Anyway, there has been much buzz about Tacos Veganos and how it's a great spot whether or not you're the meaty type, and I'm down with purely vegetarian grub whether or not it's going incognito, so I finally managed to get over there.
It's your typical quick service taco shop. More on the polished end of the spectrum, very corporate looking, though I believe they're an indie.
Most of the menu is the same four proteins(?) in all of the formats. Tacos, tortas, mulitas, sopes, etc., just choose your "meat" from the list of pollo, asado, al pastor and birria.
The family and I sampled the full range of basic tacos:
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And they're good! The kitchen is awfully heavy-handed with guac, so I think I'd either skip that or ask for it on the side to apply more sparingly next time. You can save the cynical comments — they aren't trying to hide the fillings. They aren't going to fool anybody into thinking they're chicken, beef and pork, but they have some texture, they're nicely seasoned and the whole package is bright and vibrant and tasty. I'd be happy eating these as a change of pace, or even as a more routine thing if I were to try to cut back on meat consumption for whatever reasons.
- tacosveganos_quesabirria.jpg (177.98 KiB) Viewed 313 times
The quesabirria tacos, OTOH, are just straight-up awesome whatever the context. Honestly, I think I *prefer* these to just about all of the quesabirria around town. To be fair, I'm a bit of a birria purist and if I'm doing the meat, I want goat and I want it simply presented. But if I'm going to go the quesabirria route, this is honestly just awesome. Jackfruit, I assume? Anyway, these tacos are crisp, light, absolutely exploding with flavor, and what I love is that rather than playing like a heavy goopy mess, they're so much lighter and more satisfying than most of the quesabirria slop around town. These are really beautifully executed. I'm not sure I'd want to eat the consomé on its own. The balance on the broth just isn't there. But as a dip for the tacos, it's excellent.
There's no way I'm getting through the coming week without going back for more of those quesabirria tacos.
Tacos Veganos
www.aztacosveganos.com
602-675-2100
3301 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85018