Taco Talk: The Hangry Pedaler
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Thai food, burgers, Mexican food, pizza, BBQ — Joseph Nguyen likes it all and wants to share the delicious joy, he told me over tacos at Tacqueria Torres in Springdale.
🍽 State of play: Nguyen scopes out NWA restaurants and posts his recommendations to his Instagram account, @hangrypedalernwa. The account started in 2019 and has since gained 24,000 followers, many of whom regularly send messages with tips on where he should go next.
- His page is influential enough that organizations like Visit Bentonville have paid him to go grab a meal and post about it.
- Nguyen has also judged at food competitions like soup selections at the nonprofit Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Soup Sunday fundraiser, as well as a BBQ rib competition at Wheels RV.
🤳 How it works: He emphasizes small businesses making great food, especially mom-and-pop places that aren't getting the word out on social media on their own.
😋 What they're saying: "It's changed a lot," he said of NWA's restaurant scene. "We're getting a lot more stuff that we never had before."
- The NWA eats connoisseur noted the uptick in upscale spots, plus the increasing diversity of cuisines, like more Mediterranean and Korean options.
📸 How it happened: Nguyen started posting photos of food for fun on Facebook, and people encouraged him to get a dedicated outlet for the habit.
- Since then, he often spends his weekends doing just that outside his full-time job at a Fayetteville nail salon.
🌮 Onto the tacos: The consensus at the table was that while all the tacos are stellar, the al pastor (pork) is the star. If you're hungry, I highly recommend getting the combo with any three tacos plus rice and beans ($10).
🚲 What's next: The account is almost entirely dedicated to food, but Nguyen wants to ramp up the cycling content — the "pedaler" part of the Hangry Pedaler.
📍 Stop by: 10am-9pm Monday through Saturday and 10am-8pm Sunday at 992 E. Henri De Tonti Blvd. Suite 2 in Springdale.
Taco Talk is a regular feature. We sample a taqueria with the movers, shakers, artists and bakers of NWA, and rap about news in their world.