Full disclosure, this place is BRAND new. They've only been open a few days - so I expect there to be problems and tweaks necessary. I'm not in the habit of bashing anyone, so I'm going to try to be as honest as I can (and my goal is not to be brutal). I've never ran a restaurant, nor have I ever worked in one. I don't claim to be an expert in the field - only in eating! So here goes...
This is an "open air" kiosk at the Union Station plaza. A convenient location to get to and it wasn't very busy. A few people in front of us - but at the counter our order was taken quickly. Currently it's a limited menu - 3 types of tacos (steak, chicken, pork), 2 types of tortillas (corn or flour), and a few different toppings which I forgot (we went with classic which is onion and cilantro). They also have chips and queso and chips and salsa (red or green). We got a bag of chips and green salsa and selected 1 of each taco with corn tortillas and classic toppings.
Although it took about 10 minutes for our food to arrive, there was a group of about 6 in front of us. So I'm not really that disappointed in the wait - although keep in mind that the meat should already be cooked, so it is just heating up tortillas, placing the meat, and the toppings.
First impression - way too big of tortilla and not enough meat. For tacos that cost $2.50/ea, I expect there to be more meat or they better be darn good. I picked up the first taco and the meat fell out of the bottom because the tortilla had broke. I grabbed a different one and almost spilled the meat on the table because it fell out the bottom again. All of our tacos did this - and they really weren't hot (in fact barely warm). At this point my friend decided this wasn't acceptable and took the tacos back up to be replaced.
Upon their return, I learned that the owner is out of town... uhh.. what??! The owner is out of town and you're just days old?! That doesn't make any sort of sense... No idea why - I didn't ask. But I don't see how that's a wise decision. They are also running out of meat - at noon, on a Friday. There aren't that many people there, so I'm not sure how they're running out already. The replacement tacos were just as puny in meat - but the shells held together. They're too big - and we ended up with a bunch of leftover tortilla shreds when we were done because of it.
The pork was dry, not enough meat, and the excessive & dry shell just added to the disappointment. The taste was just okay - a little bland.
The chicken was also dry and didn't have much flavor - a little bland. Not enough meat and the shell was too big. I'm detecting a trend.
The steak was a little better - it actually had a bit of steak flavor. Just okay. Still not enough meat and too much tortilla shell. There were some crispy spots that were cooked a little too long - although at least it made an interesting flavor in the taco that was otherwise lacking.
The chips and salsa were actually pretty good. The chips had a crunchy, flaky, homemade feel to them. The salsa was a green tomatilla sauce similar to a salsa verde. Nice kick. This was the high point to the stop.
Here's the deal - they're brand new and struggling. I feel for them. But you're either ready or you're not. And candidly, the owner being away this early is not acceptable. I don't know the circumstances - it could have been a family emergency or whatever. I hope all is well. But I think you run the risk of making a bad first impression and that is worse than having to close unexpectedly due to an emergency (if that's the case). Also, since it was one large tortilla, I'm not sure if they are Douglas "STREET tacos" or if they are "Douglas Street" tacos. Street tacos are smaller tortillas and two of them. I think that would help their cause if they're using that small of a helping of meat. $17 and change for 2 people (with chips and salsa) made this a roughly $9 (disappointing) lunch.
Overall, I think they need to change fast or I don't expect them to be there long. It was beautiful weather, they had a small but okay number of customers, and people were leaving without food. Time to adapt fast. I probably won't bother going back unless I hear they've changed some things...
Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:
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I messaged the owner and suggested he needed to take down the cover photo he has on Facebook because it's extremely misleading as to exactly what his tacos and the picture looks like.
ReplyDeleteIf they even remotely looked like that, I'd gladly pay $2.50 per taco.
#tacofail