After taste testing the fries of East Lansing, it would simply be irresponsible to ignore the three main food groups The State News bases its foundation on. 

A group of five S’News-ers hit three East Lansing hot spots to try out their interpretations of the age-old question. 

We visited El Azteco, Barrio Tacos and Los Tres Amigos. We ranked each individual dish of queso, guac and salsa. Here’s how things panned out: 

Queso

Queso is one of those things that only get better as you age. As starving college students, two stood out while one flopped.

El Azteco: In El Azteco’s defense, this was strictly listed as a cheese dip. Regardless of its classification, this missed the mark. This dip reminded us solely of cottage cheese from its look, texture and taste. There was little taste or kick to the dip and it was served cold, which just hit us in all the wrong ways. El Azteco, you did a great job on everything else, but you dropped the ball on this one.

Final ranking: 1/10

Barrio Tacos: Barrio did exactly what it needed to do here and not much else. This queso was solid, but just missed that extra-special something we expected heading into the taste testing. We’d feel comfortable asking for a second dish while dining at the restaurant, but it would not be a necessity.

Final ranking: 8.2/10

Los Tres Amigos: This was about as big of a no-doubter slam dunk as it could get. A thicker queso with chunks of what appeared to be peppers and tomatoes, this queso had a solid taste with a bit of a kick at the end that just felt perfect. The five of us gave each dip a score out of 10, and the only reason this didn’t get a perfect 50 out of 50 was because we believe there is always room for improvement.

Final ranking: 9.8/10

Guacamole

Ah, guacamole. Classic and delicious. This Mexican avocado dip is hard to mess up and includes salt, lime, onion, cilantro and tomatoes. However, we didn’t find any one guac particularly life-changing at any of the three restaurants.

Barrio Tacos: This guacamole was surprisingly disappointing. The avocado was not completely smashed so there were chunks of it within the dip. It tasted bland and didn’t have any of that tang or flavor we were expecting.

Final ranking: 4/10

El Azteco: The El Azteco guacamole was alright. It had good consistency and a nice garnish. There were some nice cut-up tomatoes on top which really added to the aesthetic, but did not add much of a kick to it. That said, we did enjoy the lime flavor we could pick out. 

Final ranking: 6/10

Los Tres Amigos: This guacamole was the best out of the bunch. It had the right texture and was seasoned correctly. It didn’t have the best presentation, but honestly, that’s how we knew it would hit just right.

Final ranking: 8/10

Salsa

Salsa was the most fiercely debated dip of the night, as all three restaurants brought their own unique style to the table.

Los Tres Amigos: Los Tres Amigos’ salsa is the salsa you plow down in five minutes without realizing until your server asks if you want more. Is it the best? Not really. Is it amazing? Also, not really. It does get the job done though, and sometimes, that’s really all you need. 

Final ranking: 5.6/10

Barrio Tacos: Salsa at Barrio is average. It hits you with a smokey, Southwest flair that is either a hit or miss depending on your palette. It is not the most amazing salsa you’ve ever had, but paired with the nice summer breeze from the Albert Avenue patio, you’ve got a night. 

Final ranking: 6/10

El Azteco:  There isn’t much wrong with the salsa from El Azteco. As soon as the first bite hits your taste buds, you are in for a shock. The heat from this salsa comes as a complete surprise and really sticks with you. Although it was not insanely spicy, it was the first salsa we tried and the sensation stayed with us with each additional salsa we tried. 

Final ranking: 7.8/10

This article is a part of our Welcome Week print issue. The full issue can be viewed here.