There were a few points that had me thinking this day would never actually come. The list took a long while to whittle down, and grew a few times along the way. But dammit, the time has come to finish what I started, and here we are. Tacos are gone, opinions have been cast, time to close this thing out. So, without further adieu, the superlatives.
Overall Winner - Bittercreek Ale House
This should come as little surprise, I loved these tacos and knew they'd set the bar really high. While others came close, no one toppled them. There was a lingering question about the menu status, but it appears that they have transitioned to the standard menu. The fish may have changed, and I may have to give them another try to confirm greatness. Once the budget recovers that is. Yeesh, July was $$$.
Best Fish - Reel Foods
Rice flour breading and a chipotle honey glaze on some premium fish. Pardon my language, but holy shit this fish was good. I expected greatness and was not disappointed. My only real gripe here is these are not always available. So looking forward to getting more of these in my belly.
Best Not Fish - El Habanero
To refresh your memory, two corn tortillas, cabbage, pico, avocado, jack and cotija cheese, chipotle sauce, and a lime wedge for each taco. Nothing super out of the ordinary, just the standard with minor tweaks that brought them up to great.
Best Chain - Rumbi
These had a distinctly Hawaiian flavor to them with pineapple, jalapeno ranch, and coconut...something. Super good side of rice too, and there's always at least a $1 off coupon out there for the taking. These guys have locations in Idaho, Utah, and Arizona, so readers outside of the valley can give them a try too.
Best Taco Truck - El Habanero
I went into their not fish accolades above, but they were all around great, and they tied for second for a reason. They're an absolute bargain and a great choice for a quick lunch in West Boise. I've already recommended them to probably half a dozen colleagues.
Cheapest Taco - El Gallo Giro
$1.50 a piece for their little tiny ones. Pretty much one-biters, but not bad. If quantity is what you want, you can get essentially all you can eat for like $25.
Most Expensive Taco - Highlands Hollow
$11.95 for a single taco. Yowch. I mean, it wasn't really a taco as much as it was a super weird quesadilla, but by definition, it's a pricey ass taco. You can get just shy of 8 tacos from El Gallo Giro for the same price. Your call (get 8).
Honorable Mention - Tin Roof Tacos
These guys ended up tied for 5th with The Matador, Fresh of the Hook, The Shed, and Barbacoa. All solid options really, and to be fair, the others are likely a bit better for just fish tacos. However, of all the stops on this tour, I have not returned to any venue more than I have to Tin Roof. I've lost count, but I'd wager that I've been to Tin Roof at least monthly since the original visit in May. It's such a great all around taco joint. My girls love the breakfast tacos, my vegetarian mom likes the veggie options, and I haven't yet found a better post-mountain-biking stop for a beer and satisfying meal. I was literally there yesterday.
Though I could probably squeeze a few more categories out of this tour, I'm going to call it there. Always happy to give a personalized recommendation if you want one, but that's a solid mini-tour of the tacos in this town. Go get some! And if anyone wants to kick in for a trophy for Bittercreek, let me know.
Monday, August 7, 2017
Monday, July 31, 2017
El Tenampa - Back Where We Started
I didn't realize how many taco stops there are in the area around the Edwards 21 theater. It might actually be the Edwards 22, I forgot. And I'm not sure if they include Imax. Anyway, neither here nor there. Nato's, Legends, McGrath's, Twin Peaks, and Black Bear are all a stones throw from each other. Maybe not literally, depends on your arm I guess. Oddly enough, kind of in the center of these is El Tenampa, the last stop on this tour. I started this thing 16 months back at Legends, it seems fitting to end it right across the parking lot.
Presentation - It took me a bit to figure out how I missed this place. Google helped with that, they just opened in January. Another restaurant younger than this tour. The remnants of On The Border remain both inside and out, but the decor is nice enough. It was crazy cold inside, which was just fine because it was 99 degrees outside. There was a table of bitchy ladies with weak significant others behind me, which I don't actually mind too much. It relaxes me a bit if I have designated people to hate. Pro wrestling and NBA final reruns on TV. Just an all around odd visit, can't say I'm surprised. And a fine plating to boot. Also a cool beer bottle chandelier. 3/5
Aroma - Good. Fish taco-ey. 3/5
Value - $12.29 for three average size tacos and a side. Eh, I've had worse. Not bad tacos, not particularly filling. 4/10
Fish - Not memorable, but not bad. Grilled white fish with a mild seasoning, a couple bigger chunks per taco. Right down the middle of that old winding road. 5/10
Not Fish - I think there's a straight mis-translation on the menu. Cucumber? I laughed out loud when I read that, and was really looking forward to seeing how they pulled that off. Short answer: they didn't. I think that was supposed to read cilantro, which was on there. Also queso, which was not listed. I'm kind of surprised that this was the first appearance of queso (on a taco that is, it was a side at Joe's Crab Shack). I quite enjoyed that addition. Wicked juicy lime slice too. The not fish side of these tacos were pretty on point. 8/10
Overall Taste - It's interesting to see how different places have come around to different scores. Los Mariachis scored a seven with great fish and ok not fish. These guys did the switcheroo, yet here we are. 7/10
Bonus Points - I'd love to find a reason for one, and the hodgepodge of things going on while I was eating was almost enough, but not quite. +0
Overall Overall - 30/50
I walked back into the oppressive evening heat, surveyed the surprising amount of tour stops in the lot, and got a little sad. I've had fun with this and I will miss it. I'm surprisingly not sick of fish tacos, and even on this, the 63rd and last stop, I found a different variation on a common theme that I enjoyed.
I'm certain I missed at least one stop, so here's my challenge for anyone still hanging in on this thing; if you know of a stop that I haven't found in Boise proper, you have the rest of the week to tell me. Friday, August 4th at 11:59:59 PM, the tour is officially done. And there will be prizes. Stay tuned.
Los Mariachis - Meeting Number Six
I had five meetings this morning. Production meeting. Project meeting. Leadership meeting. Boss meeting. TSA Precheck meeting. None particularly excited me. However, meeting six, which didn't make it onto my work calendar, did. It was the penultimate meeting in a long series of meetings. It came with tacos. It was Los Mariachis.
Presentation - Rather unassuming storefront. I wasn't sure what to expect going in. The interior was actually pretty decent. Typical beer signage but more carved seating and cool tables. And loud spanish music. And lights without lightbulbs. And a wandering toddler. Odd, yes, but it came together. Simple plating, decent service. 3/5
Aroma - Pretty standard and by the book. Smelled as such. Yup. 3/5
Value - So here's a conundrum. Their menu isn't online, so I called and asked if they had fish tacos. They do. However, not on the menu. The pic above is just to acknowledge they have a menu. With weird giant schooners of shrimp and stuff. So I had no idea what they cost ($9.50 for a pair) or what was on them (fish, pico, cabbage, white sauce). I kind of want to disqualify them here, off the menu kind of means they don't exist. But whatever, I guess I'll let it slide. But still average. 5/10
Fish - I had trouble telling if these were grilled or fried. I settled on fried, but I don't fully know how they did it. There was like no breading, but the fish was wonderfully crunchy and crisp, and still pretty moist. Solid seasoning, nothing standout, but something about the fried-ness was just solid. 8/10
Not Fish - Dead on by the book. Two corn tortillas, pico, cabbage, white sauce, and a slice of lime. Nothing about it was extraordinary but it following the formula worked just fine. 6/10
Overall Taste - The fish brought these up to a pretty solid place. The rest was just fine, but the fish made for a solid 7/10.
Bonus Points - The aforementioned toddler was pretty cute, but not quite worth a point. Try harder next time tiny one. Maybe bring me some guac. +0
Overall Overall - 32/50
Didn't quite make up for meetings one through five, but not a bad lunch stop either. And then there was one.
Presentation - Rather unassuming storefront. I wasn't sure what to expect going in. The interior was actually pretty decent. Typical beer signage but more carved seating and cool tables. And loud spanish music. And lights without lightbulbs. And a wandering toddler. Odd, yes, but it came together. Simple plating, decent service. 3/5
Aroma - Pretty standard and by the book. Smelled as such. Yup. 3/5
Value - So here's a conundrum. Their menu isn't online, so I called and asked if they had fish tacos. They do. However, not on the menu. The pic above is just to acknowledge they have a menu. With weird giant schooners of shrimp and stuff. So I had no idea what they cost ($9.50 for a pair) or what was on them (fish, pico, cabbage, white sauce). I kind of want to disqualify them here, off the menu kind of means they don't exist. But whatever, I guess I'll let it slide. But still average. 5/10
Fish - I had trouble telling if these were grilled or fried. I settled on fried, but I don't fully know how they did it. There was like no breading, but the fish was wonderfully crunchy and crisp, and still pretty moist. Solid seasoning, nothing standout, but something about the fried-ness was just solid. 8/10
Not Fish - Dead on by the book. Two corn tortillas, pico, cabbage, white sauce, and a slice of lime. Nothing about it was extraordinary but it following the formula worked just fine. 6/10
Overall Taste - The fish brought these up to a pretty solid place. The rest was just fine, but the fish made for a solid 7/10.
Bonus Points - The aforementioned toddler was pretty cute, but not quite worth a point. Try harder next time tiny one. Maybe bring me some guac. +0
Overall Overall - 32/50
Didn't quite make up for meetings one through five, but not a bad lunch stop either. And then there was one.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Fiesta Guadalajara - About As East As They Come
Final 3! In theory at least, I think I've already said that. I set a goal to finish in July and by George, I intend to, even if it means 3 stops in one day. It did, today, for what it's worth, the last of which was Fiesta Guadalajara. I honestly forgot how far away this place is, might as well be going to Mountain Home. There are actually two locations in Meridian and Eagle that are probably closer, but that's not Boise and that would be cheating. Rations and spare parts packed, we hit the road.
Presentation - I actually used to work right up the hill from this location and have been in a couple times. The interior is pretty nice, the chairs have "FG" carved into them and the decor is clean and not tacky. Service was fine, nothing to write home about but not bad. The plating was nice. And enormous. And lava hot again. What's up with that? All around above average. 4/5
Aroma - A bit on the fishy side, but not bad. Perhaps a bit mild too. 3/5
Value - 3 tacos and a side of rice and beans for $14.25, which was a dollar more than the website menu had them listed for. The plate was filling but as I'll get into, the ingredients weren't particularly great or unique, so it was a bit on the pricey side. 4/10
Fish - Kind of a big issue here. Comparing the menu to the picture, there's a pretty glaring issue. Deep fried? Not so much, definitely grilled. There are other menu issues, see the not fish section for those, but this was a big one. Not a lot of seasoning, prep was fine but it was on the boring side on top of not being as advertised. 3/10
Not Fish - The menu claims five things. Deep fried pollock? Nope. Flour tortillas? Nope. Cabbage? Yes. Avocados? Yes. Jalapenos? Nope. Two for five, that's a hard F at 40% correct. It's one thing to make a forgettable taco, but another to advertise it as something else entirely. And these really needed a sauce, they were pretty dry. The avocado helped, but just a bit. 3/10
Overall Taste - They were plenty edible, I've had worse tacos this month. Just not a lot too them really, boring and overpriced. I hit them for menu discrepancies above, so just below average here. 4/10
Bonus Points - If the tacos completely mismatched the menu I'd have given them one. Swap the avocados for asparagus and the cabbage for kale or something whackadoo like that. But alas, nah. +0
Overall Overall - 21/50
Start chanting. Final two! Final two! If I can swing two more taco stops tomorrow without a heart attack, we can put this thing to bed and I can make some fun arbitrary awards to hand out. I suppose you can send over any locations I've still managed to miss before then, but be warned, I may punch you.
Presentation - I actually used to work right up the hill from this location and have been in a couple times. The interior is pretty nice, the chairs have "FG" carved into them and the decor is clean and not tacky. Service was fine, nothing to write home about but not bad. The plating was nice. And enormous. And lava hot again. What's up with that? All around above average. 4/5
Aroma - A bit on the fishy side, but not bad. Perhaps a bit mild too. 3/5
Value - 3 tacos and a side of rice and beans for $14.25, which was a dollar more than the website menu had them listed for. The plate was filling but as I'll get into, the ingredients weren't particularly great or unique, so it was a bit on the pricey side. 4/10
Fish - Kind of a big issue here. Comparing the menu to the picture, there's a pretty glaring issue. Deep fried? Not so much, definitely grilled. There are other menu issues, see the not fish section for those, but this was a big one. Not a lot of seasoning, prep was fine but it was on the boring side on top of not being as advertised. 3/10
Not Fish - The menu claims five things. Deep fried pollock? Nope. Flour tortillas? Nope. Cabbage? Yes. Avocados? Yes. Jalapenos? Nope. Two for five, that's a hard F at 40% correct. It's one thing to make a forgettable taco, but another to advertise it as something else entirely. And these really needed a sauce, they were pretty dry. The avocado helped, but just a bit. 3/10
Overall Taste - They were plenty edible, I've had worse tacos this month. Just not a lot too them really, boring and overpriced. I hit them for menu discrepancies above, so just below average here. 4/10
Bonus Points - If the tacos completely mismatched the menu I'd have given them one. Swap the avocados for asparagus and the cabbage for kale or something whackadoo like that. But alas, nah. +0
Overall Overall - 21/50
Start chanting. Final two! Final two! If I can swing two more taco stops tomorrow without a heart attack, we can put this thing to bed and I can make some fun arbitrary awards to hand out. I suppose you can send over any locations I've still managed to miss before then, but be warned, I may punch you.
Taco Veloz - Treasure Hunt
So after Carniceria Coalcoman I stopped by Taco Veloz, mostly to confirm the menu pic on the Facebook page was correct and they didn't have fish tacos. Menu pic was indeed correct, but I asked anyway. Yep, they have tacos. What do they cost? I'll guess at that shortly. Where are they? Here's how that hunt went. They're not at Fairview and Alumbaugh like the internet would have you think. They're not in the old Los Betos near Fairview and Orchard. They're hiding over on Overland, next to Whitney United Methodist Church just east of Owyhee. Hours? Who knows. I think I caught them opening at ~1PM. But I got tacos, and that's what matters.
Presentation - It's a taco truck. It's also hot as balls outside today, so tough start. It was bearable sitting in the shade, but I'm glad this is the last taco truck on the list. Did you know this is the 32nd day in a row over 90 degrees in Boise? Yeesh. Service was fine, they didn't have any diet soda so I opted for water. Plating was a styrofoam container, as is the taco truck way. 2/5
Overall Overall - 33/50
This was stop number 60 in almost 16 months. Yeesh. 3 to go, potentially done this month. Provided I don't find any more places that is. Which feels inevitable...
Presentation - It's a taco truck. It's also hot as balls outside today, so tough start. It was bearable sitting in the shade, but I'm glad this is the last taco truck on the list. Did you know this is the 32nd day in a row over 90 degrees in Boise? Yeesh. Service was fine, they didn't have any diet soda so I opted for water. Plating was a styrofoam container, as is the taco truck way. 2/5
There was only one guy inside, I was tempted to bum rush and finally get the inside truck picture. But I didn't want spit tacos.
Aroma - The guy asked if I wanted everything, I went with yes. It appears that included onions, tomatoes, red cabbage, avocados, and a green salsa. They smelled pretty tasty. 4/5
Value - I have to guess here. Two tacos and a water was $7.42, so $7 plus tax. If water was a buck, tacos are three bucks each. If two bucks, two fifty. I'm going to assume it's the former, so tacos are three bucks. Not small, good ingredients, solid value. 7/10
Fish - Grilled chunks hiding down under all those ingredients. Not too much, not too little, and cooked fine, but a bit basic. The not fish helped a lot here, by itself the fish was on the boring side. 5/10
Not Fish - These were full tacos with solid and fresh tasting ingredients. I liked the green salsa a lot, a bit of spice. Two corn tortillas each with a super juicy lime chunk for each. Tomatoes could have been chopped up a bit more, everything was overall on point though. 8/10
Overall Taste - Yep, just fine. For some reason this and Coalcoman have been a welcome respite from some kind of meh sit down tacos. These were fresh and all the veggies helped fulfill my delusion that somehow this isn't bad for me. Bugger off Cheesecake Factory menu, these are like 200 calories tops. 7/10
Bonus Points - Maybe if finding the place wasn't so damn hard, but nah. +0
Carniceria Coalcoman - Que?
This is another one that was completely off my radar. Carniceria Coalcoman is tucked back in a strip mall near Fairview and Orchard and I literally had no idea it was there. In another odd coincidence there is a closed Los Betos in the same parking lot that's being converted into a permanent home for Taco Veloz. Maybe, I think it's been a while since said conversion started, so who knows if it'll be done any time soon. Still, three tour stops in various states of openness within a stones throw of each other. Also, Los Mariachis is right down the street. Woo tacos!
Presentation - The majority of the signage inside was in spanish. Same with the menu. Tacos pescado for reference. I can stumble my way through spanish, but this is Boise, the staff spoke english. It felt pretty authentic overall. Quick and friendly service, simple plating, nothing fancy but all around fine. 3/5
Aroma - A unique recipe and a unique, but good smell. A bit spicy, maybe some citrus in there. Good. 4/5
Presentation - The majority of the signage inside was in spanish. Same with the menu. Tacos pescado for reference. I can stumble my way through spanish, but this is Boise, the staff spoke english. It felt pretty authentic overall. Quick and friendly service, simple plating, nothing fancy but all around fine. 3/5
Aroma - A unique recipe and a unique, but good smell. A bit spicy, maybe some citrus in there. Good. 4/5
No menu pic. Half forgot, half didn't feel appropriate.
Value - Two bucks a piece ala carte, $7.99 for a pair with rice and beans. I went with the latter. Rice and beans were good, next time I'd go 3 tacos and maybe a bag of chips. 6/10
Fish - Doesn't that look like crab? Or maybe shrimp? I confirmed, it's white fish. Pretty decent really, nice spice and cooked well. Maybe pan fried or something? I think it was cooked in whatever liquid was on the tacos. Good. 7/10
Not Fish - I'm not 100% sure what all was in there, the menu . No sauce, but not dry. Peppers, pico, it was really mostly fish, but the little addition that was there was good. Single corn tortilla per taco, no limes. I really enjoyed the rice and beans too, the beans were runny so I really just mixed it all together, did not disappoint. 7/10
Overall Taste - I have no idea if these are more authentic or not, but they aren't too close to the standard I've come to arbitrarily judge things to. Pretty good though, and honestly a pretty welcome change since I'm mashing in so many tacos in these last few days. 7/10
Bonus Points - Nothing I can come up with really. +0
Overall Overall - 34/50
Down to four. I thought it was three, and then I had a double lunch today. Read the next entry to learn more. Is this many tacos healthy? Who knows. Probably doctors. But I want to be done this month, and this month is just about gone. So here we go!
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Chapala - Tacos Del Lago
Did you know Chapala is named after a lake in Mexico? Me neither, their website told me. Are the fish tacos made from fish caught in Lake Chapala? Almost certainly not, but a man can dream. They have 4 Boise locations, the one on Vista is the highest rated on Google so we paid them a visit tonight.
Presentation - A lot of these local places are starting to blend. The decor is pretty similar, some advertising for Mexican beers mixed in with sombreros, parrots, and a handful of other things. Not particularly different here, but it works well enough. Good service, rather quick as I'll get into later, and a decent enough plating. One note, that plate was lava hot. Like, touch it 5 minutes after it was delivered and it still burns you hot. Yeesh. 3/5
Aroma - Another that I don't have much to say about, not bad but not a lot there. 3/5
Value - Three tacos with a decent sized side of rice and beans for $12.25. A decent amount of food, but as I'll get into I didn't love them. Average. 5/10
Fish - Grilled white fish, smaller chunks. Not a lot of seasoning, pretty light on the flavor. Not too fishy, probably cod or pollock, maybe tilapia. Anyway, pretty boring. 3/10
Not Fish - What is with the lemons? I don't get it, nor do I want to. Lemon may go with fish and chips, but fish tacos deserve lime. Two corn tortillas per taco, which were actually a tad on the heavy side, probably could have done with one. The pico and guacamole were both on the side, which is fine. Guac was pretty good. Missing...something. Maybe cilantro. And definitely needs more of a sauce, they were a bit dry. 3/10
Overall Taste - Despite the shortcomings, they were better than the sum of their parts. Still many improvements that would help them out. 4/10
Bonus Points - I've never had food come out so fast at a sit down restaurant. It was amazing, seriously like fast food speed. 4-5 minutes tops. That's worth a point. +1
Overall Overall - 22/50
For what it's worth the girls all had fine food, so the restaurant on the whole isn't bad, but these aren't worth the stop.
Presentation - A lot of these local places are starting to blend. The decor is pretty similar, some advertising for Mexican beers mixed in with sombreros, parrots, and a handful of other things. Not particularly different here, but it works well enough. Good service, rather quick as I'll get into later, and a decent enough plating. One note, that plate was lava hot. Like, touch it 5 minutes after it was delivered and it still burns you hot. Yeesh. 3/5
Aroma - Another that I don't have much to say about, not bad but not a lot there. 3/5
Value - Three tacos with a decent sized side of rice and beans for $12.25. A decent amount of food, but as I'll get into I didn't love them. Average. 5/10
Fish - Grilled white fish, smaller chunks. Not a lot of seasoning, pretty light on the flavor. Not too fishy, probably cod or pollock, maybe tilapia. Anyway, pretty boring. 3/10
Not Fish - What is with the lemons? I don't get it, nor do I want to. Lemon may go with fish and chips, but fish tacos deserve lime. Two corn tortillas per taco, which were actually a tad on the heavy side, probably could have done with one. The pico and guacamole were both on the side, which is fine. Guac was pretty good. Missing...something. Maybe cilantro. And definitely needs more of a sauce, they were a bit dry. 3/10
Overall Taste - Despite the shortcomings, they were better than the sum of their parts. Still many improvements that would help them out. 4/10
Bonus Points - I've never had food come out so fast at a sit down restaurant. It was amazing, seriously like fast food speed. 4-5 minutes tops. That's worth a point. +1
Overall Overall - 22/50
For what it's worth the girls all had fine food, so the restaurant on the whole isn't bad, but these aren't worth the stop.
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