#35 Another Taco Joint

Rusty Taco

Plano, TX

Rusty’s opened a couple of months ago near my house. Do we really need another taco joint in the neighborhood? According to the daily swarms, the answer is YES!

I have to admit that I was reluctant to visit. When I think of rusty, I think of tetanus shot. Who wants to think about tetanus in conjunction with their gastronomical experiences?

To be fair to Torchy’s, I also visited Rusty’s on three separate occasions. My son thinks Torchy’s is better, but that’s only because of their special soda machine. Given the large surrounding residential population and abundance of retail stores, as well as their 5 mile proximity, I don’t think they are in direct competition with one another. Their menu offerings are also different.

Torchy’s has an edge in terms of marketing (catchy names like The Republican or The Democrat, as well as a Devil icon as a logo), but Rusty’s is cheaper and has friendlier service.

On my three visits, I sampled the chipotle black bean taco, the fish taco, the fajita chicken taco and a breakfast taco with eggs, cheese and chorizo. All were good and priced at $2. Hands down the best is the black bean taco sprinkled with cojita cheese and pico de gallo salsa. The chipotle flavor was pronounced, but not overpowering. My egg taco had cheap cheddar cheese—not the best choice to balance the dominant chorizo flavor.

There’s a margarita machine that boasts $5 margs made with cheap tequila. I haven’t been brave enough to try one. Cheap tequila today produces powerful headache tomorrow. Guac is nothing to write home about, but it was edible.

Best part—kitchen is open and you can see the folks make your food. This ensures that no one is spitting in your food or putting rust granules in your tortillas. Thus tetanus is avoided.

#33 So NOT a chain

Paco & John Mexican Diner
Ft. Worth, TX

It's becoming more and more difficult to find a non-chain Mexican restaurant. Even the family-owned restaurants open multiple locations. As a friend reminded me, there's a reason for that. Usually it is because the restaurant has a good business model (good food, service, atmosphere, etc). My friend who introduced me to the Revolver Taco Lounge suggested Paco & John's. A casual breakfast and lunch place started by two friends, the menu offered some different options like roasted chicken torta and red snapper tacos.

The special soup of the day was carrot and anise. That sounded too interesting to pass up. It was the most brilliant buttercup yellow. No way plain 'ol orange carrots made that color. I didn't taste anise as in the fennel bulb, licorice-flavor. The taste was much more subtle. I asked the server who revealed that the hidden secret was STAR ANISE. Star fruit. What an unusual and delightful combination.

I then ordered one veggie taco and one snapper taco. The corn tortillas were fresh and didn't fall apart like the store-bought brands. I'm usually disappointed with veggie tacos, which sometimes feature the fajita left-overs (onions, peppers and an anemic looking squash parts). These veggie tacos included the requisite zucc & squash of the non-anemic variety, corn, mushrooms and spinach. Light on seasoning--heavy on freshness. Spicy green tomatillo sauce and guacamole added the perfect finish. The snapper was light, delicate, fresh and flaky. Snapper can be tricky. If it's old or overcooked, it's tasteless. I'm  tired of tilapia tacos and refuse to eat catfish (which eat toxic river sludge), so yea! to snapper. Hope it doesn't make its way into the overfished category anytime soon.

Friendly service and reasonable prices.

#34 Swoon 2 or Blood Sugar High?

  Los Cucos
Dallas Parkway
Plano, TX

I pass by this restaurant 3x/week going 70 on the Tollway. It never caught my attention. Who wants to go to the restaurant called THE CUCKOOS? I equate cuckoo with dodo and look what happened to that species.

Also as much as I pretend, I'm not immune to popular culture.  ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST had a profound, harrowing and lasting impression on me. Not a good reference when embarking on a culinary experience.

Had to drive the son for a weigh-in last Friday night. He spent 3 weeks eating only lean meat, veggies, fruit and non-fat dairy to make weight. Since I am the chef of the household, I ate that too. Both of us needed an intense infusion of Mexican.

Given those circumstances, I'm not sure either of us can be particularly objective. We were both ravenous and majorly craving salt, guac and cheese. Despite my initial misgivings about the name and number of locations--HEY! Next time you visit Salt Flats Utah, you can eat Los Cucos, I was pleasantly surprised. While it didn't match my Benitos SWOON, I was elated to get my blood sugar up to normal levels.

Reasons to visit Los Cucos:
1. MOLE!!!
2. MOLE!!! Not as good as Benitos, but rich and chocolatey, slightly sweet. Not  enough chilies or complexity for me.
3. SPECIAL ORDER--they made spinach enchiladas w/ mole just for me. KUDOS for special order accommodation.
4. SALSA--not just any salsa--warm roasted chili salsa. I wanted to drink it by the glass. Also they had a special tomatillo salsa with cilantro, jalapeno, dollop of sour cream and the secret ingredient--AVOCADO. It was spicy, creamy and flavorful. Unlike anything else I've tasted. Hubby commented--this is the only guac I've EVER liked. Even though it wasn't guac, that's saying something.
5. Beef fajitas--marinated, tender, spicy flank steak. Had a taste--melt in your mouth. Unlike the norm dry tough beef usually served with Mexican fare.
6. Fish Tacos--Ummm. flaky, fresh, grilled. Not overly spiced.
7. MARIACHI BAND--somehow I missed this. They were in the other dining room.
8. Friendly attentive service.

Reasons to stay away:
1. Bad halloween decorations
2. Scary goldfish bowl sized margaritas with beer chasers (I'm guessing this will be an enticement to some)

#32 Swoon

Benitos (no website)
Ft. Worth

My friend who runs the Ft. Worth Contemporary Gallery at TCU recommended Benitos. We received such a warm welcome when we arrived. Our server greeted us at the door and quickly ushered us to a table. She was very attentive and friendly.

The menu is quite extensive with fish and meat dishes, but once I saw that there was MOLE sauce, I couldn't entertain any other option.

Chips--light and salty, just the way I like them.

Salsa--served a homemade pica de gallo salsa and another spicier one with roasted tomatoes and chilis. Another complaint I've had about many of the restaurants is how thin the salsa is. This salsa was thick with chunks of veggies and herbs. The flavor was complex with an after-kick of spiciness. Hands down the best salsa I've had ANYWHERE. I could have drank it down like gazpacho.

Guac--Fresh. As my son would say, its too avocadoey. But isn't that the point? I like a little spice and lime in my guac, but I'd sooner trade the lime and spice for really fresh avocados. I solved my problem by drizzling the smoky salsa on my guac.

table cloth pattern

Tortilla Soup--we received a complimentary bowl of tortilla soup with our meal. It was tomato-based. I liked the flavor of the broth, but prefer chicken stock with no tomato.

Mole--I special ordered a plate with one green mole sauce enchilada and one red sauce enchilada. I ordered spinach, but got chicken instead. I was in such a swoon over the red mole sauce that I didn't care. I've only seen mole at a handful of restaurants. I've sampled it at La Cocina & Mattitos. (both places made special orders for me with spinach enchiladas). This mole sauce is Hands Down the BEST I've had since I've been in Texas. My complaint at other places is that the mole isn't rich enough--not enough chocolate or chilis. It reminded me of the mole I learned to make while living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico one summer. The green mole tasted like a tomatillo sauce.

They even made me a special margarita with Don Julio tequila. I requested one that had mild taste with pronounced lime flavor.

My mole-induced swoon lasted the whole way home. My son was very upset that I went to a Mexican food restaurant without him. So I've promised to go back and eat MORE MOLE this time with spinach.

#31 On A Tortilla Roll

Desperados
Dallas, TX

I've been away for the past 8 weeks with little to no Mexican food (except for my own recipes--watermelon gazpacho, huevos rancheros & tortilla pie. I even attempted a flan this summer)

I returned with a renewed dedication in finding the best of the best. So in one week we went out three times. All my friends know about my blog, and most are happy to indulge my whims when we go out. Thursday I visited a friend who teaches painting at SMU. We went to Desperados on Greenville Avenue. Family owned and run since 1976, the restaurant caterers to the sports teams Mavericks, Rangers, Cowboys and even for the Super Bowl. They've won awards for their ceviche, guac, steak and taco dishes.


The outside looks a bit like the Alamo. Inside is "bandit kitsch" with guns on the walls and Warholian-esque paintings of Mexican desperados. We sat next to the fireplace that was filled with sparkling cut glass. There was a lot to look at.


Foodwise:
Guac--creamy and fresh with diced tomatoes. It was missing subtle spices and lime for a more complex flavor

Salsa--good flavor with pronounced chilis. They sell this in jars with no preservatives added. It was a bit on the thin side.

Chicken fajitas--My friend said they were ok. Good quality chicken breast--tender and juicy, but missing spices.

Ceviche--EXCELLENT. Fresh chunks of fish served with lime, tomato juice and lots of jalapeno and cilantro.

We both agreed that we would go back. The menu was extensive and service was friendly.

#30 Torchy's Tacos

 Torchy's Tacos
Plano, TX (with locations in Dallas & Austin)

Torchy's opened up in my neighborhood in the late spring. Over the summer, it seems that they are popping up everywhere.

Visit 1: underwhelming. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Taco a.k.a. Mr. Pink. Mr. Pink was not pink enough for my tastes and was a bit too sinewy for tuna. I ordered a side of guac and the black bean and cheese burrito for my son. Since there was only one size of guac, we had a huge portion. We were also charged the same price as a meat burrito. The manager came over and asked us how we enjoyed our visit. I told him about my concerns and he gave us a coupon for a free taco on our next visit and refunded some money for the burrito discrepancy.

Visit 2: I ordered the salmon taco a.k.a. Mr. Orange and Cole ordered the barbacoa a.k.a. The Democrat. His meat was tender and well seasoned. Mr. orange was orange enough, but the spices overwhelmed the fish flavor.

Visit 3: Our best visit yet. I order The Independent which was a portabello, bean, corn, carrots and avocado taco with ancho aioli sauce. It was delicious. The sauce did not overpower, but gave the veggies a nice creamy chili flavor. Cole ordered the bean and cheese burrito again. They messed it up--co-mingling other items in his burrito. The manager told us to order the bean and cheese taco for $2.50 vs $7.50 burrito, so he could enjoy an economical, pure food experience of JUST beans and cheese. She refunded us the
price difference.

The place has been packed with huge lines the last two times I've been. It definitely has the fun factor working for it with loud music, catchy graphics and interesting food combinations. The current taco of the month is a scallywag--coconut fried shrimp w/ bacon, chilis, cheese, onions & habanero peach jam.

Most impressive for Cole is the Main Root handcrafted soda fountain. We haven't seen one of those in our excursions. Despite our food mishaps, the service has been friendly and the staff has been quick to rectify our complaints. We haven't tried their breakfast tacos yet. That's for our next visit.

#29 After a Brief Hiatus

 Anamia's
Plano, TX

The Ortiz family recently opened their 4th restaurant in the DFW area. Their newest location is in Plano. Anamia's name derives from Ortiz's wife Ana and daughter Mia. Since it's opening, the restaurant has been hopping. I'm always happy to patronize family-owned restaurants. This one feels less like a family restaurant and more like a swanky franchise. The decor is upscale contemporary with comfy leather banquettes that encourage lounging or making out if one is pre-disposed to PDA. Since I was with my son, I could not take advantage of this benefit. Cool lighting and art add to the ambience.

I enjoyed the art and comfy chairs more than my meal.

Highlights:
*Lunch special prices--under $10
* Refried beans had a nice smoky flavor and didn't seem overloaded with lard
*My son's beef fajitas were tender and flavorful--good quality meat.
*Excellent, friendly, quick service. Ivan G was our waiter--very attentive without hovering.




Areas for Improvement:
*Salsa tasted like ketchup with a kick. Overpowering tomato with little to no complexity in flavor.
*Our fault for not getting table-side guac. The side order of guac was creamy, but had a strong
acidic aftertaste, like the lemon had been out too long.
*Tortilla soup--too salty. I love salt, so it was fine for me, but probably not for most palettes. The broth was well-seasoned with nice juicy chunks of chicken.

ceramic wall sculpture outside the bathrooms

I would go back for the atmosphere and to try the fish tacos. Also how can you not like a place that has a painting of Frida Kahlo entitled Frida Margarita?