Taco Heads: Best New Addition to the Near West Side

I had eaten at Tacoheads once at their small trailer off of West 7th. It was late and my partner and I had stumbled out of Lola's Saloon after too many beers. I don't remember it at all. So, I was really excited when I first saw that they would be occupying a vacant location near my office on Montgomery St.

           The trailer at 7th and Carroll Photo:Tacoheads Facebook

As I drove by everyday, I watched the transformation of an uninspiring property into a modern taco beacon. There are two separate buildings with a patio area in between. One side, still under renovation, will become the bar. The other side is the kitchen and restaurant. It's a pretty small building, so the patio is essential.

  Artist rendition of the property completed. Photo from Tacoheads Facebook

I was fearful of the parking but it wasn't bad. Parking is behind the building. Enter the one-way parking lot from the side street and exit out the driveway on the north side of the building. They are adding more parking next door directly behind the old Hale House that is now the Fixi Shop.

I went with a friend the other evening. I had been patiently waiting. I never like to review a place the first couple of weeks it opens. It takes awhile to get a smooth running ship. Of course, I was dying to hear how it was from others. A coworker had been during the first week and confessed that his meat filling seemed inadequate for the price tag. I wasn't going to let his opinion sway mine until I had tried them myself.

Upon first entering, we were a little confused on what to do. My first instinct was to look up above a small counter area just inside the door for a menu. There was none to be found. We were quickly greeted and told it was open seating and to choose any table. My friend and I looked at each other confused and she asked, "Where do we order?". That's when we found out that we would have a server.

This totally threw me off. I was used to ordering and paying for tacos at a counter or window and also paying there.  I'll be honest, my first thoughts were How long is THIS going to take and How much more is THIS going to cost me. We had been working all day, were tired, and just wanted to eat some good food and get home as soon as possible. One of the appeals of taco based eateries is that you can stop in quick and get in and out on your lunch break with little hassle. Also, we are paid peanuts and really must appreciate where each dollar is spent. Tipping significantly adds to the final bill. I accepted the arrangement.

We chose a small table. It was cozy, very modern and clean. I liked the decor. 

The menus were very nice. Not quite what I was expecting from a taco place.

There was a breakfast menu on the back and a dessert menu that was coming soon.

There was also an extensive drink menu.

With beer on the back.

I decided to go with the Roasted Chipotle Brisket Taco with green cabbage, onion, cilantro, and queso fresco. I also ordered the Mama Castillo's Chicken Taco with pico de gallo and queso fresco.

They looked great and were served with a wedge of lime. They could have been slightly larger for the price however, I understand that having a nice place to eat comes with overhead. I tried the Brisket first. Fanfuckingtastic! Their meat tastes simmered. It's very tender and juicy. Even with lots of juice, the corn tortillas stayed together. The tortillas tasted grilled with some oil or butter to give them strength and flexibility. The cabbage and veggies were a perfect combo of toppings. 

I was surprised when I bit into my chicken taco. I hadn't noticed on the menu that it had different toppings than the brisket. It had lots of pico and some queso fresco but was lacking the crunchiness of fresh onion or cabbage. I'm not a huge tomato fan and I usually prefer my pico with more onion and pepper but, this was really very tasty. I ate every single bite and was wishing I had two more when I was done.

And therin lies my only real issue. The friend I was with also stated she was still hungry after eating her two tacos. We decided that on an average day we could probably go with three, but on a night when we had to work late and were really hungry, we could have put back four each. That would have cost us $14.00 plus tax. Add on an extra $1.75 for a soda and at least $3 for a tip. Quick math added up to $19.85. That's a lot of money for one person to eat dinner. I can hit up my local taco trailer on the far west side and get four tacos for $6 total.

I quickly decided that the exceptional service made the hit to my wallet more palatable. The staff went above and beyond to make sure we were happy. When we inquired about the red and green salsas, our server returned with a gentleman,who I believe was cooking that evening, to explain the salsas to us. Both salsas were great. The green jalapeño tomatillo salsa was spicey and made our noses run. The milder red sauce, my favorite, had an awesome roasted pepper flavor and was delicious. 

Tip: Ask for a fork to scoop up your drippings!

These are fabulous tacos and I will most definitely be visiting again, I'll just have to start saving a little ahead of time.

I Want That Velvet Taco...Mmmmm maybe not so much

Some friends and I are going to try this place in a couple of weeks. The conversation about it has already been humorous. One coworker immediately thought about the sexual connotation of the name while another coworker, much younger and more innocent, associated the name with red velvet cake. Either way, they both get eaten.

The following is taken directly from the website for the Velvet Taco at www.velvettaco.com

PS - Cool things about the world inside Velvet Taco:
we make our own tortillas, slow roast our own
chicken and corn, and make everything from
scratch which makes our food taste really
awesome. We use fresh fruit and sorbets in
our margaritas and sangrias... also awesome.
Oh and we recycle. Come in and see us.

Honestly, I'm really excited about their menu and can't wait to try the elote.

The reviews are in!

This place is located in a really trendy part of town on West 7th. You will run into the typical yuppy type here and the late night bar crowd. The place is a good hang out spot and has windows all the way around that open. The decor was...uninspiring. The ceiling was downright weird. There were clapboard style wooden ceiling beams exposed, which was fine. However, there was a metal grid system hanging off of it, meant to hold white square ceiling tiles, a la business office. But there were no tiles, just the framework. Mmmmm kay.

I ordered the #2 Rotisserie Chicken taco. It comes with white queso, roast corn pico,  cilantro, and smoked poblano salsa on a corn tortilla. (For the record, I don't recall white queso actually being on this taco) It was served on metal taco holders that were shaped like the letter W. No plate. A little bit of an issue if you have drippings. This was a common complaint between all three of us eating. My friend Lynn S. constructed a makeshift "plate" out of paper towels that were on our table. I was not overly impressed with the chicken. The rotisserie chicken from Walmart is more flavorful. My tortilla seemed packaged, sprouted a hole and began falling apart. The best part about this taco was the corn salsa. While my friends tried the habanero salsa, I went for a more vinegar based sauce that reminded me of Fuzzy's Butt Burnin' Sauce. I loved the flavor.

I also ordered the #3 Crisp Tikka Chicken Taco. It was served with spicy pepper sauce, buttered cilantro basmati rice, mint-coriander yogurt, basil, and a flour tortilla. This one was worse. Although the tortilla held together nicely, the chicken was swimming in a thick sauce that reminded me of buffalo chicken sauce. It was overpowering. The rice was a nice touch, but too bland to counter the overwhelming sauce on the chicken. The yogurt was good, but honestly, throwing a piece of basil on it is a joke. This taco needs more toppings to balance out the pepper sauce. Maybe some cabbage would be good. For the money, I felt a little jipped. 

My friend Dee thought it was "a cool, chill place. A good hangout spot."

She ordered the #3 Crisp Tikka Chicken taco as well. She thought the appearance was good,but the tortilla did not seem well cooked. She did give high marks for their habanero hot sauce.

Dee also ordered the #3.5 Picnic Chicken. This taco is served with avocado crema, warm honey-Dijon potato salad, crispy chicken skin and cilantro on a flour tortilla. Dee said, "it seemed dry." She explained that although the chicken was flavorful, "there was too much going on. A lot of different flavors." On a scale of 1-10, she rated this taco a 5. 

My other guest reviewer, Lynn S. ordered the #3.5 Picnic Chicken as well. She was definitely unimpressed with this taco. On a scale of 1-10 she rated it a -10. She kept referring to a funky fish taste we could never quite figure out and at one point mentioned having to "choke it down." Not a good sign. 

Lynn S. Did have better luck with the #1 Buffalo Chicken taco. This was a flour tortilla, served with crisp tenders, house Buffalo sauce, crumbled blue cheese, ranch crema, carrots, and celery leaves. She thought the meat was flavorful and gave it an all around score of a 7. This was the highest rated taco between the three of us. Despite the Buffalo Chicken's higher score, Lynn confessed she would only return to the Velvet Taco if she could try different tacos than what she had ordered.

For me, the redeeming factor for the whole experience was the side of Rotisserie Corn cooked 'elote style', with queso fresco, asadero, Valentina, crema and lime. It was fantastico! It's hard to find elote anywhere. Historically, only found in traditional taquerias, it is starting to become a mainstream item with its appearance increasing, particularly in the last year or so.

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