I’ve eaten tasty steak street tacos from a food truck, vegetarian tacos and “alternative” mashups like Korean barbecue tacos with kimchi slaw, and truth be told—I’ve never met a taco I didn’t like.
According to the National Taco Day website (Oct. 4, in case you were wondering), Americans ate 4.5 billion tacos last year. And, in recent years, what defines a taco has been pushed to the extreme as creative chefs use the utilitarian taco as a blank canvas of sorts for their culinary whims.
There are breakfast and dessert varieties, tacos containing mac and cheese, short ribs, tofu, sushi or even falafel, as a Google search for “strange tacos” will confirm.
In a similar spirit, Crave Taco Week 2020 participants—from higher end eateries to hip cafes, barbeque joints and Mexican restaurants— will showcase the taco’s versatility by creating a variety of signature tacos for the event, held March 2-8. Crave Taco Week is sponsored by Smiley Pete Publishing, parent company of Business Lexington. Casa de la Cultura Ky., with a mission to promote Latino culture and cultural activities throughout Central Kentucky, is the returning nonprofit partner.
Recently Lexington diners have welcomed more than one taco-centric restaurant, including El Cid on South Limestone, and a new Taco Tico on Pimlico Parkway.
Lee Greer, president of Greer Companies, is the franchise owner for both Lexington Taco Tico locations, as well as a board member with Taco Tico’s parent company.
Greer has been a taco lover since childhood, he said, and, fittingly, his birthday falls on Cinco de Mayo.
“Anything you can fold or bend or break in half and pretend it’s a taco, that’s how I like to eat,” he said.
At Palmers Fresh Grill in Lexington Green, general manager Scott Hawkins said this year’s Taco Week taco will be similar to last year’s popular offering, tacos de camarones—a lightly fried flour tortilla shell stuffed with shrimp, a Napa cabbage slaw tossed in a cilantro lime vinaigrette, pico de gallo, scallions and a spicy aioli. A vegan alternative will also be available.
Hawkins credits the food truck boom and movies like “Chef” for the popularity of streetstyle tacos, and street-style food in general. That influence has since evolved into ever more creative taco varieties, he said.
No matter how complex the ingredient list may get, he said tacos are simply fun to eat.
“Everybody loves something that you can eat with your hands,” he said.
Street-style tacos are a staple on the menu of Bear & The Butcher on Euclid Avenue, also a Crave Taco Week participant. The restaurant typically offers flank steak, sriracha shrimp and grilled chicken tacos on its menu, as well as a weekly specialty taco available each Taco, Tequila and Trivia Tuesday.
Bear & The Butcher chefs created a Nashville Hot Chicken Waffle Taco for last year’s Crave Taco Week, and this year will offer another non-traditional take—a soft flour tortilla loaded with smoked Sloppy Joe filling and topped with tater tots, nacho cheese and house-made pickles.
“It’s kind of crazy, and we love it!” said assistant general manager Jason Huff.
J. Render’s Southern Table & Bar, another participant in Crave Taco Week, typically has a burrito on its menu, reserving its tacos for the special week-long occasion and a handful of Taco Tuesday events.
Last year’s tacos were named Taco 1 and Taco 2, and featured pork and chicken with different toppings. Those went over well, said owner Gwyn Everly, and this year’s varieties will be similar.
Everly also commented on the versatility of tacos, whether enjoyed in a traditional form or brimming with barbecue or other fillings.
“They’re just interesting—there are just so many things you can do with [a taco],” she said.