The battle for supremacy at the top of the chicken sandwich hill has expanded beyond the national chains and even has the smaller regional fast food and fast casual joints figuring out ways to stake their claim to that business. Taco Cabana is a Texas original that has locations throughout the state and reaching into New Mexica. And apparently execs from that chain saw the lines wrapping around Popeye’s and Chick Fil A and decided to put a Mexican twist on the chicken sammy.
They have added the Chicken Milanesa Torta to the menu which has a breaded chicken breast topped with refried beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and cilantro lime ranch, all served on telera bread. For those wondering what a torta is, that is a Mexican sandwich that usually includes some sort of meat along with refried beans, lettuce, tomato, some sort of sauce (usually mayonnaise or crema), and often avocado or guacamole as well. These fillings usually go inside an oblong roll referred to as telera bread or sometimes just a torta roll. For the longest time, these were the hidden gem of taco trucks and hole-in-the-wall Mexican places in Texas, but now they are going big time.
The Chicken Milanesa Torta is definitely a hefty sandwich and not something that will leave you scrounging for a snack an hour later. The piece of chicken breast is tender and flavorful with decent thickness. The breading may have been crunchy out of the frier, but by the time it gets combined with the other ingredients it is not anymore. But that is not necessarily a bad thing as it still stands up pretty well in the sandwich. Because of the oblong shape of the roll, the chicken breast did not fill out the complete sandwich completely (despite the way it is pictured in their promos). But that is just a nitpick.
The taste of the refried beans dominates the sandwich, which is typical of a torta. For those who have never had one of these before, the prominence of the beans may be off-putting. But for me, it added to that authenticity. The cilantro lime ranch sauce adds a little bit of tang, but mostly gets lost in the mix. They asked if I wanted salsa roja or Pico de Gallo on the sandwich, and I went for the latter. That gave the sandwich an extra kick, though I wish they had not been so stingy with it. This torta does not come with guacamole, but you can add it for only forty cents and I will probably do that next time (and tell them to throw in some jalapenos as well).
Heat-wise, there is nothing on this sandwich that delivers much burn. The fried chicken breast is not spiced up and the cilantro lime sauce does not deliver much heat. The Pico de Gallo did add a little bit of a zing, but only just barely. I got my sandwich to go and added some Tapatio sauce when I got to the office, and that helped bring a little more heat. As I mentioned above, I will likely add jalapenos next time to give it more of a kick.
Since this is a limited-time menu item, Taco Cabana does not provide the calorie info. But this is a hefty sandwich, so I am going to guess it comes in at no less that 600 cals and may be pushing over 800 with those beans added. If you get the combo with either rice and beans or chips and queso you will be well over a thousand calories and will probably have to loosen your belt a few notches after you are done with your meal.
Taco Cabana got its start right here in San Antonio back in 1978. It began to expand to other cities in Texas and in the ‘80s Two Pesos emerged as a major competitor. The owners of Taco Cabana sued that chain for copying their branding style in 1987 and took over the majority of its locations when they won the case. The franchise has continued to grow since then and now has locations in New Mexico with other states targeted. One of their signature features used to be the fresh salsa bar and they had some really good choices there. That has since gone away due to stricter food safety regulations in the current pandemic environment. But I expect it will return at some point. In the meantime, I recommend picking up the Chicken Milanesa Torta before it returns to limited-time-only-ville and ask them to pile on the fresh Pico de Gallo.