light fixtures

I don’t know why, but I’ve been on a serious taco kick lately. I’ve been craving them like crazy. So as such, I’ve tried pretty much every taco place in Charleston. My favorite, by far, is Taco Boy downtown. Not only are their tacos spectacular, the atmosphere is really freaking cool. The inside is all mismatched and looks like someone just put together a restaurant by stealing furniture from all of their neighbors. They also have an awesome patio that is what I see in my dreams when I think of the coolest possible patio there is. If you don’t like tacos, you should definitely come hang out just for the ambience. I also love their mismatched light fixtures and chandeliers. It’s just really cool.

To start, we usually get the appetizer trio consisting of salsa, queso, and guacamole (market price). Their guac is killer. It’s so good. If you don’t want a whole trio appetizer, I definitely recommend getting the guac. Unless you’re weird and don’t like avocados. Weirdo. Their queso is also pretty darn good. Their salsa is good too, but not necessarily anything special.

I’ve tried pretty much all of the tacos on their taco menu. They’re delicious. I’ll highlight a few of my faves here. My number one favorite is the Fried Chicken Taco (seasoned, breaded chicken breast, lightly fried, with marinated carrots & red cabbage, jalapeño cilantro mayonnaise & chipotle bbq sauce, $3.75). It’s so yummy. Sometimes it’s really spicy, and sometimes it’s not. I think it just depends on who’s cooking. I always get it on flour, because I think it tastes better that way. I also really like the Carnitas Norteno taco (tender slow-roasted pork with poblano rajas & ancho chile sauce, $3.50). I think I like it because it tastes like a pulled pork taco. It’s so juicy and tender and delicious. I get this one on corn. I don’t know why. I just do.

My 3rd favorite is the Grilled Fish Taco (chipotle marinated Mahi Mahi with cilantro dijon sauce, field greens & salsa cruda, $3.95). For some reason I think this one tastes the best in the bibb-lettuce wrap (which is $0.25 extra, btw). I love the cilantro dijon sauce. It’s so good. I also really like the Chorizo & Potato taco (spicy mexican ground pork sausage & potato with green chile sauce & onion, cilantro relish, $3.95).  Sometimes I get this one on corn and sometimes on flour. It just depends on my mood. I think this one is really tasty, but if you’re not a fan of chorizo (like my mother), probably don’t order this one.

Some other tacos I’ve had:

• Baja Fish Taco (tempura fried Mahi Mahi, thinly sliced red cabbage, cilantro & ancho chile yogurt sauce, $3.95). This one is really popular, but I don’t really love tempura, so it’s not my favorite. Ben and my Dad love it though.
• Al Pastor (thinly shaved spitfire pork, roasted pineapple salsa & pickled red onion, $3.95). I love al pastor usually, but for some reason, this taco just doesn’t do it for me. There’s something weird with the pineapple salsa and I’m just not sure what it is.
• Southwest Seared Tuna (Southwest seared market tuna with chipotle slaw and cilantro, Market Price). Not my favorite. I love tuna, but this taco was just a little bland and needed a little more texture.
• Southwest Seared Swordfish (southwest market swordfish with chipotle slaw & cilantro, $3.95). Better than the tuna, but I still prefer the grilled fish.
• Kimchi Beef (Mexican spice marinated grilled flank steak, Korean BBQ sauce, kimchi, sesame seeds & cilantro, $3.95). Ben likes this one, but I did not. Not even a little.
• Tempura Avocado (tempura avocado topped with a sweet Thai chili glaze & a citrus, $3.95). I know people who love this taco. I’m not one of them. But I don’t like tempura, so that shouldn’t surprise anyone.

I’ve also gotten the grilled chicken quesadilla, which is good. It’s kind of hard to screw up a quesadilla, though. I like that they serve the quesadillas with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole (yay! more guac!). Here’s a picture of Ben from work eating a quesadilla the British way (because he’s British).

They have really good (read: Strong) house margaritas, which I love. I also recently tried their pineapple-infused margarita which is really delicious. And lucky for those of us who are on a diet, they feature skinny versions of both their house and pineapple-infused margaritas.

Basically, if you’re craving tacos, Taco Boy is the way to go (but go to the downtown location. For some reason I don’t think the Folly Beach location is as good….probably because it’s all the way out on Folly Beach).

Taco Boy
217 Huger St
Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 789-3333