Review: Del Taco - Birria Ramen

Del Taco's Birria Ramen features fresh wavy ramen noodles, shredded beef birria topped, diced onions, chopped cilantro, and a fresh-cut lime wedge in a beef broth consomé.

A somewhat tall cup costs $5.99 but I received this courtesy of Del Taco.

I thought that the ramen noodles would be similar to instant, which is to say soft and curly, but as described, they were fresh and wavy, fairly firm with a decent structure and bite to them.

The broth was pretty tangy from tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, and a lime wedge that was floating in it (which I opted not to fish out and squeeze into the already tangy broth). There was a good amount of seasoning to it as well as a mild spicy heat. What was missing was fat (only 4g if the nutritional info on their site is correct; compare that to 14g of fat in a standard pouch of Top Ramen) and beefiness beyond the included shredded beef (no stock or broth was added). Instead, tomatoes provided the base flavor of the broth.

The shredded beef added a lightly-seasoned, beefy flavor and was tender and juicy, while still retaining a meaty texture. There was an okay amount of beef floating around.

The cilantro and onions added some texture, with the onions giving some crunch, and depth of flavor.

Overall, Del Taco Birria Ramen was a mixed bag for me. I liked the beef and the noodles but the broth, while well seasoned, lacked an unctuousness that's inherent to ramen and a number of other noodle soups.

Nutritional Info - Del Taco Birria Ramen (399g)
Calories - 270 (from Fat - 220)
Fat - 4g (Saturated Fat - 1g)
Sodium - 1560mg
Carbs - 45g (Sugar - 2g)
Protein - 14g