Linda Falkenstein
Mix and match your taco fillings; order three and get rice and beans.
Everyone who's ever taught has had a student like this -- a good kid, some weaknesses here and there, but basically a producer of solid B, B+ work.
But being an optimist (you went into teaching, after all), you can't help but believe that this particular student could be something more. You spy flashes of the A+. There's potential. It's not even hidden potential -- it's right there on the surface, waiting for your encouragement. And that is pretty much the case with Taco Bros., a surf-themed (barely) taco-burrito-chimichanga outpost on University Avenue at Frances Street.
Taco Bros. has a big chalkboard menu, friendly staffers, lots of milling-around-while-ordering space, a few booths, a picnic table and some stools in the window for seating. The surfboard "paneling" is an attempt to inject some life into the decor, but in the end it's hard to find any cozy intimacy. It's too bad, because the music picks can be good enough to lift the spirit of the place (the Americana/indie band Brown Bird recently made for a genial lunch companion). A different space configuration is needed, though, to make it more than a fast nosh spot.
The basic fillings are jerk chicken, carnitas (pork cooked long, low and slow), chorizo (Mexican sausage), braised beef, carne asada (seasoned steak) and grilled vegetable. These can arrive as tacos (corn or flour tortillas), burritos (which can be ordered dry or "wet," i.e., covered with sauce and queso), chimichangas, quesadillas, nachos or as a taco salad. Other add-ons include beans, a mild queso fresco or cotija cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole.
And most of these fillings are really good. The carnitas are rich, full of slow-cooked flavor yet not overly greasy (though you're going to get some grease with carnitas, it's a given). My go-to for carnitas in a simple onion-and-cilantro fringed taco is the La Rosita grocery on Monona Drive, and the meat here is almost up to that standard.
What's missing at Taco Bros. is a good housemade green or red salsa to top the taco -- bottles of Cholula hot sauce are on every table, which works out okay -- but this is an area where the student could pick up some easy extra credit. The braised beef perks up with bits of pickled radish (a nice touch, and the kind Taco Bros. should pursue), onion and cilantro. The carne asada is in the traditional grilled style, just the right amount of greasy, and spiced as heartily as at any taqueria, even if the steak pieces are cut a bit larger than is optimal.
The chorizo is, oddly, paired with avocado -- rich plus rich -- which makes for a filling that's too much, but delish if consumed sparingly (it's better as the filling for one taco than in an entire burrito).
The jerk chicken, while boasting a very, very mild jerk (don't bother to compare it to Cafe Costa Rica's version; it will come up wanting) tastes great just as grilled chicken, and it works well in a taco, burrito or any of the entrees -- the bright surprise of summer grill flavor, rediscovered long after the last time you pulled out the Weber.
The only serious misstep is the grilled veggie filling, which right now is a chewy, greasy braised kale and potato. And the potatoes in question appeared to be french fries. I'm going to have to believe that harvest season will bring something more promising.
It's hard not to like the tacos; the chimichangas, served like two fried mini-burritos, benefit from the addition of queso fresco, even if the cheese escaped into the rice side -- making for a new sort of comfort food, like a Southwestern risotto.
There was so much to like about Taco Bros. that I couldn't help wondering how it would do in a space more conducive to lingering and enjoying the food. Put some specials on the menu. Brighten up the taco salad with pickled beets or roasted corn. Try a lamb filling some night. It could be the new Taqueria Gila Monster -- that much-missed, from-scratch, sustainable-agriculture-supporting Mexican joint that used to be at 106 King St. The Gila Monster didn't do anything fancy, but it did just about everything right. Taco Bros. could be headed in that direction.
Taco Bros.
604 University Ave.
608-422-5075; thetacobros.com
11 am-10 pm Sun.-Wed., 11 am-3 am Thurs.-Sat.
$2-$9
