First off, this place is a wannabe Austin taco shop, and makes no effort to hide it. From the pumping in of Austin radio stations to the El Arroyo style, daily changing (notso)witty sign out front, this place tries to be Austin, and is fawned over by the Dallas prepsters who want to be Austin, but just can't bear to leave Dallas.
I HATE it when people rave over how good it is, and act like it's the best taco shop on earth. It's not. But it is good for what it is...a place to get a quick breakfast on the way to work, and a great place to cure a hangover with some breakfast tacos and queso. That's where I found myself this morning, after having one glass of wine too many last night (see prior post). Also, its probably the best gringo taco joint in Dallas, or at least that I've had. Dallas has many taco stands and windows, but they are primarily true interior mexican tacos, and not the Americanized Tex-Mex that so many of us are accustomed to and which Taco Joint offers.
So I ventured over there around 9:30 and ordered a bean and cheese taco, a chorizo egg taco, and chips and queso.
The chips and queso is nothing more than a very thin combination of processed American cheese and mild Ro-tel tomatoes and chiles. I want to hate it, because frankly you can make it as good or better at home for half the price, but who can hate Ro-tel? Come on. You can't! Chips are thin and crispy, and served warm. Good and good for you.
The breakfast tacos are good. Starting at $2.29 for two ingredients, they're expensive for basic breakfast tacos, so I really want to hate them...buuuuuut they load them up, and they're worth every penny.
I have a few problems with the breakfast tacos in general. One, they are folded and not rolled/burritoed, which results in substantial loss of innards while eating and also neck kinks. You can see what I mean in the picture of this bean and cheese taco. Why are we trying to make it look like its from Taco Bell???
Two, cheese is included on all tacos, like its some sort of gift to you, the customer. OK, it's cheese, and I like cheese a lot, but its just shredded processed cheese and doesn't really add anything to the taco, with the exception of the bean and cheese, in which it adds a melty goodness that holds the refried beans to the tortilla. It's not like it's a secret ingredient that makes these things what they are (we'll get to that in the chapter on sauces). Third, they don't combine the fillings. The chorizo egg taco isn't a wonderful combination of sausage and eggs which results in a beautiful, greasy mess, but is nothing more than good, fluffy scrambled eggs with a scoop of chorizo on top. You can see this below:
MAN I hate these tacos!...but I don't at all. They're really good. They're great for what they are. I get past the folding and spillage because they're loaded, and loaded with flavor. The cheese being "included" is an annoying little marketing ploy, their gift to YOU, which adds nothing, but I'm over it. As for the blending, the flavors are great so I can get past it. And, the tortillas are great, warm and soft throughout, thick enough to handle the guts.
Oh, let me talk a bit about the chorizo. Chorizo MY ARSE. Ground beef with packaged taco seasoning. Nothing more. Not even from the pig! Again, want to hate it, but just can't, because it tastes really, really good. I love both the smell and the taste of taco dinner night as a kid growing up, and this takes you back to that spot.
Chapter 2: Sauces
Alright, another of my beefs (not to be confused with CHORIZO) about people's blind love of this place is that if you ask them why it's so good, more often than not they'll say it's the jalapeno ranch dressing. (By the way for those not in the know, Dallas is obsessed with ranch dressing, and frankly, I love it on about anything.) Look, a salad dressing makes not the place. AND, who puts salad dressing on their tacos anyway? I really want to hate this sauce...but I can't. Because it really is awesome. It's a cool offset to the one-temperature breakfast taco, and it's got really strong jalapeno flavor and a good kick, and is the perfect complement to the Old El Paso Chorizo Egg Taco Bell taco. I mean, it's really, really good.
Tomatillo salsa: terrible, don't bother. Ok, so there we go. I DO hate their tomatillo salsa. Too sweet, no heat, and consistency like its out of a jar, which it most likely is. I'll say this...block cheese, ro-tel, jarred salsa, ground beef and Old El Paso, and a big following...these guys have GOT to be making money, and I'm glad they are, because that means I can keep going there for breakfast, which I love.
Lunch? Not much more than a slightly better quality Taco Bell...but again, good for what it is, and if you have a craving....this place hits the spot.
I know this was a weird review. To sum it up though, I'm a fan.
Summary
Atmosphere: in-line retail in the hood somewhat, large noisy space, plenty of tables, counter to sit at, self-service salsas, lots of people young and old
Food: higher quality Taco Bell
Dog Friendly: no
When to Go: breakfast
Crowd: Dallas prepsters, wannabe Austinites, hipsters, beatniks, doctors, nurses, groups of girls, groups of guys, groups of girls and guys, businesspeople, hotchicks, golfers, all walks of life really
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