There's probably nothing that warms an old, careworn heart of a food writer more than finding a good little neighborhood spot. Those high-end spots with a PR person and aspirations to make the Wine Spectator list? All very nice, to be sure, but it's a whole different set of expectations for an eater, whether professional or amateur.
Nevertheless, when I was heading north on Morgan Ford (how is it we have two different spellings of that, by the way?) with Bevo Mill slowly waving a vew blocks ahead of me, I saw a little spot calling itself Taco Circus. Hmm, went the mental dialogue, in this neighborhood? And that name?
It's a corner storefront at Morgan Ford and Schiller. Early reports were intriguing, although the occasional categorizing of it as fast food or quick-serve were a concern. What was this all about?
Three good-sized steps lead to the corner door. Inside, it's a fiesta of vintage posters and memorabilia, uncommonly interesting. Order at the counter, and they bring the food. It's small, but my guess is there's a fair amount of take-out happening.
Mostly tacos, but a few other things available, like a burrito and Frito pie. For those unfamiliar with this delicacy, it's traditionally a small bag of fritos opend along one side, a ladle of chili poured in and topped with cheese and perhaps some onion. Plastic spoons are the requisite utensil. Meant to be eaten sitting on the hood of a '54 Ford, probably, but a fine indulgent retro treat, at least in theory. We didn't try their version; next visit, probably.
The tacos come on flour tortillas, soft corn tortillas or crisp corn tortillas. It's the fillings that bring this little kitchen into the spotlight. An order of three soft corn tortillas holding beef fajitas, pork steak and one of the two vegetarian options, rice and avocado, topped with onion and cilantro (the other option for topping is lettuce and tomato) gave some good eating. The pork steak was rich and very moist, and quite tender. Normally, I choose pork over beef almost any day, but one bite of the beef fajitas, though, blew me away. Freshly cooked and incredibly full of beefy flavor, it was hard to keep from grunting with pleasure at each bite. The rice and avocado used guacamole as the avocado, topping the rice and keeping spills under control. A good amount of lime flavor in the guac predominated. A burrito made with those beef fajitas alco excelled, with a good balance of beans and rice with the beef, but the meat was still the star.
It turns out that the beef Taco Circus uses is grass-fed organic, hormone and antibiotic free, and the pork is from Missouri-raised Berkshire hogs. I'm sure that's not the entire story about the deliciousness, because much credit has to go to the cook, but it certainly gives a great base.
Another piece of good news is that Taco Circus does breakfast. We've been woefully short – which is to say, totally lacking, as far as I've been able to find out – of breakfast tacos hereabouts, and this is a great development. The chorizo-and-egg option gently scrambles the two together, the chorizo nicely drained to avoid the orange grease that tastes so good but is utterly disastrous to the eater's clothing. Well-flavored and needing no addition of salsa, it charmed. But the really intersting one was the potato and cheese. Rather than the more common one, at least in Texas, with soft cubes of steamed potato, this used crispy cubes that had been fried and topped with a shower of cheese waiting to melt. A dribble of the medium red salsa (four flavors, two colors), which is particularly full-flavored, rounded things out to perfection.
One note for newcomers: The order of guacamole does not come with chips, but rather as a slather for the other food. Interstingly, the queso does, though. The drill is order at the counter, they bring the food to you, and most customers seemed to be busing their own tables. The salsas are in a glass-fronted refrigerator case, and guests are urged to help themselves.
Taco Circus
4258 Schiller Place at Morgan Ford
314-808-2050
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner daily
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Impossible, alas
Smoking: No
Entrees: $2 (a single taco) -$9
Comments
One response
Sounds yummy!