One thing is clear – #TacoTuesday is not just a fad. It is here to stay. In fact, #TacoTuesday is growing faster than any of us had imagined or could have anticipated. Pax are driving into the uptown to attend #TacoTuesday. Judges are releasing jurors just in time for #TacoTuesday. A second table was needed this week to contain the masses of taco starved pax. At this rate, it won't be long till the pax take over an entire uptown eatery. I also predict that all of the Wednesday morning workouts stand to benefit from pax looking to offset their #TacoTuesday indulgences.
This week's #TacoTuesday took place at Que Onda uptown (333 W. Trade Street). As they have been at each of the #TacoTuesday locations we have reviewed thus far, Que Onda's tacos were $2 apiece, and there were three options: "Chicken Tinga," "Braised Beef," and "Carnitas."
As noted above, the pax required two tables this week, and were configured as follows:
Table 1: 9Lives, Frontier, GnarlyGoat, MobyDick, MonaLisa, Roadie, SweetC
Table 2: Clubber, DonHo, Ramrod, YHC
YHC had aimed to arrive by 11:55am to secure a table, but upon entering found that several of the above pax had already found their way to QO and were digging into some complimentary chips and salsa – the first #TacoTuesday spot that has provided this. Realizing that a second table would be needed, YHC grabbed one nearby, and DonHo left Table 1 to join YHC. By ~12:05 all 11 pax had arrived. DonHo's arrival came on the heels of jury duty in a trial that was dismissed after a plea at the eleventh hour, just after he'd been impaneled but prior to commencement of trial, and just in time for #TacoTuesday. #Winning!
Each plate of tacos was accompanied by a ramekin of brownish hot sauce and a lime wedge. YHC observed the size of the tacos arriving at nearby tables, and decided that 4 would be the appropriate number this week. YHC went with one of each style, plus one additional braised beef taco.
It was further observed, after all tacos were ordered and delivered to our tables, that the sizes and shapes of the plates on which the tacos were served differed based on the number of tacos ordered. At Table 2, all pax other than YHC ordered 3 tacos (one of each style), and the tacos were served on a standard round plate, whereas YHC's 4 tacos were served on a slightly larger, more oval-shaped plate. And MonaLisa, who was clearly not messing around at his first #TacoTuesday post, ordered 6 tacos, which were served to him on a double-wide rectangular plate that instantly caught the attention of all of the pax at Table 1. Well done, ML!
YHC also raised the question, after observing the various plates at each table, of whether the number of tacos ordered and/or the size or shape of the plate in any way affected the volume of taco filling in each taco. In particular, DonHo appeared to have been served more generous helpings of braised beef and chicken tinga than YHC, causing YHC to wonder if Que Onda's tacos are optimally ordered in sets of 3. I would be interested to hear other pax opinions on this.
Finally, whereas the Local's tacos were served in flour tortillas (and there really is no other option for those overstuffed tacos), and 204 North Kitchen's tacos were served in double-corn tortillas, Que Onda's tacos arrived in single corn tortillas that did not, in every pax's case, sufficiently hold up to the juices accompanying the various fillings. Ramrod summarized: "we observed various levels of wet paper bagginess, mine were fine." In fact, YHC understands that there was a good bit of chatter at Table 1, regarding the wetness of the tacos, to which YHC was not privy. Hopefully, the Table 1 pax will be able to provide some excerpts in their comments below.
Without further ado, I rated this #TacoTuesday experience a 7.0 out of 10, on par with the Local. The braised beef taco was YHC's favorite on flavor alone (and it was discovered that these tacos had a bit of melted cheese on bottom, which helped fortify the taco against the juices), and the carnitas taco was YHC's favorite on heartiness (there was a good hunk of pork on that taco). The chicken tinga taco was just OK, but YHC may have been soured on that one by the lack of filling relative to DonHo's. Free chips and salsa was a plus for Que Onda. The uptown location was not ideal – a bit of a hike for some of the pax – but overall, a solid experience, and well worth the walk for $2 tacos and free chips/salsa.
SweetC's review: "Wow 11 pax for Taco Tuesday. I guess this is catching on! Today I tried all the tacos that were available for 2 bucks, Chicken Tinga, Braised Beef, Pork Carnitas. I will say I thought these tacos were on the smaller side, but with pretty good flavor. Also this is the only place we have been where they give you chips and salsa for free. My favorite was the Chicken Tinga, I actually ordered another since 3 was not enough. The Braised Beef was good but was on the salty side. The Carnitas was a little dry and bland. If you like hot stuff they served a side of habanero sauce that I only dipped the tip of a knife in to try and it was HOT, I like hot but this was HOT! The place was packed to be a few blocks off the main drag of uptown but it was a beautiful day for a walk in uptown today. The place was once again packed, we had to wait a little on a few order we had that were mixed up but they got fixed pretty quick. As of now I will rank these taco in 3rd position with a 6.5 score for me. My ranking so far are (in order of best to not best (they are all good)) Local, 204, then Que Onda . Tuesday is quickly become my favorite day of the week."
Ramrod's instant thoughts: "Flavor: Full. Stuffedness: Semi. Appearance: Cute. Score: 7.4." (Full review to follow?)
Other pax in attendance: post your reviews in the comments section below.
Next week: TBD (look for the preblast!)
Aye,
TC