Re-Review: El Pollo Loco's Crunchy Chicken Taco

I decided to re-review El Pollo Loco's Crunchy Chicken Taco since they've made it bigger, but also a little more expensive. They've re-tuned it a little bit as it no longer contains a blend of cheddar and jack cheese, but just plain jack to go with shredded lettuce and pieces of flame-grilled chicken.
They're now $1.99, up from $1.69 when they first came out in 2007, which is not bad if you consider inflation and rising food costs.

I last wrote about these in 2009 when they when they were a bit smaller and cheaper and I realized I didn't write much about it at all so I'll remedy that now.

My local El Pollo Loco garners a good amount of business, so the turnover on chicken is pretty quick. As a result, the chicken is always juicy and usually hot off the grill. The chicken has a light, citrus flavor and is quite tasty off the bone, but finds itself a bit lessened in the confines of the taco shell against the lettuce and jack cheese. I could have used a bit more in the taco though.
The shell is thick, crunchy and a bit greasy. It can break at inopportune moments leaving you shoveling filling back into the taco.

The lettuce is fresh and the cheese has a nice moisture and creaminess.

Still, the overall effect is underwhelming without a bit of salsa from the salsa bar to liven it up. I've noticed this with quite a few El Pollo Loco dishes: they need the salsa. I tend to go with the spicy avocado salsa for a blend of spicy and creamy.

In sum, El Pollo Loco's Crunchy Chicken Taco is a decent buy that provides a very distinct profile of crunchiness, crispness, and tender chicken. There aren't any other fast food chains offering a crunchy chicken taco, except maybe Chipotle, but even Chipotle's version is a great deal different in flavors and textures.

Nutritional Info - El Pollo Loco Crunchy Chicken Taco (4.2 oz)
Calories - 300 (from Fat - 160)
Fat - 17g (Saturated Fat - 5g)
Sodium - 440mg
Carbs - 21g (Sugar - 1g)
Protein - 14g