Dining: Toro Grillhouse may have staying power

The space occupied by the new Toro Grillhouse has been at least three other restaurants in recent memory. There was El Toro Tacos, Kix’s BBQ and a kabob place. The owners of Toro Grillhouse are giving this food stand on a busy stretch of Colorado Street another shot. No doubt the newly constructed apartment complex next door will bring in business as will their partnership with Eat24, the awesome food delivery website and phone app.

Toro Grillhouse is primarily a takeout place. The ambience is not exactly luxe. Odd, then, that there is no phone number to call. You could walk in and wait for your food while watching the game on TV as cars zoom by the plastic windows. But more likely you’ll go to their website and place your order quickly and easily with a system powered by Eat24. Users can choose the clearly listed menu items, pay for it all online, set it up for delivery if available or specify an exact time for pickup. I arrived two minutes before my designated time. They were just bagging it as I walked in. The whole process worked like a charm.

What was in the bag? A decent cross-section of Toro’s offerings which they call “Mexican and Asian cuisine.” Burgers are a major part of the menu so I’d throw “American” into the mix. Their two most popular burgers are the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) Burger ($6.95) and the Aioli Burger ($7.50). The G.O.A.T. has cheddar, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions on a huge bun. As my son succinctly pointed out, it captures the flavor everybody loves in an In-N-Out burger. This one’s bigger though. I was impressed that they actually cooked it medium rare, as I requested online, but I did encounter some gristly bits. Smoked bacon, arugula and aioli are added in the Aioli Burger. Normally these ingredients have strong flavors but somehow they canceled each other out rendering a sandwich that’s filling but light on taste.

We devoured the Toro Fries, the item they might just become famous for. Skin-on fries are covered in carne asada (or other meat), cheese sauce (not bad for canned cheese sauce), tomatoes, onions, cilantro and copious amounts of pickled jalapenos crisscrossed with lines of sour cream. This meal-unto-itself must be eaten with a fork. It’s also the closest thing you can get to a salad at Toro’s ($7.50).

The Wings of Wall Street had to be ordered simply for their name (five for $4.20). A delicate sweetness pervades the wings, perhaps from molasses. Sesame makes itself known next in the tasty snack. I was disappointed, however, that our fifth wing was more of a nub.

The burrito really drove home the Mexican-Asian fusion concept. We chose al pastor, marinated pork, for our meat. It was darker, spicier and saltier than any pastor I’ve had at a Mexican restaurant. The beans were also more earthy and well-cooked. Rice, cheese, onions and unusual crushed tomato salsa rounded out the burrito ($5.95).

After all was said and done, we designated this a gut bomb meal. That’s not to say it was bad. It might be just the thing you want after a day of surfing or something. To those prone to heartburn, though, this could be a trigger.

The owners are thoroughly delightful. They even ran out to my car to tell me they’d forgotten the chicken wings. Perhaps if they pay a little more attention to quality ingredients, this roadside stand with easy access for freeway commuters and local apartment dwellers could call themselves “the restaurant that stayed.”

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What: Toro Grillhouse

Where: 514 W. Colorado St., Glendale

When: Daily 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Prices: Burgers, burritos, rice bowls, egg rolls, fries $2.95 to $7.50

More info: www.torogrillhouse.com or www.eat24.com
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LISA DUPUY welcomes suggestions and comments at LDupuy@aol.com.