Food DUdes: A review of taco places throughout Springfield
Community, Editorial, Lifestyle March 1, 2021, Comments OffThis week the Mirror staff tried five different tacos places in Springfield to share their thoughts and recommendations.
Del Toño – Reviewed by Julia Chamberlain
I go to the Walmart on Cinderella and Glenstone fairly often and always pass a taco truck. It has always interested me, partly because the name of the place is often obscured by the semi-permanent tent around it.
I don’t eat meat, so I asked what they could put in a taco for me. They gave me corn, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, avocado and salsa in two corn tortillas with a wedge of lime. Despite not having beans, it was incredibly filling and fresh. The tortillas stood out as they were amazingly thin and flexible. It was around $2.50, and well worth it.
Tacos El Gordo – Reviewed by Cheyenne Heavener
Off the intersection of National and Division, where the old Purple Burrito used to be, stands a little-known treasure by the name of Tacos El Gordo. The small building is an odd shade of green, and it’s tiny. Don’t let that fool you. Inside are some of the best tacos I’ve yet to find in Springfield.
I took along a friend, Drury Alumni Erin Michael, to try the things I wasn’t able to try. I ordered the asada taco, the shredded chicken taco and the crispy tripa taco. Erin ordered the chorizo and pork tacos with a side of rice and beans. We each grabbed some salsa. Erin went for the hot stuff while I chose the milder green salsa.
Photo via Cheyenne Heavener
They double up on soft, white corn tortillas and serve each taco with a wedge of lime. The staff were all incredibly friendly (especially when we went back for seconds). The chicken was lovely, but the asada may have been my favorite. The steak was beautifully tender and full of flavor. I tried the crispy tripa as a something new, and I must say that I might be a convert. It has the taste of beef but the consistency of well-prepared calamari.
Erin’s chorizo taco was tasty, and the hot salsa really elevated the flavors. The pork, though, was the one that didn’t last very long. She ended up ordering more tacos, saying “this place is the real deal.”
For me, the star of the whole day was that mild salsa. It was tangy and sweet but savory enough to feel perfect with every taco we ate. I’ll definitely be going back to Tacos El Gordo. Even more so because of their Tuesday and Thursday $1.50 taco deal. Worth it!
Taco Habitat – Reviewed by Gabriella Wuller
If you are looking for a quality taco and stellar chips and salsa, Taco Habitat is a high-quality place to try out, and one that I highly recommend.
Taco Habitat is a small restaurant with dine-in and drive-through options off of Glenstone in Springfield, Missouri. This location opened recently and is opening another location in Branson, Missouri soon. Supporting this local business for their stupendous tacos is a win-win situation.
Photo via Gabriella Wuller
This picture showcases two of the tacos which I tried at this location. The first taco on the left is The Outlaw. This taco contained Al pastor, pineapple pico de gallo, salsa verde, cilantro and an optional queso fresco (which I choose not to add to my taco).
Now when ordering this taco, I was trying to be adventurous and try a meal that was a little out of my comfort zone, and I was certainly surprised that I enjoyed this taco more than I thought I would.
The mix of pineapple with pork sounds like it would be an odd combination, but strangely, it does work. The tangy flavor of the pineapple, mixed with mild spicy salsa, and then the rich bite of pork all somehow works cohesively. Although I did enjoy The Outlaw, I would certainly try a different type of taco next time to be adventurous again.
The taco pictured on the right side is Taco Habitat’s famous, El Capitan. This taco has fresh fish, jicama slaw, tangy citrus aioli and cilantro. Now in a summary, this may have been the best taco I’ve ever eaten before.
Fish tacos are simple yet sometimes bland. However, this fish taco at Taco Habitat was spectacular. The fish was perfectly grilled, the slaw was refreshing and the citrus and cilantro mixed harmoniously. I truthfully ate this taco at a speed that could be considered an inhale because of how much I enjoyed it.
I also went to Taco Habitat with junior music therapy major Hannah Gross who is a fellow taco connoisseur, like myself.
Gross said, “My taco the El Diablo was a spicy and sweet blend of peppers, onions, jalapenos and barbacoa, wrapped in a spinach tortilla shell! The taco was absolutely amazing, and the flavors really popped as to show the true personality of the taco.”
Each of these tacos are only $6.25 and come with a side of chips. The staff is extremely hospitable and are following all COVID-19 safety regulations both in their drive-through and inside the restaurant. There is also outdoor patio seating which could be utilized in the upcoming spring and summer months. Considering the enjoyment from both Gross and myself, Taco Habitat is certainly a top taco place within Springfield for those in the area to enjoy.
Tinga Tacos – Reviewed by Sammie Ellis
Tinga Tacos is a fun, little restaurant located in the downtown area. It differs from a typical taco joint in the sense that they include ingredients in their tacos that you aren’t likely to find anywhere else. Think things like cabbage, pickled onions and fig jam. Weird, right? As strange as it may sound, the unique ingredients in the tacos from Tinga Tacos work well, and they lend themselves to creating a taco experience different from any other.
Photo via Sammie Ellis
For my Tinga Taco experience, I tried one of their signature tacos as well as creating my own from the “Build Your Own” section of their menu. The signature taco I had was the “Fu Yu”, a soft shell tofu and rice taco with cabbage, onion, pickled carrots, cilantro and mango habanero sauce. The blend of ingredients is obviously a little atypical, but they went together perfectly. This is one of the best tacos I’ve ever had. It was full of flavor, and even though it was made with tofu, it still had all of the juiciness that you can usually only get with meat. The pickled onions were great, and while I’m typically not a fan of cilantro, I didn’t mind it here. Overall though, the star was the mango habanero sauce. It was sweet, light, tangy and so delicious that I would eat it with every meal.
The other taco I had was one I ordered from the “Build Your Own” section. I tried the crunchy shell this time, and got tofu, lettuce, jalapeno corn and pico de gallo in it. It was still really good, but it was not as good as the Fu Yu. I preferred the soft shell to the crunchy one as I felt that the crunchy shell was too big and hid the flavor from the filling a bit. The pico was very tasty and flavorful but not as good as the mango habanero sauce. Ultimately, it was still a decent taco, but it was greatly outshined by the glorious Fu Yu.
The one downside to Tinga Tacos is that it is more expensive than your usual taco place. Many of them run in the $3-$4 range, but some are closer to $5. The tacos are quite small as well, so you’d probably need more than one to fill you up, which can lead to a pretty expensive meal depending on how many you get. But even with that said, I do think that they’re worth the price as Tinga Tacos creates delicious tacos you can’t find anywhere else.
Tortilleria Perches – Reviewed by Maclen Johnson
One of my quests in life is to find the ultimate snack. Street tacos fit the bill as a contender, so I was very excited to begin the city-wide hunt this week.
Tortilleria Perches was recommended by another member of the Mirror staff. It’s located at 1601 E Sunshine St, right across the lot from Firestone.
I got a dinner combo of a taco and an enchilada for $7.99. The service was quick – we received our to-go order about 15 minutes after we placed it.
Photo via Maclen Johnson
They have multiple varieties of meat available, but the only vegetarian substitute is beans. I’m not complaining by any means – there are few foods that I avoid, and refried beans are not one of them. However, a lot of seasoning and flavor is in the protein of a meal, and I definitely missed out because of that.
I wasn’t blown away by the food, but it was still very tasty. Honestly, I ate it so quickly that the blame for lack of a better description probably falls on me. I loved the rice and mixed it in with the remainder of my beans and sour cream. We had leftover margarita mix from National Margarita Day on Monday, which paired well with the dinner!
They have a lengthy menu selection, and the staff is friendly and efficient. The restaurant also gets excellent reviews across sites, and a summary of their scores is available at Restaurantji. An interesting aspect is their daily specials, with a consistent rotation of set dishes throughout the week rather than something different every time.
If you’re a meat eater, I’d recommend Tortilleria Perches. If you’re looking for tacos or a menu made with vegetarians in mind, I’d look elsewhere.
Article by The Mirror staff
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