El Taco Loco
Dining Category: Mexican
Price: $
Address: Corner of 15th Avenue NW and NW 49th Street
Phone Number: n/a
Website: n/a
Overview:
A small taco trailer in the middle of an empty lot, it’s immediately visible to the west of the Ballard Bridge (on the Ballard side). Unlike other similar setups, the owners have built a weather shelter/awning sort of thing to provide diners a place to eat away from the elements.
Food:
G: The thing I hate most when ordering a dish with meat in it is biting down on a piece of nasty. You know what I’m talking about-- that gristly, chewy piece that anyone who has any sense whatsoever throws away when they are preparing their meats to be cooked. Well I’m relieved to say my pork tacos held no such pieces. Yay!
B: Wish I could say the same, wife. Chicken is usually the safer way to go when you’re talking tacos, but in this case my chicken taco had an enormous piece of cellulite and a hard knob of cartilage.
G: Ok, that’s disgusting!
B: True true. Anyway, the actual edible portion of the chicken taco was bland, oily and tasteless. I definitely wouldn’t order it again. The pork on the other hand, was delicious.
G: I agree with that statement. I was fortunate enough to order the Taco Loco with the spicy pork. Although it wasn’t exactly “spicy” it had a nice flavor and there were a couple of salsa accompaniments that were quite tasty.
B: Good call, the red sauce was a great mix of flavor and heat, while the green sauce came off as being quite fresh. Both were unexpectedly delicious. The beans and rice we put the sauce on was the standard stuff, nice and filling but nothing to write home about.
G: I concur. The beans and rice were just so-so, nothing awful, but nothing great either.
B: On a side note, I always like when a Mexican place offers horchata-- a sweet, refreshing drink that’s best described as rice water with cinnamon.
G: Only it tastes a heck of a lot better than that description makes it sound.
B: So I ordered a cup and was horrified to find that it was sour and gelatinous, two things good horchata should never be. The owner of the truck must have recognized the look on my face because he immediately asked me how it was. Normally, I would just say “Fine” and toss it in the trash, but for some reason I felt like I could be honest with him. Could have been his eyebrows. Anyway, to his credit he mixed up a new batch on the spot and replaced it, the new stuff being exactly what I was looking for. Disaster averted.
Service:
G: Refer to previous statement... both gentlemen in the taco truck were very friendly and our food was ready in minutes. It’s refreshing to eat somewhere and have it recognized that if the customer isn’t happy, they won’t come back.
B: Yeah, they were super friendly and I can’t imagine that it’s easy to keep a smile on your face when you’re stuck inside an aluminum fry pit on wheels. Kudos to these guys.
Closing Comments:
G: I am hyper critical when it comes to the food I eat, I admit it. If I don’t like something that’s put in front of me, I have no issue with writing the place off (I can’t help it, it’s just the way I’m wired). Except of course when the staff are so freaking nice. It makes me want to tell everyone to run right over to that taco truck and order your hearts out. Unfortunately I wouldn’t be doing much of a service to you foodies out there to tell you to run, not walk, to get some mediocre food, which overall, is exactly what it was. It was okay, but nothing more.
B: Yeah, I agree. The guys working there had a good vibe, and although I might have another one of those spicy pork tacos, the truth is the food there really wasn’t anything to go out of your way for. If you have a couple of bucks in your pocket and you happen to be right there, great. If not, no big loss.
G: But they were super-duper nice!
Rating:
3 out of 5 - We could take it or leave it.
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