Taco Loco, where have you been all my life? — Closed
Well, Squirrel fans, this may be the end for me. Not because of a bad meal, but because of a great one.
Everyday Mama Squirrel and I carpool to work. And every morning and every afternoon we pass a small building in a less than stellar part of town. That building houses Taco Loco. Many days we have said that we should stop and try it.
Today I drove home from work alone. Since I didn’t have Mama to talk to, I put a Robert Earl Keen CD, Farm Fresh Onions, in the stereo. By the time I was halfway home, I was in a really good mood. Halfway home is where Taco Loco is. With good Texas music playing and a few bucks change left from an only so-so lunch, I decided that today was the day to stop — but without Mama. She’s going to kill me.
Taco Loco is a great little place, emphasis on little. I nearly walked behind the counter. The space back there is at least as big as the small dining area. Clearly they don’t have a lot of eat-in business. There are only three small tables and a few stools at a counter. The space looks intended to give folks getting orders to go (para llevar) a place to sit for a while.
The most interesting thing about Taco Loco is the Taco Loco lunchwagon. I would love to know where they go so that I could try their food out. I imagine that they go to worksites with large numbers of Latino workers, but I could be wrong. There could be a whole contingent of three-piece-suit bankers lining up downtown for tacos and tortas. My Spanish isn’t great, but when I go back with Mama, we’ll ask more questions.
Now, about the food. First I have to say that I was so excited about the food that, even though the thermometer in the car read 102, I didn’t even bother to turn on the AC before opening the box to check out my snack. I wish I had had my camera in the car because I have seen a lot of wonderful plating in a lot of fine restaurants, but none of them have thrilled me as much as this box. The food was a bit disheveled by the time I got it home for a picture. Honestly, burned fingers are the only reason I managed to get the food home at all. They serve it hot.
The food is very good. It is so simple and so luxurious. I chose two tacos. One was chorizo, a delicious Mexican sausage. Taco Loco serves chorizo in nice slices so the taco is good and meaty. The other taco I would swear was called suadeto, but I can’t find the term on Google in relation to food. The server/chef/manager told me it was beef and onions, but the rest of the description was a bit lost on me. The meat was more like pork carnitas to me. Finding out the name of the dish and it’s ingredients is another good reason to go back.
I loved the place so much that I have the urge to give it four acorns. I guess that a little place with a gravel lot and a window unit air conditioner that barely keeps the place from being flammable may not be four acorns. No matter what I can’t give it anything without consulting Mama, but man what a place.
The official Acorn rating is on hold pending Mama’s opinion.
Taco Loco — Closed
3035 Lamar Avenue
Memphis, TN 38114
(901) 743-9295
This sounds a lot like the hole-in-the-wall Mexican places in San Diego. They always have the BEST stuff. Next time I come to down, I will be saying “Donde esta Taco Loco??”
I eat there three times a week. It is by far one of the friendliest and best tasting mexican joints in town.
*****
Just grabbed lunch today – good little tacos, but I wonder why the place was empty at noon on a Thursday. And no one came for takeout while we were there either. It makes you wonder how much ingredient turnover they have… but good nonetheless.