Tin Roof Tacos - A'la Carte Done Right

Tin Roof Tacos is a new one for me. A friend recommended it and after some research, it appears they've been open since late January. Decent location, good reviews, grilled and fried fish tacos, and an extensive menu of other taco options. Seems like a perfect option for a holiday weekend, so on the bikes and off we go.

Looking at the menu, I had one concern; no kids meals. No worries, I sold them on "chicken nugget tacos" (#4 - Fried Chicken Taco). The churros and friend fruit tacos were a nice incentive too, dessert is quite persuasive in getting kids to eat dinner. Per my rules I went with one grilled and one fried fish taco, as well as a pulled pork taco and a brisket taco to split with Christine. She got a beef fajita taco as well as the namesake taco, both girls got the aforementioned fried chicken tacos. I'll preface the results by saying I went back for seconds and got a black bean taco and a baja shrimp taco.

Presentation - Good location, good setup, love the patio (though it's a bit sunny in the evening), and quick service. Presentation is basic but works, each taco is one tortilla and a lime wedge, and sides are reasonably priced and good sized. Being a counter service restaurant, perfection would be tough, but they're not far. 4/5

Aroma - A bit of spice, otherwise simple, lime, cilantro, the standard. Some of the others had pretty complex and unique smells, but nothing too off base with these, which isn't a bad thing. 4/5

Value - $2.50 for a taco is a good deal. $2.50 max on a menu of tacos including shrimp, pulled pork, brisket, and more is a really good deal. 4 good tacos for under $10 is my kind of price. 8/10

Fish - The grilled, which we all know isn't my favorite, wasn't great. Decent flavor and spices, but it was dry, even with a healthy portion of the chipotle sauce. The fried was a good deal better, nice and simple fish but with a nice breading that kept it juicy. Good portions of both. 7/10

Not Fish - Single tortillas, bwa bwa. Chipotle sauce instead of white sauce, which I can live with. A bit spicy, not a problem for me, but may be for some people. Cabbage and cilantro plus a slice of lime per taco, all in all not far off of the winning formula. Could have gone for a little bit more here, but above average. 6/10

Overall Taste - Good, but simple. Neither perfectly by the book nor inventive enough to really stand out. Still, especially in the friend version, things come together well. 7/10

Bonus Points - Look at that menu, just a smorgasbord of delicious sounding tacos. I went back for seconds, which is saying something. I could eat here daily and not get bored. Worth a point in my humble opinion. +1

Overall Overall - 37/50

Depending on how the Bittercreek question shakes out, Tin Roof either just slotted nicely into second or took over the lead. It's worthy of either. This is a situation where I feel that the score doesn't necessarily speak to my overall feelings of the place, I really liked it on the whole and expect it to become a regular staple in our dining out regiment. Worth the trip, give them your business and make sure they stay afloat.

Bittercreek Alehouse - Surprise Tacos!

Tonight's visit to Bittercreek Alehouse wasn't intended to be a taco run, just dinner and drinks with a car club buddy. However, when the special of the day is fried perch tacos, what can I say? "I'll take those." Easy answer. This does, however, pose a predicament. Have a look at this menu:

Notice the distinct lack of fish tacos? So did I, hence the red highlight on the score spreadsheet. I just got off the phone with Bittercreek to see if these are a regular menu item. They are not. Not even a weekly thing, more of a one time thing. Hmm. What to do? Luckily, the blog is mine, and thus the choice is mine. So I choose to procrastinate this choice until later. Will they be included in the normal ranking? Time will tell. On to scoring!

Presentation - I really like Bittercreek. Menu, location, ambiance, top notch all around. Tonight the high top seating was a bit tight but overall not bad. The tacos plating wasn't fancy, but functional. Service was just fine. Not quite a 5. 4/5

Aroma - Non standard but appealing. I think the toppings are the same as the Halloumi tacos, but I'm not 100% since they're not on the menu. Pretty solid smell. A bit cheesy. 4/5

Value - 2 and a side for $9.50. Perch too! Really no idea how expensive perch should be, but it seems like a decent deal. I cheated a bit too and had Idaho Kombucha Blackberry Fig instead of Diet Coke, but only because I ordered my drink before knowing they had said tacos. Doesn't have anything to do with value, but needs to be somewhere I guess. Anyway, back to value, decent. 6/10

Fish - Wow. For some reason I expected a strong fish flavor. I was completely wrong, it was a very pleasant medium to mild flavor. The breading was perfect too, no idea what it was but it was really good. My only minor complaint is I would have liked a bit more fish per taco. Or the same amount but 3 tacos. Almost perfect. 9/10

Not Fish - Not 100% sure what all was on there, but I believe it was chimichurri, carrot habanero salsa, salsa cruda, and cabbage slaw. Some sort of cheese too, maybe halloumi? One corn tortilla per taco, which can be forgiven. Whatever the combo was, it was solid. Non-traditional but balanced, unique, and memorable. 9/10

Overall Taste - On. Freakin. Point. Man these were good. Maybe it helps to have an out of town visitor? Whatever it is, I hope it continues. These are my kind of tacos. 9/10

Overall Overall - 41/50

Like I said, I'm in a pickle. These tacos took a commanding lead, yet may never return. What to do? Stay tuned.

Del Taco - Second Time's a Charm

For those that are Facebook friends with me, you may recall I tried to knock Del Taco off the list on Saturday and was foiled by an order mix up. I can say their spicy shrimp tacos are pretty solid, but the mistake almost nixxed them from the competition. However, after an emailed gripe to corporate (this is America after all, complain and you'll get free stuff) the store manager, Robert, got a hold of me and told me to stop back in and give them another try on him. He made good on that promise at lunch today, the order was indeed correct, so time to review these for real.

This is not my first time having these particular fish tacos. I tend to be a fan of Del Taco, especially their burritos. They are filling and unique and generally tastier than other Mexican (well, heavily Americanized Mexican) fast food. This time I stuck to my rules, just the tacos and the side they were offered with (fries), no burritos or other fanciness.

Presentation - Being fast food this was never going to be a 5. However I like what they do with the tin foil and a lime wedge tucked in with each taco, so this category had potential. But to be fair, I have to ding them for the order mistake somewhere. Sorry Robert, 2nd time was fine, but 1st was no bueno. 1/5

Aroma - Mild but pleasant, the lime helped a good bit. Both the pico and sauce are pretty tame without much of a smell. 3/5

Value - This would be a point higher as just tacos (2 for $4, really solid deal IMHO) but as a combo it's not quite as good ($6.79). Still a solid deal for a filling meal, $7.20 with tax which puts it well under half of 10 Barrels price and at the lowest overall price thus far. 7/10

Fish - Alaskan pollock according to their website. To be honest this was a bit of a let down. I recall the fish being crispy and crunchy when I last had these, this order didn't quite live up to that memory. Good flavor but not as crisp as I'd like and a bit greasy. Chock it up to a bad batch maybe? Or this location still working out the kinks (they are the newest Del Taco in the valley)? Either way, a tad underwhelming but not bad. 5/10

Not Fish - You'll notice they nail the recipe; A good sized piece of fish, cabbage, pico de gallo, and white sauce wrapped in two corn tortillas with a slice of lime. Bang on and it shows. They lost a few points because both the pico and white sauce were a bit bland. The spicy sauce I accidentally had on the shrimp tacos on Saturday would have bumped these up at least a point. 7/10

Overall Taste - Follow a recipe and you'll do alright. Comes together nicely, could do with a bit more flavor but mass appeal is understandably the goal, so I can live with it. 7/10

Bonus Points - I gave them their lumps in Presentation, so nothing negative here, however it's a pretty standard fast food joint, so no positive either. +0

Overall Overall - 30/50

Had it not been for the order problem that would have been 33/50, putting them in a solid 4th.  Oh well, so goes the Tour de Fish Tacos. Side note, this is one of two places you can get fish tacos 24 hours a day, so that's something.

10 Barrel - Corpo "America" Tacos

A couple years back 10 Barrel was bought by Anheuser Busch. Pretty big bummer in the craft beer world. Bummer in Boise too, 10 Barrel has a very nice restaurant downtown. I had arbitrarily black balled them when the buyout happened, but it's just such a nice location that I can't leave it off the list. It didn't help that a former coworker in town for work requested we go there. Compromise; as long as they don't have "America" (article for head shaking reference) on the menu, they can stay. Capiche?

Presentation - I love this location. Right across from freak alley, great patio and indoor seating, lively section of downtown, really hard to beat. Easy points there. The tacos were no slouch either, simple plating but it works fine with the furniture and simple decor inside. The only gripe I have is being seated at a table with rather glaring sunshine right in my eyes. Wabi sabi I suppose. 4/5

Aroma - A bit on the sweet side, but a really nice balance of lime, fish, chipotle, and pineapple. Mild but well put together. 4/5

Value - The low point of this review. $13 for three tacos is expensive, at least in Boise. Maybe with another side (or another taco) it would work, but tacos and a soda shouldn't be pushing $20 with a tip. It's downtown, so I suppose there's a bit of a justification, but still below average. 4/10

Fish - Prior to this I don't believe I'd had rockfish. Grilled, which isn't ideal, but marinated and pan seared, both of which sound good. Turns out it's pretty similar to halibut and pretty damn tasty. The marinade was on point, the pan sear gave it just enough crispiness, and they used many small pieces of fish instead of one or two large pieces. All around solid, probably about as good as I can hope for grilled. 8/10

Not Fish - FLOUR TORTILLAS! WHY!?!?! Seriously, double corn or go home. They hold together better (these started falling apart after getting soggy from the salsa) and they're just the right choice. On the plus side, these were grilled (or they came from the same factory that makes grilled fritos with grill marks) which I suppose helps for reasons I can't explain. Luckily lots of other good stuff in there. Great salsa and coleslaw, one lime per taco, solid side (chips and salsa is surprisingly rare so far), and even the sweet pineapple worked well. 7/10

Overall Taste - These just came together. Maybe it was a factor of the really nice night, good conversation with a buddy, or some other mitigating factor, but I was really happy with these tacos. 8/10

Bonus Points - Nothing stands out, all around good but no outstanding items. +0

Overall Overall - 35/50

Tied for first, they'd be an easy front runner if the price was a bit lower. So close. I think I'm starting to show a bit of a center bias too, I'll work on that.

Chili's - Downed Bridges Be Damned

Here's a fun trivia question, can you name the restaurant on this list that Christine has worked at? As the title would suggest, the answer is Chili's, specifically the one on Broadway, which is the one we visited. I've been here more times than I can count but oddly enough, never had the fish tacos. The Broadway bridge is still down so traffic was a big pain, but when random.org commands, I follow without question. To Parkcenter we go!

The menu was promising, I'm a fan of tilapia and the toppings looked solid. I know there's an unwritten rule that you can swap sides if you want, but I elected to go with the recommended black beans and rice. It was also a bit temping to swap one of the tacos out for a spicy shrimp or prime rib taco, but alas, arbitrary rules are made to be followed. Or something like that.

Presentation - Clean restaurant, good booth setup, good kids meals, good service. The little taco holder was a nice touch too, made it so much easier to keep things contained and less messy. A bit light on the rice, but a lot of beans to make up for it. 4/5

Aroma - Pretty good, not quite enough lime, but otherwise on point. 4/5

Value - The tacos were unexpectedly large. The large serving of chips and guacamole that I had as an appetizer didn't help, but the meal was not small and I was full when finished. I didn't even finish off Christine's fries as is my usual custom. The server let us cheat a bit with our coupon too, making for an overall solid value, especially for a chain restaurant. 7/10

Fish - I'm a fan of tilapia, but these fell short a bit. More fishy than expected, though the seasoning was spot on. As usual I'd prefer fried, but these were among the better grilled fish tacos I've had. Solid serving sizes too, they don't skimp. 6/10

Not Fish - Flour tortillas, you know my feelings there, two corn or go home. Also no limes. On the up side, the slaw covered the cabbage requirement and there was a good sauce, although it wasn't explicitly mentioned on the menu. The avocado is a nice touch and the queso fresco, though unevenly distributed, was pretty solid. As mentioned earlier, good sides too. All around good. 7/10.

Overall Taste - To be honest, the sum of the parts fell a bit short. Not bad, but I feel like there's just a little something missing. 6/10

Bonus Points - All around good, but no standout to earn any bonuses. +0

Overall Overall - 34/50

Sliding into a close second. Some big hitters to come, but a good showing from the big guys.

Nato's - Happy Cinco de Mayo!

This one was a bit unexpected, but as we were in the area, we decided to knock another one off the list. I've never actually been to Nato's before, actually I don't even know how to pronounce the name. Nah-toes, Nay-toos, no idea. That said, 4 stars on Google, 3 on Yelp, nothing to shake a stick at.

The menu is a bit odd. Actually, the whole place is a bit odd. Potted plants hanging upside down from the ceiling, spicy carrots in the salsa bar, minimal staff, just all around weird. Nevertheless, prices aren't bad, they're in Boise, and they have fish tacos, so in we go.

Presentation - Very similar to Los Betos, rice, beans, and two tacos on a styrofoam plate. It actually seems a bit too similar to Los Betos, maybe an offshoot of some sort? Plastic silverware but a better seating area and a bit more of a counter service vibe. Service is not particularly quick but the food is fresh and appealing enough. 3/5

Aroma - Mild but appealing, a bit greasy. The fish is heavily breaded, which explains that well. 3/5

Value - Compared to Los Betos, it's quite the deal. $8.70 worth of food for $7.75! However, no drink included, which for a combo plate is strange. Luckily the burrito Christine got came with one. But no side. I'm confused too. All that said, not a bad deal. 6/10

Fish - As mentioned above, heavily breaded. Pretty standard white fish otherwise. The first taco was solid, despite the thick coating. The second was not great. Not sure if it was the extra breading at the ends or just a less than ideal cut of fish, but notably worse. Still not bad and fried as is God's will. 6/10

Not Fish - Two corn tortillas, pico, white sauce, very close to correct. Lettuce instead of cabbage and a bit oversauced. Nothing outstanding but all on par. Limes at the salsa bar alongside 3 types of salsa. Despite getting a couple small cups, I never got around to trying them. Or the spicy carrots. 6/10

Overall Taste - If it was just the first one it would have been higher. The fish on taco #2 dropped at least a point. Still above average. 6/10

Bonus Points - Good deal on kids meals, $1.99 for quesadillas. However, none of the plates but mine came with a side and no drink with my tacos or the girls meals. Not quite good enough to justify a bonus. +0

Overall Overall - 30/50

Not bad for an unknown, a reasonably strong 2nd at this point. I will say the rest of the menu was really intriguing and I'll probably end up going back to try some of the burritos. They also had a pretty high percentage of clientele of a presumably hispanic descent, which tends to be a sign of pretty authentic food. Hope they stick around for a bit.