A couple of restaurants in town have committed to showcasing one-off tacos for a limited time. The offers aren't affiliated with CL's inaugural Tampa Bay Taco Week, nope. They are, however, fit for Mexican food fans.
Well, at least one of them is for sure. Read on.
First up, the crispy oyster taco is bartaco's way of celebrating Aug. 5 as National Oyster Day. The fan favorite consists of wild gulf bivalves soaked in buttermilk and dredged in cornmeal, then fried and served in a tangy oyster sauce. Depending on a diner's preference, the taco — available between Aug. 3 and 10 at the chain's Hyde Park Village location in Tampa — arrives in a 4-inch corn tortilla or a bibb lettuce shell topped with cilantro.
But the other creation rolls out to all Tijuana Flats locations even sooner. Starting next week, the fast-casual Tex-Mex chain's cheeseburger taco — a hybrid of culinary stalwarts — is set to start filling tortillas with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles (wait), ketchup (don't say it…) and mustard (what?!). The upside to this taco, featured on the menu through Sept. 9, is that guests receive a side of seasoned fries and queso, not chips.
Not digging the mashup? (CL wouldn't blame you.) Order the fries for $2.99, or the fries and queso for $5.29. As far as we're concerned, the latter counts as a whole meal.
Florida-based T-Flats, BTW, operates locally in St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater, Oldsmar, New Port Richey, Tampa, Riverview, Brandon, Lutz and Wesley Chapel.
This article appears in Jul 19-26, 2018.