TACO HUNT PART FIVE: Ta'Carbon

Merriam-Webster defines a hunt as “to pursue for food or sport.” And this taco hunt is no game, this is our civil duty.

Yes, this hunt for tacos is rewarding, not only for our taste buds but also for the people of Phoenix. The city needs to know the truth.

The unfortunate thing is, this truth, the taco truth, can be objective. So far, we have made some enemies and we have made some friends. Our goal is not to deny the beauty of each taqueria, and our hunt has proven that one taco spot can’t perfect all tacos.

Read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four before you read this!

But if you can make three or four tacos? That is pretty damn remarkable.

That is exactly what Ta’Carbon has done.

TACOS:

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Carne

Best carne I’ve ever had. They use a legit grill and the smoke filled the street and our nostrils as we arrived, it was so smokey you could taste it. No, it was so smokey you should taste it.

Taco Haz

Basically their carne with melted cheese and Chile. Pretty damn good. The chilis are rich with flavor and the taco is all the better for it. I want to circle back though … this carne is so good you don’t need anything, but a couple more ingredients make for a different ride. Tripe Right amount of crunch, but not a jaw workout. The tripe is fried but not as heavily as Taco Chiwas does it. The tripe here is probably the best that we’ve had.

Cabeza

Fire AF. Tender which is a word I hate and is so easily overused, but that’s what it was. The shreds melted in my mouth. Go with the pickled onions and green sauce and your choice of toppings.

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Lengua.

Not my favorite, real big pieces of tongue, which might freak some less daring folks out. That wasn’t the issue here, the taco was just lacking in overall flavor, possibly due to lack of salt. Pretty uneventful.

Pastor

It’s not bad... spicy, unusual flavors for pastor, if you go to Ta’Carbon, this isn’t the first taco you should be getting

Barbacoa

A taco full of some real meat chunks, which is nice, typically it is harder to find a thick barbacoa taco.* NOT HERE. Thicc is all they know.

*Bonus taco tips: Futuro coffee has some fucking amazing, mouthwatering, thicc traditional barbacoa on the weekends. MUST TRY.

** Bonus bonus taco tip: Taco Chelo has barbacoa … that is just simply no bueno. Too much grease, which only takes away from the natural flavors of the meat. The barbacoa there almost tastes dirty. Get their fish tacos.

Toppings:

Salsa bar … an amenity that I love to hate. Yes it is great to have options, but fuck, why do we need so many. Have you ever heard of paralysis by analysis? People are simple, too many options will adulterate the whole experience. Get a couple of the sauces and the carrots.

Horchata:

Good mouthfeel, not too gritty, not too sweet, great to combat the heat of the salsas and the summertime.

Location:

43 ave and Thomas. So not centrally located but also not a bad lunchtime drive if you are downtown. No more than 10 minutes if you shoot down Thomas.