Moe's Southwest Grill

Nice Mexican fast food, great guacamole.

Exceptional service. Enormous portions, and free chips if you are eating "for here." I keep coming back!!!

My wife has been a fan of Moe's for years and finally decided to take me there for lunch earlier today. I'm not opposed to trying out a new spot although I do remain cautious when it comes to chains.

We snagged a spot in their private lot in the back, walked around and right in and were welcomed to a "Welcome to Moe's" cheer, something that the staff does every single time someone walks in. Every. Single. Time.

I tried to decypher the menu but gave up and decided to get exactly what my fiancee got, which was a taco shell-less salad known as the 'Close Talker' with some beans and various toppings. Mine featured grilled steak, guacamole, grilled onions, black beans, cheese, olives, cilantro and vinaigrette. You get to customize it though and you can have it your way. She had hers with chicken and a Southwestern dressing.

The whole salad was put together quickly and featured romaine leafs. I wasn't a huge fan of seeing their staff but hot, black beans on a cold salad. You could see it cause the greens to wilt a bit. The steak was decently seasoned but was very dry. The only redeeming element in there was the guacamole which was awesome and the complimentary chips that you can get as you pay at the register.

The staff was very friendly and the entire ordering process was very quick. We also added 2 sodas from the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine and our total came to just under $23, which I thought was pretty steep.

The plus:
+ An awesome salsa bar featuring 5-6 different takes on it including a very unique tapenade-like one
+ Complimentary chips to go with their salsa bar
+ Coca-Cola Freestyle machine
+ Very clean bathrooms
+ Friendly staff
+ Private parking lot in rear
+ Friendly staff and decent atmosphere
+ No microwaves are used there
+ A lot of their food and ingredients are prepped fresh, daily

The minus:
- Food average at best
- Seemed expensive
- Coca-Cola Freestyle machine out of all diet sodas while we were there - like seriously, there was the full calorie soda and seltzer only.

The menu itself has more than just salads though, and you can get burritos, tacos, quesadillas, nachos and even something known as 'Stacks' which is like a quesadilla-like pocket of cheese and sauce.

Personally, I'd much rather drive to Taqueria El Amigo which is only 1.4 miles from Moe's, as their food is much better however there is a place for both in Waltham and Moe's isn't necessarily a bad addition, especially since they are open until 10PM, which is much later than most places in the area. And they also do make an effort to try and prepare a lot of their stuff fresh, daily. I can appreciate it and would much rather have a Moe's than a McDonald's nearby but that being said, this just isn't really my cup of tea. Average it is, and average it will be.

Poor service. Avoid the rude guy with a pony tail. Food quality is fine. Good amount of seating. Comfortable booth seating available. Clean interiors.

Not bad for northeast Mexican cuisine, but does not fully scratch that itch. Salsa flavor is fairly bland, as are most of the meats. The portions on some items are generous, such as the burritos, less so with the tacos. Not bad, but there are better options.