Review: West Coast Tacos
Author: indianapoliseater | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: Indianapolis, IN
West Coast Tacos
All Over Indianapolis
http://thebestdamntacos.com/
Food trucks have become all the rage recently. So much so that Food Network is starting a show next month hosted by Tyler Florence where they have different food truck teams compete against each other for a prize.
In Indianapolis, the newest “hip” food truck craze is West Coast Tacos and they provide small, Korean style tacos at various locations throughout the city. West Coast Tacos locates themselves downtown for lunch and then in the Cardinal Fitness parking lot in Broad Ripple for the dinner and late night hours. I was in Broad Ripple this past Saturday, so I decided to give them a shot after reading all the praise for them. FYI, here are some reviews from Metromix, Indianapolis Amy, Nuvo and the Indianapolis Star.
What I Got: Three tacos (one steak, two chicken) for $5. They also offer the tacos individually for $2.
These tacos are made with soft tortilla shells that are roughly the size of your hand and each taco includes two shells. They are then filled with a freshly marinated and grilled meat (steak or chicken) and then topped with a homemade salsa.
When I received my tacos, I was shocked by how small they were. I knew they would not be huge based on everything that I read, but I was still surprised. They were so small that they took a maximum of four bites to finish.
Still, despite the size, they were tasty. The meat was flavorful and tender and while the overall size of the tacos may be small, the amount of toppings that they jam into them do not reflect that lack of size (even though you can still get them down in four bites), so that was nice. The salsa was homemade, VERY FRESH and had quite a spicy kick to it. Since I love hot foods, I loved this salsa. It had hints of cilantro, onions and garlic in it, so if you plan on going out after eating these tacos, you might want to have a breath mint nearby.
Would I Buy It Again? Well, this is a tough call. If I was looking for a drunk food at the end of the night or a light snack to have in between bars if I was hungry, then I would definitely buy this again. If I was looking to have this as my full meal for an evening, then I would not buy them again because it would take at least six of these to fill me up (at at least $10) and I honestly believe I could eat ten of these and not even feel full. That’s how disappointing the size was.
Even with that lukewarm review on the size, I would still recommend that everyone try these at least once. I don’t think that anyone will be disappointed by the taste, just maybe the size.
You can also find info on West Coast Tacos’ location, hours, etc. on both Facebook and Twitter.
-IndianapolisEater
Tags: Chicken, Food, food truck, Steak, Tacos, west coast tacos
I found their tacos to be HIGHLY overrated compared to some of the more authentic taco options that are abundant in this city.
I’m quite partial to Taco Veloz on W. Washington St. (couple blocks past Belmont heading west). Hell, most of the mexican restaurants I’ve been to have just as good of tacos.
My favorite facebook status update ever was simply “I love you, burrito truck.” Thanks for the review – I think at the very least, I’d like to try this out as a novelty. Places like this can hold special places in your food memories where the food isn’t really that great, but the good times that surround can inflate your impressions.
In NYC, on the other hand, you can get some truly great grub from food trucks. Particularly within a block or two of the Hilton on the Avenue of the Americas – nothing like seeing a line of thirty or forty people waiting to buy a plate of food from a street vendor.
Interesting. I have been wanting to try these, but as a vegetarian I wasn’t sure if there would be anything for me to try. Knowing it wasn’t a culinary masterpiece makes me a little less excited. I read a story about these guys on the IBJ and they said that they don’t have culinary background at all. I found that a little surprising. Marketing on a great concept, I suppose!
Nice work here. Being one of the first real truck vendors in the city, I think they will receive a lot of praise because a lot of people want to support this movement.
The size of the tacos look on par with what you would get at a legit taqueria for about $1.50-$1.75 a taco.
I am still looking forward to trying them…and supporting a couple guys who had an idea and had the balls to do it… they are hustling, that is for sure.
@wibia & BigRedEater: You are both right about me appreciating the fact that they were willing to try something new and different and that’s why I said everyone should try it, despite the fact that I think they are slighly overrated. If this is successful, more people will explore this business route and that can only be a good thing for the city and its culinary reputation.
Let me start by saying that I’ve been to West Coast Tacos 4-5 times and I really love their tacos. Fortunately for me, I guess, I’m not a very big eater so 3 of their tacos can leave me pretty satisfied. I really enjoy the seasonings on both their steak and chicken tacos.
I would really like to see some improvement on how quickly they get the tacos out to customers and see some more consistency on what time they open. My latest experience was this past Friday and according to twitter and facebook, they were going to open at 8pm. I showed up around 8:20 and they were not open yet, although a couple of guys in the truck appeared to be working hard a preparing food. When they did open (around 8:30) a pretty long line had formed. But it still took around 10 more minutes or so for the very first people in line to get their tacos after they ordered, and I think this kind of wait is unacceptable. When I think of a food truck, I think of quick service, so these WCT guys need to really work on this.
@Pat: Couldn’t agree more on speed of service. I was the third person in line (only the two guys in my picture were in front of me) and it took at least five minutes for me to get my tacos. Not a huge wait, but you’d figure since they have most of the ingredients prepped already, I would have gotten my food in about two minutes. I can see how this would be a huge issue during a busy time.
LOL. well maybe not. along time ago in a land far, far away, when i was in CA at at a SAC base, and we had several nuked up 52s on the ready pad… it takes alot of support to do that, by the way… training and maintenence, constant vigilance, really.. but… if some one said or hollered “roach coach” everybody that could be spared was out there in line…. yeah, you had the o club, or senior nco club, or the airmens club, and you did not enter unless invited. but when it came around, about 1000 or 1400 it was a__holes and elbows, to get that food. e1 to o5. it just tasted better. no alcohol. it was just nice, and you knew they did the best the could. hey wada expect from a 10 x 16 trailer. and it was not massed produced. gimme a wheat taco with pork, and a lime drink. we brought some back for those that had to remain on duty. but that was long ago… like hot dog stands… just saying…. real barbeque, or carnitas, or sasuage, or milk or even ketchup, or surgery, you probably dont wanna watch being made… my fav at home… quick.. brown some hamburger, pour the gresse off, add a can of chilles, (not jalepenos- chilles kids might be eating it) and a can of corn, drained. and chille powder or taco seasoning. add hot sauce, ( texas pete or crystal, keep it cheap) to your taste. roll in store bought flour tortias with cheap sour cream and letuce. is it authentic… no. but whats authentic…. feed your family for cheap. lobster used to be used as fertilizer. kinda like chicken wings. or ribs. so eat what you will on the cheap. I like oatmeal… now they are selling it at mcdonalds…
oh, and forgive my rant, would I buy it again? you bet. thanks for your blog and hard work.
woowee – tom robinson. damn.
three small tacos for $5 is reasonable enough to me (not that it is an exactly fair comparison, but look to someplace like flatwater or monon food co.)… the biggest problem for me is that West Coast Tacos makes me want to take it on my own self – as I’m confident in the tacos I can kick out and I’d do a few things differently. Still, I’m so glad to have seen their success… and they’re good dudes who deserve it (see – feeding the Salvation Army)
Cheers
I am thrilled to see food trucks make it to Indy and these guys are hard working. When I tried the tacos– they only had steak available. I really dig the sauce…good stuff. I heard they’re trying out a fish taco… And, they def deserve some props (IMO) for donating food & time to feeding the homeless. As for the size of the tacos– they’re pretty much the same size/similar $ as a few of the taco joints in town.
I would NOT buy tacos here again. Terrible. Unless you enjoy dry chicken and equally dry, overwhelming tortillas. Love the idea, but the food is crap.
Finally tried the famed WCTacos…. SOOOO disappointed. I am so sad. dry, luke warm, bland. I could only taste the hot salsa and the warmed over tortillas. i’ll just go to the back of the mexican grocery for my tacos next time. where they make everything fresh, not warmed over from the night before.