursday after a long wait for them to open and was disappointed. I hope it gets better, but the burrito was cold and the beans not cooked adequately. I agree that the ordering process needs to improve, but that should change. They also had no diet sodas.
Looking forward to improvement
I thought it was quite good, if the tiniest bit bland in parts due to the improper distribution of the ingredients.
They need to work on making their rice consistently cooked, and they should invest in an actual steamer for the tortillas themselves… their cooker is inadequate.
The flavors were good though, nice and rich, and their corn salsa was fabulous.
I had a chicken quesadilla which was very good. Chicken was moist & the salsa fresh and interesting. The ordering processes was a bit of a problem but I attribute to first day of business. Nice people. Great ambiance. Nice art work. Good experience. I was there for lunch & now want to try dinner & some sangria (I hope).
I ordered the tacos al pastor, with corn tortillas. First of all, the line moved at a glacial pace, even though the restaurant was nearly empty. The tacos were good, but had barely any pork on them, and the veggy toppings scarce. My husband ordered the chicken quesadilla… very small as well. Guacamole tasted store bought. Not impressed. Also no iced tea? lemonade? or soda? Weird.
I couldn’t disagree with this review more. I found the burrito small and lacking in flavor. It was also very dry. In fact, I have been there on two occasions and the first time I would compare the size of the burrito to a standard egg role. I would suggest the staff take a field trip to anna’s and taste what a burrito can/should taste like. I have been waiting for a taqueria to open in salem for years and couldn’t be more disappointed. I will have to settle for chipotle.
I went back recently to get some take-out. They implemented a different ordering process, using a sheet of paper to check off things that were ordered. I was disturbed to see them using full sheets of paper to do so, though. Seems very wasteful.
I ordered a burrito, quesadilla and side of beans & rice. I waited about 5 minutes for the order, happily grabbed my bag when it was done. I did my due diligence to peek inside to make sure I had everything. All looked right.
However, when I got home, what I thought was my beans and rice were containers of sour cream and salsa. Grr.
When is Comida opening up?
I was very disappointed and am unlikely to try Howling Wolf again. The person who took our order was good. He did a great job. It was all downhill after that. I went with my wife and kids. My 10 yr old daughter ordered a shrimp quesadilla ($8.25) with no sauce. There were shrimp, but the cheese was just gloppy and unappetizing and it came with sauce (spicy) even though the receipt clearly said no sauce. My son (11 yrs) ordered a chicken fajita burrito My wife ordered a rice and bean burrito ($6.50) with guacamole. There was no guacamole in the burrito. I ordered a chicken burrito ($8.50). My wife also ordered a sangria ($8.00) which was undrinkable. It was like paint thinner. She took one sip and was done. My burrito was pretty much room temperature and almost all rice (hardly any chicken at all). My wife’s burrito was also room temperature. My daughter really couldn’t eat her shrimp quesadilla because of the sauce. We could have sent the whole thing back, but really, that would have made a scene and we’d be there for another half hour waiting for our food. We made the best of the bad situation and ate. However, my wife did not drink more than one sip of her sangria, and when she brought it to the manager’s attention all he did was defend the sangria, saying other people have liked it. She took one sip. He should have offered to take it off the bill, but didn’t. $47.17 later we walked out all complaining about what a dreadful experience that was. $47 at a taqueria for two adults and two kids and no one was satisfied. They don’t even have a kids menu. The place has been open for over a month now. The bugs should be getting worked out but apparently not. The negative reviews you are reading online about this restuarant are absolutely true. I thought I’d give them a chance anyway since we live in Salem and want to support our merchants. This time we got burned. I cannot recommend Howling Wolf at all.