I had dinner at this new (two month) eclectic taco bar on Saturday. It is is in the old Segafreddo location in the marketplace on Mills that abuts Virginia. Next to Brass Tap. It is what you'd expect from a played out genre. Now we are past the "authentic" phase and into the "gimmick" phase. They are trying to concoct "funky" taco combinations. The problem is that anything really creative probably would be a step to far for most customers. I would suggest (since they seem to be aping white trash culture) squirrel or frogs leg or gator or turducken tacos. But who (besides me) would be interested in trying that kind of cousin lovin' fare? More than once? What they do have is a little dull. They lead with a cheeseburger taco that isn't ground beef but cheeseburger pieces. I didn't try it because it sounds kind of stupid. I did force myself to try a KFT Taco for $4. It was a combo of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and cole slaw. I liked it. The chicken (slice of white meat) was moist and well crisped. The slaw was good. The mash was a little lost. The taco was huge. But, this was the safest one. And I like weird. Will others? I also had two things from the appetizer part of the menu. A pretty good BLT Tostada for $6 and a plate of meatballs for $6. Once again, both portion sizes were large. The tostada was more like a huarache. They piled four and a half slabs of pork belly on it. The belly was overcooked for a gourmet, but, most people would probably prefer that it not be as soft and fatty. I think they deep fried theirs. It was a little dry and very crisp. A little too manhandled to rate as a triumph from a culinary perspective. But, I'd eat it like a dog eats pig's ears all day long. The meatballs were the worst of the three. Three medium size meatballs that were a bit too much on the Italian side for a purported taco bar. They had alot of bread crumb in the recipe and they fried them Italian style. They were served in a red sauce. It didn't help that they served all three dishes at once on a wintery might when they had the doors and walls open. All the dishes got cold quickly. The meatballs suffered the most. Though I did grab a bite of each once they were set down and still hot. The rest of menu was pretty forgettable since it appears I can't really remember anything from it other than nachos and an out of place beef short rib. I would have ordered that, but, I felt I owed it to you to try the taco type stuff since the place says it is a taco kitchen.
They didn't do much to the bones of the place. They changed the iconography and the murals. Now we have murals of American historical figures. Although, they do the whole "every group gets a shout out" cultural/historical equivalency PC thing. The roof deck is still open. They still have a bar downstairs. They have those tailgating games outside, It seats about ninety. It was about one quarter full. Service was polite.
I like how they are attacking an over saturated market, but, I don't see why they felt the need to. Are there no other lands to conquer? Why is humanity always fighting over the same turf. Go out and chart a new course. Or wait until the other combatants have cleared the field. There really was no need for another taco joint. It's hardly rebellious to follow the crowd. More like stupid. Maybe it should have benn called Four Rebos (I can't remember why, but, I remember they used to call retards rebos in my elementary school)?
*A little side question: why does Kirstin Delgado sound like she learned to speak at the Trisha Takanawa (Family Guy) School of Elocution? I swear a producer scolded her once for speaking to Hispanicly and this is her passive aggressive response. A bunch of girls speak this way on that news channel. I wonder if the producer is some old timer that thinks this is how news people should talk? Can some one at the station pull an "WNBC"-like insurrection at some point?
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