What Time is it? Taco Time!

Place: Taco Time
Address: 4114 NE 4th St, Renton

What we ordered:

Left, front to back: Crisp Beef, Crisp Chicken, Kiara's Special
Right, front to back: Baja Chicken, Fish taco

Presentation: Standard "fast food", with each item individually wrapped.  Upon first glance, it looks like a sizeable amount of paper and plastic waste, but greenies will be pleased to know that everything on this tray is compostable!




Ease of consumption:
Immediately upon take off the wrapping, about half the innards of the Baja Taco fell out.  The fish taco stayed together nicely, and the crisp tacos were easy to keep together for seasoned taco eaters, even the toddler knows to tilt his head to the side to keep the taco intact.

Taste and Texture (by Chad):
Crisp Beef Taco - Taco Time beef is really good. It sticks together like sand castle mud. Yum! The seasoning is pretty tasty, although mostly salty. I've never had a stale crispy taco at TT, so it's good they avoided this fatal flaw. Other taco joints, you're on notice!

Crisp Chicken Taco - The same, although we had them add ranch to this taco (as well as the beef one). The chicken is juicy, although ranch makes the taco soggy if you don't scarf it right away. Not a problem for yours truly, but we shared this one, so it was a little soggy by the last bite.

Kiara's Special Taco - One crisp beef taco, minus EVERYTHING! Substitute beans, rice, ranch, and jack cheese. I've learned to order this like an expert, especially since Kiara's been pregnant! They still seem to mess it up every other time though. The best part about Kiara's Special Taco is that you could drive a truck over it and it still holds together. I'm pretty sure Kiara's title at TT was "taco engineer." The flavor is a little bland without hot sauce and jalapenos, but that's what those two sides are for, right?  (Kiara eats it with just jalapenos)

Baja Beef Taco - What a mess. The beef is good, but the two corn tortillas flopped all over the place and my ingredients ended up more on the table than in my mouth. This is TT's health food taco, they don't come with cheese and the corn tortillas are better for you. What it lacks in ingredients, it also lacks a little bit in deliciousness.

Fish Taco - This is probably my favorite Taco Time item. A soft flour tortilla holding white fish sauce, chopped veggies, pico, and crispy fish. This isn't the light battered stuff usually found in fish tacos. Think Skippers or Ivars. A hearty taco!

Toddler's Review:  He likes all of these tacos, except the Baja.  He tends to have a preference towards crispy tacos, much like his mama.

Satisfaction Level an Hour Later:
Still full, no need for a snack!

Options for Kids:
Taco Time has several kids meals to choose from, with smaller versions of the regular menu items, and of course standard fare for the wee ones: quesadillas. 

Notes:
Taco Time is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

Beware that not all Taco Times are created equal.  Some are overseen by the head corporate office, some are franchises and tend to have items that stray from the standard ingredients at the corporate stores (At one franchised location, Kiara had rice with little chunks of celery in it, paired with pinto beans covered in black pepper, ick!).

Taco Time NW does not advertise catering on their website, but this summer they've had a taco truck roaming around to community events giving out tacos for free!  And, once upon time, Kiara attended a wedding of two Taco Time employees, and there was definitely Taco Time served as part of the buffet!

 

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My Conversion-His Story

Taco Time, Taco del Mar, Tacos Guaymas, Taco Bell. In 2006, I was apalled by the mere mention of these taco variations, or indifferent at best. Yes, I would have preferred something that didn't start with "t" and end with "aco."

And then I met Kiara, a Taco Princess. She moved my heart, but also my gullet toward this plebian latin sandwichesque creation. Sure, I knew what a taco was, but I had no idea that a Taco could be so delicious, so convenient, and yes, even so creative.

Many of my coworkers, family, and friends, know me as an informal and aspiring culinary student. Although my achievements manifest themselves in the form of workplace and friendly chili cookoff wins, smiles, yums, and the discerning nods of a 2.5 year old--I sure pretend I'm on Iron Chef or Chopped.

I love it when chefs, professional or not, put their personality into, a... well, pot! Or saute' pan, smoker, oven, etc. Tacos provide the opportunity to exercise many stages of cooking; the scope extends well beyond putting together a cold sandwich.

When my family and I embark on this exciting adventure, I plan on adding not only my commentary on what it tastes like, but why it tastes a certain way. Tacos can be traditional, fusion, contemporary. Exploring the background behind what ends up on your plate or a convenient taco stand (see fig.1) can make the experience that much sweeter, spicier, or savorierer. :)

fig. 1

So without much further ado, although much ado has already been furthered, I can't wait to share with all of you how we eat tacos, why we eat tacos, and why it's important to all of us to put something as simple as tortillas and stuff up on a pedestal.

My Conversion-Her Story

I am a taco freak.  Yes, I love Indian cuisine, and sushi, but tacos are my go-to food at any time of the day.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night snack, a taco does the trick.  As I am nearing the end of the first trimester of this pregnancy, I dare not look back and count the number of tacos I’ve consumed over the past few months, nor the amount of money spent on said tacos. 

My passion for tacos began well before my pregnancy-hormone-induced-cravings began, fifteen years ago.  Uncultured and fifteen years old, I got my first job at a restaurant that, up until I started working there, I actually didn’t like very much: Taco Time (as my friends and I call it, TT).  My dislike quickly turned to infatuation, as I got to experiment with different ingredient combinations.  To this day, I still order my ‘special taco’, the ultimate of all TT taco creations.  I hope someday they make it an actual menu item so I don’t have to irritate the cashiers for the next sixty years of my life (yes I will still be frequenting TT when I am ninety).

We are starting this blog as a means to push ourselves to expand our taco horizons outside of chain restaurants, and onward to taco trucks and mom and pop taco establishments.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, the number of places to get a taco is probably in the thousands, so we’d better get started!

If you share our love of all things taco, follow us on this journey of eating our way through the northwest, three tacos and a bottle of hot sauce at a time. Follow on Google Friend Connect, over there to the left, and on Facebook.