After seeing the preblast this morning from Turncoat, and seeing the menu for Babalu, my mouth was watering and stomach growling for some tacos. I was sure to make it out for this week's meeting. I was a little worried on how the speed of service was going to be after I arrived and went inside and it took almost 10 min for the hostess to seat the two goups in front of me. As she was getting ready to seat the group in front of me Turncoat's turbocharged 5.0 Prius clown car showed up with Jaws, Roadie, and Ziploc. We got to our table and were happy to find out that all their tacos were $2. Roadie chose to get guac and chip for the table only to realize, when the check came, that they charge you $3 per person for it. Although it was very good, that is a bit steep. The PAX chipped in (chips, chipped, see what I did there lol) to cover the expense. We all ordered and as the food started to come out Hoodie strolled in and join the PAX.
Babalu has a great selection of tacos. They are:
Pollo- Flash fried or grilled all-natural chicken, tomatoes, arugala, cotija cheese, pickled red onions, buttermilk avocado dressing
Steak- Churrasco, chimichurri, cotija cheese, pico de gallo
Pork Belly- Citrus BBQ sauce, roasted peanut slaw, cotija cheese
Vegetal- yellow squash, zucchini, cremini mushrooms, red onion, arugala, red chimichurri, cheese
Carnitas- Citrus braised pulled pork, roasted peanut slaw, salsa roja, pickled red onion
Redfish- Blackened or fried, fresno pepper slaw, jalapeno poblano vinaigrette
Short Rib- Citrus BBQ, fresno pepper slaw, cilantro, cotija cheese, pickled red onion
Camarones- Grilled or fried Gulf shrimp, cilantro slaw, radish, comeback sauce
Seared Tuna- Cilantro slaw, sriracha lime crema & spicy tortilla strips
Cocoa Taco- Flour tortilla sread with sweet cocoa Nutella and fresh seasonal fruit (to which you can add bacon for$1)
The tacos come in fresh, handmade/stamped, tortillas. They were a bit small, and although big on flavor they were a little thick and broke part way through eating them. I went for 8 which consisted of one of each, excluding the Vegetal and Cocoa. They were all good, but I was not a fan of the short rib, and pok belly. The tuna was sensational, and I also liked the steak, and shrimp. I really should have ordered a few more because aafter eating I found myself looking at the menu again wanting to order some more. Since time was short I chose to pass on additional tortilla wrapped love pockets of goodness. This definitely has a spot on the reurn visit list. Nice place to go to. I like the open kitchen. The service was fast enough, and friendly.
I am truly grateful to be able to be a part of such a great group of guys and join in on such wonderful 2nd F events. The end of next month marks 1 year for me. I can't believe it has been a year already. Being part of F3 has been one of the biggest blessings in my life in a long time. I appreciate everyone and look forward to many more activities, especially Taco Tuesdays!!