By Dan I. Cook
My mission was to review the new “fast casual” dining spot called The Taco Project. The name The Taco Project sounds like a science experiment in the world of tacos. Therefore, a perfect place to spend my Taco Tuesday.
Where The Cheese Course was formally located in The Walk now stands The Taco Project. This restaurant offers typical Mexican street fare, such as tacos, corn on the cob, burritos, quesadillas, salads, and desserts. They also serve wines, beers, and liquor drinks.
What separates this joint from similar concepts like Tijuana Flats or a Zona Fresca is The Taco Project has a liquor license. They offer seven different styles of margaritas and seven featured cocktails.
This addition elevates The Taco Project just a bit. Having a real margarita and not some fake “Mocktail” is a fantastic option.
The Ambiance
The interior space is small and seats about 40 customers. Cool artwork adorns the walls, and they have a four-seat bar at the counter. The bathrooms are in pristine condition, along with the main restaurant.
The exterior has tables with plenty of seating and a nice water feature to look at. This is a great area for families with young kids. The kids can be kids while you stuff your face with a burrito and have a Margarita.
The only downside was the noise level inside. The sound gets amplified due to the small space. If you are looking for a quiet place to eat, sit outside.
The Food
My Taco Tuesday consisted of The Taco Project Salsa $5.95, Mexican Corn $3.95, Chicken Tacos (2) $10.45, Steak Tacos (2) $10.95, Chorizo Tacos (2) $10.45, and Classic Beef Tacos (2) $9.95.
The Taco Project Salsa and Chips were pretty standard. Homemade chips with mild chunky salsa. The chips were warm and crunchy. The salsa had diced red tomatoes, diced red onions, and cilantro. I added some of their homemade hot sauce, which gave it a nice spicy kick. I highly recommend their hot sauce.
The Mexican Street Corn looked basic. My dining partners Karen H. and my photographer Angelica N. ordered this, not me. Mexican Street Corn is typically slathered in mayo with seasonings and cheese, for those who don’t know. I’m not a fan of mayo, so I let them enjoy it. I can’t say they weren’t fans of this dish, but they said it was, OK.
Classic Beef Tacos comes with two regular-size street tacos. This was my favorite. It is served in a hard corn shell with seasoned ground beef, cheese, a lettuce mix, sour cream, and cilantro. This has the OG flavors that make folks like me smile. It’s the cheapest taco that has protein, which made my wallet smile.
You can taste and see this isn’t some sloppy Taco Bell product. Thank god it wasn’t because, at $9.95 for two tacos, it better not be.
Chorizo Tacos were my second favorite because of the Mexican spices’ deep flavors. I’m sure this had some ancho or guajillo powder, as this was the spiciest of all the tacos.
The taco was topped with cilantro, julienne sliced radishes, small potatoes, diced onions, and wrapped in a soft yellow corn tortilla. On the side is a small slice of lime which is a must for me. By the way, all the tacos came with lime except the Classic. Squeezing the lime over the tacos is essential. The fresh juice gives all the ingredients a pop of flavor.
The Steak Tacos were the favorite of my dining partners. The marinated skirt steak was sliced in strips topped with guac salsa, chimichurri, cilantro, and julienne sliced radishes wrapped in a soft yellow corn tortilla. This taco was all about the steak. Another squeeze of lime on top completed this meaty bite. The meat was tender/juicy, and the radishes gave it a little crunch.
The free-range chicken in the Chicken Tacos was rolled in chipotle, shredded, and topped with cilantro, jicama, and julienne sliced radishes wrapped in a soft yellow corn tortilla. The portion of chicken was decent, and I had no issues with the flavor. You would think it would be spicy, but it wasn’t.
Service
You order/pay at the counter, and an employee will bring you your food. Once we were done dining, an employee took our plates.
Service is very friendly, quick, and simple. Since it was the grand opening, everyone was still learning the menu and any specials offered. This is standard for most new restaurants. For the first day open, they did a great job.
Verdict
The Taco Project is not Rocco’s Tacos, Naked Tacos, or El Mariachi. This concept is more in line with Chini’s Burritos, La Union, Zona Fresco, Chipotle, and Tijuana Flats. Remember, fast casual.
The beer and liquor licenses separate The Taco Project from other fast-casual joints. They have a Happy Hour that runs every day from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. and all day Tuesday. During this time, drinks are 20% to 25% off the listed price.
The food offerings are standard, and so is the taste. Trust me, that is not a bad thing considering their competition.
Management advised that more specials will roll out, including a Taco Tuesday discount.
Overall, this is a brand new restaurant located in one of my favorite areas in Coral Springs, The Walk. They should get a lot of foot traffic with the outstanding outdoor seating area. The bottom line will be food quality, consistency, and prices.
Like most of you, I’m still having a hard time wrapping my big head around the fact that two street tacos are costing me $10 bucks. But, right next door at 5 Guys, a basic cheeseburger is selling for $10 bucks. Unfortunately, this is our new reality as customers.
At some point, I’ll try the burritos and a margarita once they get settled in.
I rate this 3 Beers.
Remember to tell the workers at The Taco Project that Dan I Cook and CoralSpringsTalk.com sent you, and Stay Hungry!
Four beers = Outstanding
Three beers = Good
Two beers = OK
One beer = Needs work
Zero beers= Sucks (No beer is never a good thing).
The Taco Project
2866 N University Drive
Coral Springs, Florida
Thetacoproject.com
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