El Habanero - I Love Surprises

We're getting down to the tail end of this thing. 11 left as of last count, 3 of whom may or may not actually have fish tacos on the menu. So I don't expect too many major shakeups on the rankings, but surprises do happen. Today was a good one, with a stop at El Habanero for lunch.

Presentation - The truck is usually in the parking lot over at the old Eddy's bakery on Five Mile. As far as ambiance, um, it's a food truck. You order through a window, push money through said window, and receive food from the same window. Kind of magic if you really think about it. Like a fish taco wishing well. Or something... Anyway, they gave us our order on real plates which was nice. Fancy for a food truck. 3/5

Aroma - Well rounded. Nothing really stood out, but it blended quite well. Just a bit of spice from the sauce. 4/5

Value - Hard to beat here. $2.25 a piece, and I didn't see the price on sodas but it was a buck or less. The total price for lunch for two with sodas was less than just one plate of tacos at Matador, and it's hard to tell from the picture, but those tacos are grande. No side needed. 8/10

Fish - No flaws that I could find. Fried, ample amounts, not sure exactly what it was but it was really mild. Nothing that made it stand out, batter was great and not too greasy, flavor blended nicely overall. 7/10

Not Fish - High point here. They start with the traditional recipe of 2 corn tortillas, cabbage, pico, and lime. Then they add avocado, jack and cotija cheese, and a really good sauce, I believe chipotle. Tortillas were lightly fried, not greasy. Portions were about perfect. Everything was fresh tasting. Just about perfect, I can't think of a way to top it. 10/10

Overall Taste - Man these were good. I had 3, which was a filling lunch. I believe they could be very slightly improved with a bit more seasoning or flavor to the fish. That'd be tricky though, personally I'd recommend they leave as is, very close to perfect. 8/10

Bonus Points - Almost a negative because I tried to go on May 5th, but the truck wasn't there. May 5th. Cinco de Mayo. Doubleyou tee effo? I'll let it slide though. +0

Overall Overall - 40/50

New tie for second place. Damn near a new tie for first place. And both cheap and close to work. I can get behind all of that. 10 to go!

The Matador - Not That Matador

There's a mexican restaurant in Fort Collins, CO called Matador. I love that restaurant with my whole heart. This is not that Matador. Oddly enough this is part of a small chain that has a restaurant called The Matador in Fort Collins. But still not that Matador. Confused yet? Don't worry, this one is just The Matador in downtown Boise.

I forgot to get a picture on the way in.

And on the way out.

Whoops.

Presentation - The restaurants on 8th street tend to be nice, and this is no exception. Nice clean decor, well laid out, and surprisingly kid friendly. We got a booth that both trapped the girls from getting in the way of servers and gave them ample room to goof around a bit. Service was good, they don't have a physical kids menu but offer kids sized portions of the staples, my only real gripe was they ran out of calamari. The plating was plain but fine. Good all around. 4/5

Aroma - About as good as I've experienced thus far, just a wonderful blend of chile, citrus, and garlic. Top of the heap. 5/5

Value - These are getting harder to judge. Two tacos with rice and beans for $14.50 is steep. Portions were large, so that helped, but still below average. 4/10

Fish - Chile rubbed, so pretty heavily seasoned. Or rather, perfectly seasoned. So good. Unique in that it was essentially one large piece per taco. Dead on all around, grilled fish doesn't get much better than this. 8/10

Not Fish - A good blend of unique (green chile sauce and garlic crema) and standard (cabbage and pico). They let you pick the tortilla type, though corn only comes with one per taco. No limes. Sides were decent enough. 7/10

Overall Taste - I wish there were three. They were super good. 8/10

Bonus Points - Kids meals, lack of menu and all, were great. Well above the normal fare we've come to expect, I stole a good 1/3 of Addie's burrito. I told Christine that if they were $6 or less they'd get a point (we weren't sure what they cost, see the lack of menu comment). The check came, $6 each. +1

Overall Overall - 37/50

Tied for 4th with Fresh Off The Hook and Tin Roof. Worth a trip. Half price fancy tequila on Tuesdays too! Ole!

Tap & Cask - Breastaurants LOL

As usual, some administrative detail up front. The menu at Barrelhouse (formerly a Crooked Stave property) has changed, no more fish tacos. Off the list they go! Additionally I checked with Fork as that was the first choice for the night. Their menu indicates a rotating protein in their street tacos, but the person I talked to said no fish. Or at least rarely fish. So I'm bumping them too. Down to a dozen left after tonight!

To the task at hand, Tap & Cask! This was a recent addition to the list, added after they took over the former Tilted Kilt location. Tilted kilt is similar to Twin Peaks, employing a certain kind of server, usually in ill fitting clothing. Tap & Cask seems to have done away with that, the servers were just...servers. There are some left over Tilted Kilt signs and whatnot, but it seems like they've put a decent enough effort into renovating the place. I feel like they want to be the local beer bar, and they made a decent attempt, but it doesn't seem like they're pushing quite enough through the lines to pull the super rare and desirable stuff. Their beer menu reminds me of Yardhouse, large but run of the mill without any standouts. But that's not why we're here.

Presentation - Awkwardly unused tap setup aside, the interior was nice enough. It kind of resembles a large barrel, which I can dig. Service was good with a very attentive server that never let a glass go dry and allowed me to get 1 blackened and 2 fried tacos so I could try both. They have a patio, which for some reason was occupied on this rather cold May day, and they didn't keep the door closed which was annoying. Minor ding for that. Presentation of the tacos was normal, not special. All around slightly above average. 3/5

Aroma - The chipotle cream and pico jived well. Good. That's all. 4/5

Value - I actually bumped this two points after eating. 3 tacos and a side for $10.95 is not bad, but not outstanding. However, it left me stuffed. They didn't skimp, especially with the fish. Good deal. 7/10

Fish - Pretty solid on both fronts. The fried was a bit lacking in a unique flavor and perhaps a bit salty, but still good. The blackened had a nice spice to it, didn't quite overtake the fried in tastiness, but put up a good fight. Can't go wrong with either choice, and you'll get plenty either way. I'd wager the volume of fish is larger than that of not fish. 7/10

Not Fish - I'll start with the bad; the side of rice and beans was super meh. Not bad, just super forgettable. I wish they offered a choice or something. Also flour tortillas, which are obviously not my favorite. However the filling was solid, chipotle sauce is a good choice with an appropriate amount of spice and the pico was fresh and tasty. Slaw was a tad sweet. 5/10

Overall Taste - Minor shortcomings aside I liked these. 7/10

Bonus Points - Solid enough kids meals but not an exceptional deal. Nothing quite worth of a point. +0

Overall Overall - 33/50

Tied up with the last stop, Lucky Fins, oddly enough. 21/42 so far, dead middle of the pack. Want tacos and on Broadway? Worth a stop. On we go!