To get you in the right mindset for our taco tasting, I recommend you watch this video from Peelander Z - because this is EXACTLY how our evening felt: http://youtu.be/9EvhRaqzMPY.
(OK - for those of you that watched that video - A: you're awesome. B: Peelander Z is amazing, C: all those taco places are in Austin, TX! Which is where I live now. And also, yes we had human-sized squid bowling at our tasting too... the photos just didn't quite turn out.)
AHEM! Back to business. We each picked up a chicken taco (the simplest house special) from a local Twin Cities eatery. Obviously, we couldn't represent ALL the delicious tacos available in the TC and there are many renowned tacos left off this list, but I think overall, we had a really good sampling of styles. Here's where our eatins came from:
- El Toro- St. Paul (Plato & Robert)
- El Taco Riendo - Northeast Minneapolis
- Adelita's Mexican Restaurant - Northeast Minneapolis
- Rusty Taco (inappropriate giggling!) - St. Paul (Lexington/Randolph)... we tried both the fried and fajita
- La Loma - Minneapolis (South Minneapolis and Midtown Global Market)
- Los Ocampo - Minneapolis and St. Paul locations
- Chipotle - Across the U.S.!
We soon discovered that we all had strong opinions on the style (chunky or shredded?) of the chicken, the overall flavor/spices, and the amount and quality of the toppings. Turns out that Shalee will actually get hostile with you if you try to serve her chunky chicken in her taco, Amanda's spice-o-meter is set inarguably on the green side of mild, and Vanessa is surprisingly generous in her scoring if your establishment happens to have a hilarious name. We also rated on price, tortilla, and appearance.
Let's start with the disappointments and work up to the winners. Adelita's, Rusty's, and La Loma were pretty lame compared to the other four joints. Adelita's had greasy little chicken chunks with very little flavor and no toppings, Rusty's had great design but the taste didn't pack a punch (though we did all agree that Rusty's might have been tastier if eaten right after serving), and La Loma suffered from a similar weird greasy/boring chicken disorder as Adelita's and took FOREVER for the shop to make. Seriously - like 30 minutes for two tacos and some black beans.
El Toro did pretty well... the chicken was shredded and it came with lots of yummy toppings (+ cheese, although for the record, Ameigh and Amanda weren't impressed with the topping quality) and an agreeable four tortilla. Plus, these puppies were affordable--only $1.70 each! A solid 4th place finish.
Our top three were El Taco Riendo, Los Ocampo and Chipotle. El Taco Riendo was beautifully served (so colorful!), and though the chicken was chunky - it was mega-flavorful. These tacos were loaded with toppings and served in a double-corn-tortilla shell which held together really nicely. Although Amanda's lips were burning and Ameigh thought the flavor was good but a bit overpowered by the spice, El Taco Riendo earned PERFECT SCORES in flavor from the other three tasters (wow!) and top marks overall from Ameigh and Vanessa.
Los Ocampo was also a beauty (pictured above) - bright orange shredded chicken, which really stood out from the pack. This one was WAY too spicy for a couple folks on the team and could've used more toppings, but earned top marks overall from Shalee and me!
Everyone loves Chipotle, and I'm a HUGE fan of their chicken tacos (although I'm sure when she read this, Shalee puked in her mouth a little)... and they did really well in our taste test (maybe the first of our corporate entries to grace the top 3?). Their strength is definitely in the toppings (no duh) and they earned Amanda's top score by a long shot. Plus, these tacos were ENORMOUS and quite affordable (breaks down to $2.05/taco), though I don't love that you have to order 3. Why can't I just get one taco, Chipotle?
After a lot of math, we discovered that the overall winner is..... El Taco Riendo! The City Pages named them as best Taco in the Twin Cities, and the Twin Cities Taste Buds agree... these tacos are delicious! Ameigh - please give Pat his Corona back.
BUT the real winner on taco tasting night was the five of us. It was SO FUN to be together, to talk excitedly about what an amazing Mom Ameigh is about to be, to laugh at Shalee laughing at Vanessa, and to share a couple more hours appreciating how full and wonderful life is when it's filled with good friends. I'm back in Austin as I write this, but my heart is and always will be with y'all. AND - I have to say - Austin has KILLER tacos and I'm sure this city needs SOMEONE to tell them which are the best. Whaddya say?
See you again soon, friends! (Next up: CHEESECAKE)
