Thursday afternoon, I shamelessly inhaled a meal next to a Brandon auto shop, and I want you to do the same, immediately.
This is a very important taco stand announcement.
Inside a yellow van at 105 W. Brandon Blvd., Chicken & Taco Loco caters to the lunch and dinner crowd with Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican offerings. My dining companion is a regular at the place and swears by its life-changing eats, so, as an admirer of hole-in-the-walls and streetside-style walk-up counters, I needed to investigate.
A small menu board highlights the stand's daily specials, including chile rellenos on Mondays and pork in verde sauce on Wednesdays, but to the left of the main order window, where a taller menu rests, the colorful assortment of food photos and descriptions caught my eye.
There are tortas, fajitas, burritos, tostadas, huaraches and way more served with your choice of meat. Carnitas, lengua (that's beef tongue) and chorizo are among the 12 options.
I go with a veggie torta, featuring tomato, avocado, lettuce, bell pepper, jalapeños and melted mozzarella, which is outstanding, while my date selects his usual order: one barbacoa taco and two carnitas with a flavorful medley of onion, cilantro and lime. Our bill was around $14 with an agua fresca. The drink's delicious, and big enough for us to share.
If you stay and nosh, you'll sit outside in Taco Loco's open-air but covered patio that provides plenty of seats. The staff calls your name when your food's ready to be picked up from the walk-up window on the right, and when the hot sauce question is posed, you want the spicy one. Trust me.
The stand operates from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday to Wednesday; 10 to 8 Thursday; and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
You need to go. It won't be long before everyone discovers the tasty wonders of this low-key gem.
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2015.