What’s up with that Taco Hut on 3rd and Tryon?
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SoCal-Tacos
If you’ve spent any time on the south side of Uptown during midday over the past two months, chances are you’ve noticed this seemingly windowless hut on the corner of 3 and Tryon. It’s not strange to see tacos being peddled from this corner. The excellent Roots Food Truck used to occupy the corner every Wednesday before construction began on 300 South Tryon and they moved to the Duke Energy Plaza but this cart just appeared one day, awkwardly commanding the corner and leaving just a six foot walkway between the edge of the cart and the construction wall.
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I, for one, welcome our new street taco overlord. The Uptown food scene is severely lacking a no-frills place for quick take-away tacos, so I welcome any new alternative with open arms. Tin Kitchen is fantastic, but you can only eat but so many $10 pork belly tacos before your lunch budget turns red by the 20th of the month. Vida Vida in Epicentre, while good, is always at least a 50-minute sit-down excursion and not conducive at all to grab and go eating. Juan Taco truck used to set up on Trade & Tryon but has been absent for a few months now, so there’s certainly an opening the market.
Walking up to the truck, you notice two things:
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(1) A Seahawks flag flying in the corner of the truck
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I get you’re a fan of an NFL team, especially a successful one, but maybe take down this flag when the Panthers are flying out west? Antagonizing your customer base just a few weeks into launching your business seems like a risky strategy to me, but I suppose you can applaud SoCal Tacos for sticking to their guns.
(2) The menu, which is as straightforward as it gets:
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This is the kind of no-frills taco action I’m looking for at a budget-friendly price point. I ordered a chicken and a ground beef taco, all the way, which includes all the fixin’s you see on the menu. I was even pleasantly surprised by receiving a “free water” for first time customers, which was a touch I greatly appreciated.
With your taco order you get meat, lettuce, cheese, and salsa with a custom flourish (ranch) all wrapped up in an 8-inch soft taco, and you’re out of there with some change left over from your $10 bill. The $3 price per taco is inclusive of tax, so I spent $8 for two tacos, a free water, and a $2 tip*.
The tacos themselves were good to very good, with the ranch and green salsa highlighting the meal. For $6 in street tacos, there’s nothing to complain about, though I wouldn’t say my socks were knocked off. Still, the next time I have a hankering for tacos and a 25 minute window in which to acquire them, SoCal Taco Stand will be on my short list.
The Essentials:
- What: SoCal Taco Stand
- Where: The corner of 3 and Tryon in Uptown
- When: Weekdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Price: $3.00 for an 8” taco
- Frills: None
*you animals always tip food trucks, right? The rest of us are trying to have a society here.