My daughter recently asked me if I could only eat one food forever, what would that food be. It took me a minute before the obvious answer hit me in the face, tacos. I love tacos. Fish tacos, chicken tacos, beef tacos, veggie tacos. Naturally when I find out anything to do with tacos, I want to be apart of it.
Last month Centerville held what was called the “Taco Trail.” Interesting name. For some reason I first thought I would be hiking with tacos. Alas, it ended up just being a list of 8 local restaurants participating in a punch card event throughout the month of May.
My journey on the taco trail began May 1st, and let me share with you what I’ve discovered about tacos in Centerville. Here is my list from worst to best.
8. El Toro
I know, I know. There are more El Toro’s around than Taco Bell’s it feels like now. But I have to say, it felt the most mass produced. It felt like ingredients had been frozen before being cooked. Overall, yes, it curbed my taco craving. But when compared to the other options, it fell to the bottom for me.
I honestly didn’t even know that Archer’s had tacos as a typical menu item. But, they do. They offer street tacos where you can mix and match three choices from asada steak, spicy shrimp, griddled fish, and fried fish. I opted for asada stead and griddled fish, an option I appreciated because I can’t eat fried foods and foods that are too spicy upset my stomach. Overall, the tacos weren’t bad. I liked the presentation. They were just kind of bland for me and I found the overall taco experience to be unmemorable.
I was also surprised by this one and it’s presentation. I got a beef, chicken, and veggie. They came out looking like street tacos, which I appreciated. But there were little to no toppings. The beef one was literally a pile of beef and a drizzle of sauce. Again, while they weren’t bad, they were bland and unmemorable.
5. Lock 27
I enjoyed the size of these tacos, 4 little mini street tacos with the double layer of shell. Each taco had toppings including pico and a sauce drizzle. I got chicken and pork shoulder. I do find it odd though because when looking up their menu online, it appears their selection has now changed and they only offer an order of 3 tacos at a time. It makes me wonder if they ran a special menu for the taco trail.
4. Elsa’s
I’ve been going to Elsa’s since I was a little kid. I enjoy the service and the environment. The food is also good and the chips and salsa is fantastic. It’s firmly placed in the middle for me because as far as a taco experience goes, it’s a good one, but it doesn’t blow your mind at all.
3. City BBQ
I struggled with where to place this one only because it was significantly spicier than any of the other options. I know for a lot of people that’s a plus, but for me, not so much. The ingredients were also completely set apart from the other offerings. I opted for the “triple que” which consisted of pulled pork, pulled ribs, and brisket. It was then topped with their spicy-sweet Chipotle Peach BBQ sauce, coleslaw and pickled red onions. Immediately I noted how the pickled red onions made the dish complete. These tacos are unique in flavor because they are almost sweet instead of savory, finishing with a spicy kick.
This was both the most surprising and most difficult to place. A part of me really wanted to slot it into the first position, but Agave and Rye will always have my heart. The Famous Restaurant tacos had me thinking about them for several weeks after. They have three different taco options and I went with the fish tacos. I have an affinity for fish tacos. It came with Cajun grilled wild-caught Haddock, a kickin’ coleslaw, fire roasted salsa, and drizzled with a cilantro lime cream sauce. It also had a side of sour cream, salsa and chips. They were like top 3 fish tacos I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot.
I want to mention that all places offering tacos on their menu were asked to participate in the taco trail. They had wanted it to be mostly small mom and pop shops but some places didn’t want to participate. I say that because as some of you might know, Agave and Rye is a chain. It felt a little off to be putting a chain at the top of my list, but hey, I listen to my tastebuds. I have tried numerous tacos from Agave and Rye but have landed on the Happy Pappy as my go to menu item. Now, I won’t lie. Agave and Rye has a lot of downfalls compared to the rest of the list. They have limited parking, it can get extremely crowded with a long wait, the food is expensive (not to mention the drinks) and you don’t get any side items. But, the flavor combinations are unmatched. The Happy Pappy comes as one stuffed taco. With pork carnitas, Mexican rice, sweet and spicy bacon, aged white cheddar, queso, and nestled between what they call a guacamole love cushion. The taco has two shells. The innermost shell is a hard corn tortilla, then a layer of guacamole, and then enveloped in a soft flour tortilla. It is truly divine.
So we ask you, what is your favorite local taco shop? Because obviously we need to try them all.
Written by Jaime Herzog, Creative Director
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