I wanted to like Tacoesque—I really did. There’s just something about the idea of a brand new restaurant, rough around the edges, focusing on nothing but the food.
Perhaps I over-romanticized the idea in my mind, or maybe I allowed my excitement to grow after learning about them through Dozzino’s twitter feed, but Tacoesque did not meet my expectations. Enough ranting; now for the evidence.
Having just opened a little over a month ago, I wasn’t expecting the Taj Mahal, but the bare bones, just-popped-up appearance caused me to question whether or not they were even open. Maybe a sign other than “open” painted on the door would be nice. The inside isn’t much better, as three or so stools face a corkboard menu with some piecemeal letters spelling out the equally bare options of a taco ($4), bowl ($9), or sandwich ($8), and choice of protein (lamb, pork, beef, chicken, or vegetable). There’s no décor of any kind, as though this is a temporary location and they are planning to up and leave at any moment.
Having called ahead to make sure the trip to 2nd and Park Streets wouldn’t be for naught, we arrived 15 minutes later just as our pre-ordered food was being brought out. I paid, swiping my card through a Square reader attached to an iPad (popular with quite a few of the restaurants I’ve visited in Hoboken), and we were on our way.
I was expecting the portions to be a little bit larger but wasn’t terribly surprised as the farm-to-table, utilizing locally grown ingredients initiative, does tend to deal with either smaller portion sizes or higher prices.
Visually, the food is beautiful. The handmade corn and wheat tortillas for the taco add a rustic look, and the meat, offset by ruby red hot sauce, vibrant greens, and purplish-red onions, provides a nice array of color. The bowl is larger and, rather than a tortilla, includes rice noodles and crema. The sandwich is basically a bowl on a brioche bun in place of the noodles.
A little bit rigid and brittle but more so on the soft side, the tortillas has decent flavor and were definitely not the over-processed junk other places use. All of the meats taste fresh and not overly oily (a very good and seemingly difficult thing to do), but the vegetarian option tastes and looks like mush. The hot sauce has nice flavor and isn’t overly spicy. The downfall, however, is the overpowering taste of onions that ruminates throughout the dish, thanks to both the large amount of onions and greens. The combination leaves a rather unpleasant aftertaste. The bowl and sandwich were much the same aside from the addition of the smooth and cool crema, though my partner rather seemed to enjoy the sandwich.
I probably won’t go back, at least not for a while. Perhaps they just need some more time to become more established, adjust their recipes a little bit. As always, I encourage my lovely readers to make your own judgement. Our tastes could be very different.
Having never had The Taco Truck, I cannot make a comparison, but my partner claims Tacoesque to be many steps above. However, call me basic or uncultured, but as far as my Hoboken quick Mexican options go, I’ll take Chipotle any day.
