Food for Thought: Tacos

Fly Fish Taco from the Taco Shack

The number of taco joints and taco offerings on restaurant menus have grown exponentially. It's just not about Taco Tuesday anymore.  My husband is a sucker for a fish taco which at once hard to find now seems to be ubiquitous. He fell in love with them about 20 years ago in San Diego.  I won't always fall for the taco, but there are a few place worth checking out in the central Florida area.  All of these aren't fancy places, but the food is sure to rock your palate! There also all budget friendly.

Where has this sauce
been all my life?

3.  Tako Cheena:  Asian-Latin fusion here.   Although there are other items on the menu, I've only had the tacos here.  Some of the tacos can be made vegan or veggie for that special someone in your life.  (I made the mistake of taking my vegetarian daughter to Orlando Meats for lunch last week.  I still haven't recovered from the trauma.)  What I like most about the tacos here are the flavors hailing from all over Asia--China, Japan,Thai, Korean, Indian Curry...etc. They are unique and done well. My favorite is the panko crusted cod.

2.  Gringos Locos  You can fulfill your taco hunger until 3 am here.  Honestly that's not an hour I see unless I am getting up that early and frankly its too early for breakfast tacos for me. I prefer going to lunch here. I do love their more traditional offerings, but what makes them a stand out is the crispness of their tortillas of a crisp taco.  Also their meats-roasted pork and chicken are simply well made. Their salsas are amazing too. Although there are fish tacos on the menu, I went for the beef tacos and was full-filled!

1. The Taco Shack  It is literally a shack on the side of  the road in New Smyrna Beach. It is just the kind of place that you want to drop by on your way home from the beach.  There are some Puerto Rican influences here with Mofongo and Pastelon on the menu.   I enjoyed the Fly Fish taco.  What stood out for me were the chips. I haven't tasted any as good as these anywhere.  I try to avoid them, but they were well worth it..  I also ordered an empanadas.  I am a sucker for most hand pies from sweet to savoring and most cultures have some derivative of them.  These empanadas did not disappoint.  They even reheated well the next day. My vegetarian found plenty to eat from the menu here too.

Where is your favorite taco place?