Monthly Feature
A warm welcome to our new Junkie! Fatty brings you his first review from the world of fast food!

Eighteen years ago I recall my friend’s and I all let out a collective groan.  Our favorite late-night eatery, Two Pesos, was selling their locations to Taco Cabana after The Supreme Court no less, ruled that Two Pesos had essentially stolen Taco Cabana’s business plan.  As Houstonians, we never cared about the chicken or the egg argument.  We just knew that Two Pesos was here first and we felt that they had the superior product.  Still, we were college kids who still loved the concept of 24 hour Tex Mex on a budget, so we adopted Taco Cabana, at first in a similar fashion to a red-headed step child.

Time heals all wounds, and we eventually came around to liking the food in all of its glory.  There was many a morning where the Fajita and egg platter was must-have food.  And I have long said, to many raised eyebrows, that I think Taco Cabana’s nachos, in any iteration, are the best in town.  (What can I say?  I love the “everything and the kitchen sink” approach they employ.)  For the most part, Taco Cabana serves some damn decent bargain-priced Tex Mex.

So you can imagine I was more than happy to oblige when my first food review assignment was going to be a new item at TC.

That new item is the Grilled Ajo Chicken Street Tacos ($3.99).  They include all white-meat chicken marinated with roasted garlic, onions and rich red peppers, served with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and topped with a creamy chipotle sauce. Apparently, the inspiration for the traditional-style street tacos – small tacos, served three to an order, each served in two corn tortillas – came after they sent a culinary team to Guadalajara, Mexico. I have never been to Guadelajara, so I can’t say this with absolute certainty, but I’d be willing to bet a few grand that the ones there don’t come with lettuce and tomato or a creamy chipotle sauce.

The nutritional value wasn’t “too” bad (470 calories; 22 grams of fat), but I’d go light on the sodium for the rest of the day, as this has nearly half of your daily allowance.  Overall though, these are decent numbers for a drive-thru lunch.  But on to the ultimate question:  How were they?

They were actually pretty good, albeit no “wow” factor.  I ate the first one as it was served, and felt it needed a little doctoring up.  The second two were eaten with cilantro, onion and pico de gallo from the salsa bar and I felt those extras enhanced the taste of the tacos.  But to fans of www.ihatecilantro.com, you might want to dress it up differently.  One other thing is that they weren’t a full meal, unless you’re the daintiest of eaters.  I added a beef taco to my order and still left feeling a little hungry.  My advice is to go with a friend and split this as an appetizer, or simply order additional items.  You’re going to want them.

One of the pleasant surprises was the ranch salsa at the condiment bar.  I’ve never been impressed with the salsas at TC.  They have always tasted bland and uninspired, but this was some pretty decent stuff.  My advice is to get the street tacos along with a small order of nachos, grab whatever amuses you at the salsa bar, and perhaps even a margarita.  Viva la Taco Cabana.

*Editor’s note: Representatives of Taco Cabana sent The Mighty Rib some coupons to try out the new street tacos.