Taco Taco........Bus.?.

So if you Live in Tampa (and I happen to) you've heard about the 24/7 Taco Bus and if you haven't you need to figure out why? Its kinda like a landmark around these parts.

Like I said I have heard about it, but never have I tried it. Not because I didn't want to, its just a little ways from my usual stomping grounds and I usually get sidetracked and end up going elsewhere when we plan to go there.

That all was gonna change, after waiting for the mail to run (new company I work for mails checks) we head out to do some normal saturday errands. While out and about I ask the misses if she's up for some mexican food, and her being my wife she said of course when am I not! So we head down toward Hillsborough Ave to this famed Taco Bus, now don't let the name fool you......well it is a bus, but also a sit down restaurant. We pull up and the place is packed, and from what I've heard this is to be expected.

As we walk in there are only 2 seats left and there at the bar so we grab a menu and take a seat. More people walked in and soon had frowns on their faces that they had to either stand and eat or sit out side (a big no no in florida unless its water side or night).

We look over our menus and with some help from out waiter we go with the carne asada burrito combo with rice and beans. Our waiter took our order then rushed off to do the other 99 things he was doing. The food is made in an old bus out on the side of the building and they have a few updated buses too, but the original bus is still where the magic happens.

This hangs on the wall across from us, gotta love tampa and CL!

As me and the misses set there at the bar and look over the other menu items and notice the breakfast part of the menu (note to self come here for breakfast). We tried their hibiscus lemonade, which wasn't half bad. Our food comes, it smells delicious and looks great. Even though its on styrofoam served with plastic utensils, it's all about the food and nothing else here at the Taco Bus.

We both unwrap our burritos and take a bite, the burrito was over flowing with beef, with hints of tomato, onion, shredded cabbage, cilantro, and cheese. As I drew closer to the end of this fantastic burrito the ratio became closer to even, instead of the hints of toppings like it started, but there's no complaining here! The veggies tasted so fresh, well everything tasted fresh. Something you wouldn't expect from the name, but I've grown to realize to expect the unexpected. We made no joke about devouring our lunch combos. The food is better than any Mexican food I have tried in Tampa. It blows Moe's, Chipotle, and all the other chains away. From fresh food, to great atmosphere and the biggest one its ALWAYS OPEN!

As we polished off the plates thoughts of something sweet entered my head. I has saw a small dessert section of the menu so I reached and grabbed one. The only hard thing was to place the order, our waiter as mentioned above was doing about 100 things from the normal refills, to plating food, on to planning a catering event with the table behind us. He soon came over and asked how everything was, and took our order for Tres Leches Cake which the menu noted it was baked in-house so we gave it a try. Now I have wanted to try Tres Leches Cake for awhile but never got a chance until now. As hard as it was to get the waiters attention I can say this, our order was taken quickly our food and dessert was brought even quicker and drinks never went dry.  Back to the dessert, he placed it in front of us and we dug in, then stopping to take a pic, what can I say when the food is this good I almost forget about doing this.

We finish our dessert and pay our tab and head out to finish up our Saturday. So if you're looking for Authentic Mexican  for a great price and a fun location; Be sure to check out the Taco Bus at 913 E. Hillsborough Ave, Tampa FL 33604
813-232-5889 Their site is; http://tampatacobus.com

They also have a newer St. Pete location at; 2324 Central Ave St. Pete, St. Pete FL 33712. I haven't ate there so its on you to go and try it.

So if you're craving authentic mexican style food from ceviche, tacos, burritos, chilorio, and quesadilla be sure to stop in at the Taco Bus.

Tortilla soup recipe

Chicken:

1 (14oz) Chicken breast

Lime

Cover chicken with lime juice, then sprinkle with cilantro, marjoram, basil, paprika, dash of oregano, and black pepper.

Soup:

Evoo

1/4 c onion

1/8 c carrots

Squeeze 1/2 lime

3 tbls Cilantro

1 tbls Marjoram

1 tbls Basil

1 tbls Paprika

1/2 tbls Cummin

Dash celery seed

Dash sage

Salt

20 Grinds of pepper

1 can (14.5oz) Chicken broth

1 can (14.5oz) Fire roasted tomatoes

1/2 c Frozen corn

1 can (15.2oz) Black beans, rinsed

1/2 c Water

2oz diced green chilies

Bring to boil

Bake chicken on 350 till it reaches a temp of 160-165, shred in food processor.

Grill 4 corn tortillas on stove top, put shredded chicken in bowl, pour soup over chicken, cut/break the tortilla in to triangles and serve on top with a lime wedge.

Eat and Enjoy!