UPDATE, 07/29/2014: Taco Meets Potato has closed. Indy Chin Restaurant has opened in its place. We see what that's like, and whether this is to become one of those fated "black hole" locations....
UPDATE, 03/10/2014: I picked up lunch to go: 3 tacos for The Little Woman and fajitas for me, along with a small order of chips & salsa. The new proprietors appear to be gringos, but they were very nice. Again the food was decent but not the stellar stuff the place turned out in the beginning. The salsa was fresh, but the tacos were uninspiring and though good, the amount of meat in my fajitas was kind of disappointing given the $10 price tag.
UPDATE, 12/16/2013: There is a sign out front that says "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT", so I'll probably be suckered into eatin' there again. Keeping my fingers crossed that the old guy took it back over....
UPDATE, 06/03/2013: I'm putting this at the top of the post because so many folks come here to read about Taco Meats Potato, and I wish all the good things I said below were still true, but something has happened to this place. We've been there twice in recent weeks, and both times there was a new crew working and (although the waitresses were very easy on the eyes) they don't seem to be following the same recipes as before. The salsa is decent but now it's really ordinary, lacking the milkiness and whatever it was that gave it such a distinctive and delicious flavor. My wife's tacos were missing the fresh cilantro and onion the last ones had, and finally, my fajitas were okay, too, but again, not the culinary delight we once enjoyed there. Sigh.... maybe the potatoes are still exceptionally good, anyway.
UPDATE, 11/15/2013: I picked up lunch to-go there-- two tacos, the Enchiladas Trio platter with rice and beans, and a small order of chips and salsa. The salsa was fresh and good, but still lacked the milkiness and whatever it was that made it so good before. The tacos were decent but lacked the seasoning they used to have, and they only used one corn tortilla per taco, so they lost all their molecular integrity by the time I go home, resulting in what was essentially a taco salad without the bowl. My enchiladas were decent, too, and the rice was tastier than most other places. The beans were good depending on how you like you refritos: TMP's are not the whipped solid-mass like you get other places but contained some whole beans. In sum, it was all just okay, including the price. We probably won't be back, sorry to say. Sigh, again..
Taco Meats Potato, 7040 Madison Avenue, recently opened in the strip mall space that was occupied by Heine's Roast Beef-- If I can reminisce a bit, Heine's State Fair cuisine (since that was their main business, running a mobile trailer at fairs and such) was delicious, but it was every bit as pricey as eating at the State Fair, so I suspect that's why the stationary store didn't last. Hopefully this isn't gonna be one of those black-hole locations fated to have one failing business after another in it.
Anyway, the Little Woman and I were drawn by TMP's ridiculous pun of a name as much as by her boundless craving for Mexican food. As you approach the door there is a Southwestern scene painted on the window along with the words "Where you bean all my life?" Geez, another pun? I had misgivings about what we were about to experience, that is until they brought the multi-colored chips and salsa. Now, my judgement may have been clouded by a couple of beers I had earlier, but I still believe it was THE BEST SALSA I have ever eaten, including in Mexico. It had the usual pureed tomato, and I could taste lots of cilantro and onion, but the liquid part of it was a little milky, like maybe there was also sour cream in it as well as other spices that aren't in most other salsas. The rest of the meal could've been made of sandpaper and I would still be raving about that salsa....
UPDATE, 03/10/2014: I picked up lunch to go: 3 tacos for The Little Woman and fajitas for me, along with a small order of chips & salsa. The new proprietors appear to be gringos, but they were very nice. Again the food was decent but not the stellar stuff the place turned out in the beginning. The salsa was fresh, but the tacos were uninspiring and though good, the amount of meat in my fajitas was kind of disappointing given the $10 price tag.
UPDATE, 12/16/2013: There is a sign out front that says "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT", so I'll probably be suckered into eatin' there again. Keeping my fingers crossed that the old guy took it back over....
UPDATE, 11/15/2013: I picked up lunch to-go there-- two tacos, the Enchiladas Trio platter with rice and beans, and a small order of chips and salsa. The salsa was fresh and good, but still lacked the milkiness and whatever it was that made it so good before. The tacos were decent but lacked the seasoning they used to have, and they only used one corn tortilla per taco, so they lost all their molecular integrity by the time I go home, resulting in what was essentially a taco salad without the bowl. My enchiladas were decent, too, and the rice was tastier than most other places. The beans were good depending on how you like you refritos: TMP's are not the whipped solid-mass like you get other places but contained some whole beans. In sum, it was all just okay, including the price. We probably won't be back, sorry to say. Sigh, again..
Taco Meats Potato, 7040 Madison Avenue, recently opened in the strip mall space that was occupied by Heine's Roast Beef-- If I can reminisce a bit, Heine's State Fair cuisine (since that was their main business, running a mobile trailer at fairs and such) was delicious, but it was every bit as pricey as eating at the State Fair, so I suspect that's why the stationary store didn't last. Hopefully this isn't gonna be one of those black-hole locations fated to have one failing business after another in it.
Anyway, the Little Woman and I were drawn by TMP's ridiculous pun of a name as much as by her boundless craving for Mexican food. As you approach the door there is a Southwestern scene painted on the window along with the words "Where you bean all my life?" Geez, another pun? I had misgivings about what we were about to experience, that is until they brought the multi-colored chips and salsa. Now, my judgement may have been clouded by a couple of beers I had earlier, but I still believe it was THE BEST SALSA I have ever eaten, including in Mexico. It had the usual pureed tomato, and I could taste lots of cilantro and onion, but the liquid part of it was a little milky, like maybe there was also sour cream in it as well as other spices that aren't in most other salsas. The rest of the meal could've been made of sandpaper and I would still be raving about that salsa....
It was late evening, like 9:15, and we didn't want to upset our middle-aged digestive systems with a heavy meal right before bedtime, so we decided to split the Texas Nachos, a plateful of more chips with white cheese, three types of meat, jalapenos, and more of that delightful salsa poured over them, capped off with a big dollop of sour cream and a whole steamed jalapeno. I won't say they were outstanding but they were very good, and the price wasn't bad, either. There's nothing fancy about the place, but it has the feel of all the authentic taquerias here and in Mexico that I've ever been in. I didn't ask, but it appears to be a family operation, with the cook and proprietor a young Hispanic guy who said he's from Dallas, although the source of his recipes is his mother, who hails from the Rio Grande valley, he said.
As we went up to pay I spied the Potato Menu, which the proprietress/waitress said she didn't show us because they had sold out all their potatoes for the day. There must have been at least a dozen potato combos listed, from taco to cajun shrimp to a regular loaded potato to a tilapia potato. Maybe we'll get to sample those another time earlier in the day. !Que bueno!
UPDATE: 12/03/2012-- We went there COMPLETELY sober this time, and the salsa was still da BOMB. The waitress also gave us a sample of white-cheese queso with taco meat mixed in that was reeeeally good, too: We liked it so much we bought some to take home. The Little Woman had two flour tacos with steak, cilantro, and onion, which were deeeelicious. The steak was marinated and seasoned somehow, in a way that made it tastier than any other Mexican restaurant's I've ever had . I ordered the Taco Potato, a huge baked potato loaded with white cheese, taco meat, lettuce and tomato, capped off with a dollop of sour cream and a whole steamed jalapeno, all served with rice and refried beans. The seasoned coarsely-ground taco meat was also extraordinary. I can't wait till Tuesday, when ground-beef tacos are $1 each.... The beans were ordinary but good and the Spanish rice was !INCREIBLE! With most other Mexican restaurants I have to pour salsa or hot sauce over the rice to give it some flavor, but TMP's was tasty all by itself. !ANDALE! !VAS AL TACO MEATS POTATO, AHORITA!
UPDATE: 12/03/2012-- We went there COMPLETELY sober this time, and the salsa was still da BOMB. The waitress also gave us a sample of white-cheese queso with taco meat mixed in that was reeeeally good, too: We liked it so much we bought some to take home. The Little Woman had two flour tacos with steak, cilantro, and onion, which were deeeelicious. The steak was marinated and seasoned somehow, in a way that made it tastier than any other Mexican restaurant's I've ever had . I ordered the Taco Potato, a huge baked potato loaded with white cheese, taco meat, lettuce and tomato, capped off with a dollop of sour cream and a whole steamed jalapeno, all served with rice and refried beans. The seasoned coarsely-ground taco meat was also extraordinary. I can't wait till Tuesday, when ground-beef tacos are $1 each.... The beans were ordinary but good and the Spanish rice was !INCREIBLE! With most other Mexican restaurants I have to pour salsa or hot sauce over the rice to give it some flavor, but TMP's was tasty all by itself. !ANDALE! !VAS AL TACO MEATS POTATO, AHORITA!
