It seems I’ve been making regular trips west on University Avenue to Mexican restaurants, from Lupe’s to Lalo’s to now I Love Tacos on Branch Street. If you add Cocina Real to the mix, you have three better options for Mexican cuisine in that area than what’s presented at I Love Tacos.

While I usually dine at a restaurant 2-3 times before recapping the experience, I didn’t need more than one lunch visit to make up my mind about the place. I was surprised that tacos only make up a small percentage of the menu, and you have to ask for an exception to get them individually instead of as a plate.

That taco plate gives you three for $9.99, and fortunately you may mix and match the toppings, and you may choose between corn or flour tortillas. The diced steak was well-seasoned but tough. After a few bites, I had to add salsa to soften it a bit. The pork also was well-seasoned, but as can often happen with pork, it was very dry. On the menu, it’s called “Taco Love,” and it comes with fried onions and bacon, though no bacon came with mine.

According to a waitress, the new menu removed tzatziki sauce from the gyro taco, which was too bad, since the lamb was–guess what–dry as heck. In fact, some pieces snapped in half like a rye chip you would find in a bag of Gardetto’s. At least the portions of steak, pork and lamb were plentiful.

Since I was underwhelmed by what should have been the best items of this restaurant, I had no inclination to try anything else on the menu. But just to let you know, there are fajitas (e.g. fajita chilanga is $16), seafood (crab tostada is $8.50), burritos (burrito cheesesteak is $8.99), chimichangas (chimichanga autenticos is $10) and lunch specials.

I Love Tacos is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout.

Lupe’s Taqueria opened in May in the Middleton Hills Center. It’s a tiny restaurant that serves simple but for the most part tasty Mexican staples, meaning that it needs to make a few improvements here and there.

Get in line and build your entree. Burritos, tostadas, quesadillas, nachos and salad bowls are $7.25, tortas are $8.25 and tacos (corn or flour tortillas) are $2.25.

For meats, choose from shredded chicken, chorizo, picadillo, roasted pork and beef. Toppings consist of Mexican rice, black beans, pinto beans, cilantro, onion, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, diced jalapeño and cojito cheese.

The pork in my burrito was tender but a little bland. Fortunately, it was helped by the mild green sauce. The jalapeños added no discernible heat, probably because they were overly diced. Overall I would say the burrito was fine but certainly not satisfying.

Just the opposite, the diced beef in my taco was slightly tough (overcooked) but flavorful, and the hot sauce was actually hot. Meanwhile, the corn tortillas were under-heated, which partially ruined the taco.

If you work or live in the area, Lupe’s is not a bad destination for Mexican food, but otherwise there’s nothing on the menu that would draw me away from other taquerias in town.

Lupe’s Taqueria is open every day for lunch and dinner. For some reason, the restaurant has added team trivia on Thursdays.