Torchy's Tacos - You Are Dead to Me
I've been a big fan of Torchy's Tacos since they first opened up on S. 1st St. At Taco Journalism, I've been the sole member of the staff to heartily endorse their uniquely "Damn Good Tacos". I've even written an (unposted) article to serve as a counter-point to our previous middling review. I talked about how delicious their tacos were; how their higher quality ingredients made all of the difference; how I thought of them as some kind of heaven-sent Taco Fusion joint. All of this history makes it tough for me to say this: Torchy's Tacos, you are dead to me.
I tried to go to Torchy's on 6th St today. I was not pleased. The 30 minute(!) wait for the 10 people in front of me to order was annoying. Finding out they were out of fried chicken (for the Trailer Park) and jalapeno sausage (for the Republican) only when I tried to order was also annoying. Having the counter lady tell me she needed me to pay in cash because she didn't know how to load paper into the credit card machine was the last straw though. If this was a single incident, I wouldn't be posting this rant. But this isn't the first unpleasantness I've experienced as their service has slid towards mediocrity. Long lines, slow service, and shortages of common ingredients (eggs, one time) have become the norm there.
I'm actually willing to cut regular taco stands some slack. They're offering cheap tacos out of a trailer. But Torchy's is offering expensive tacos out of a trailer and I expect better service for the extra $1-2 they charge per taco.
-- The Commish
UPDATE I: I just checked my bill and Torchy's charged me for the food anyways. Yes, they charged me using their 'non-working' credit card machine. Way to compound the incompetence guys.
5 comments:
Dude, it's SX! While they should have been prepared for the wave upon wave of smelly hipster masses, streaming towards our beloved Trailer Park tacos, you have to cut them some slack!
Try the new location down on first, I'm sure it's not nearly as crazy go nuts during SXSW. Plus, dude, they deliver now!
Torchy's has been on my hitlist for a while now. The prices are ridiculous for bland food they serve and even worse, people make excuses for them because it's "better quality." I say stick with the traditional taco trucks, save a few bucks and enjoy real flavors as it was meant to be. By the way, I personally like rants!
El Mundo de Mando
honeymoon's over.
Chappy got food poisoned from their shrimp tacos a couple wks ago...shit his soul for 2 days.
I'll cut them a little slack for SXSW, but they better start shapin up or the rep will take a serious hit.
cabeza
you can thank SXSW for that. i was there on weds and rather than wait in line at the 6th st. location, we loaded into the car and went to the original on s 1st. hardly any wait. the food was delicious and the service was excellent.
Hum, I am with you. I actually called and bit the owners head off and he catered our whole office lunch the next day, but here is the kicker, the delivery guy showed up 1.5 hours late. I mean, can't turn down a free lunch, but 90 minutes is a long time to wait for free tacos.
Also, the owner chalked the repetitive bad service and lack of ingredients to the fact that they are growing too fast and not taking time to train new staff. OK, I'll bite. That was 4 months ago, then they opened up the store-front and all hell broke loose.
I am not saying I won't ever go back, I still crave the chili pork taco now and then, but you are right, there are cheaper, more authentic, tastier tacos out there.
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