queso Archives - Queen of the Food Age

Taco Boy

June 21, 2013

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.

I don’t know why I love restaurants with mismatched furniture so much.

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.

Appetizer samplers are the best.

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.

Carnitas on the left, fried chicken on the right.

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.

From left to right: Grilled fish on lettuce wrap, Chorizo & potato on flour, fried chicken on flour.

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.

Here’s a picture of Laura seducing me via taco.

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).

Like a sir!

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.

Sorry. I tried to take a picture when it was full, but it was just too good.

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).

I would eat the crap out of some tacos right now.

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

5 Comments

Restaurant Reviews

Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy, Myrtle Beach, SC

May 31, 2013

After a fun and busy weekend as a bridesmaid in Myrtle Beach, I decided to spend some time exploring the city with Ben. Ben was craving mexican food, and after some intense Google searching, we ended up at Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy at the Coastal Grand Mall. Pulling up to the restaurant, the first thought that popped into my head was “I found the Mexican P.F. Chang’s.” I normally reserve the restaurant building photo for the end of my review, but I’ll put it here just to emphasize my point.

I mean, all it’s missing is a giant horse statue.

Ben and I were starving, so we ordered enough food for about 4 people, even though it was just the two of us (we have a problem). When you first sit down, they bring you chips (which were thinner than typical Mexican restaurants, but they were still good) and a trio of their salsas–traditional Mexican salsa, a mild salsa verde, and a spicy hot salsa. They were all tasty, although the “spicy” salsa was not very spicy at all. We started with the chile con queso (traditional dip made with melted, blended cheeses and fresh roasted Poblano and Anaheim chiles), which was good but tasted not unlike the Superbowl cheese dip you make with Velveeta and Rotel. I was kind of bummed (but not really surprised) that they used a yellow cheese instead of white, but that’s what we get for going to Mexican P.F. Chang’s.

I’m still trying to get the hang of my new cell phone camera.

Our second appetizer was the Jalapeño Cheese fritters (crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. Deliciously delicate hand-breaded fritters, oozing with minced jalapeño and melted cheese. Served with ranch dressing), from their new “Tapas And Small Bites” menu. These were freaking delicious. I wish we would’ve nixed the cheese dip and gotten two orders of the fritters, because they were seriously so yummy. They also paired really well with the ranch dressing, and I loved the little container they came in.

Apparently, Fritters are the new “It” food. Which I’m totally ok with.

The cheese LITERALLY oozes out.

For my entree, I ordered the chicken nachos (Individual tortilla chips baked with cheese and topped with seasoned ground beef, shredded beef, chicken or refried beans in any combination. Served with sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo and jalapeño slices). I was really confused by the waiter’s follow up question, which was “Ok, did you want 5 or 10?” … what. I ordered 10, thinking I was only going to get 10 of the little tortilla chips like the ones on our table, but they turned out to be HUGE chips. Like, we’re talking taco shell-sized chips here. I definitely should’ve only gotten 5. The presentation was really pretty, but the nachos left a little something to be desired. And I definitely was not a fan of their guacamole, which had a paste like consistency to it (and flavor to match).

More like disappointment nachos.

Ben ordered The Grande combination plate (Three enchiladas – one beef, one cheese and one sour cream chicken – a cheese chile relleno, tamale, crispy beef taco and guacamole). I was surprised by how much I liked the tamale–it was flavorful and not on the dry side like tamales tend to be. The cheese enchilada was seriously cheesy. They definitely did not skimp on the cheese. It also came with beans and rice, which were very good as well (but not anything special). The only thing Ben wasn’t a huge fan of was the beef enchilada, which he said was kind of dry. We were both too full to even try the beef taco, which came on its own separate plate, so I have no idea how that was.

When they say “Grande,” they are not joking around.

All in all, I’d say we had a pleasant experience at Abuelo’s, but I’m not in any hurry to go back. Partly because of the food, but mostly because I hate Myrtle Beach. Plus, I really prefer more authentic Mexican food to Abuelo’s Tex-Mexican fare.

Also this creepy statue

Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy
740 Coastal Grand Cir
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 448-5533

1 Comments

Charleston, SC Restaurant Reviews

La Norteña

May 3, 2013

I have a new favorite mexican restaurant in Charleston. Technically, it’s in North Charleston, but it is 1000% worth the drive out to Rivers Avenue. Other than Real Mexico in Columbia, I think this is the freshest, most authentic tasting Mexican restaurant I’ve been to in a really long time… and I eat a lot of Mexican food.

Yeah, that’s pretty accurate.

I’ve been a bunch of times, so I have a lot of pictures to share. When you first get there, they bring you chips, salsa, and a plate with 4 different kinds of sauces. Many of them are spicy, so I’d recommend waiting until you have a drink in front of you before you try any of them. I really like the thicker red one, which has a nice smoky taste to it and the green goopy one because it isn’t spicy at all and is really refreshing and helps to put out the fire that the other start in your mouth.

The “goopy one” is the one at the very top, by the way.

When I went there last week with my dad, he wanted to try the shrimp cocktail, which came out more like a shrimp soup. It was served cold in a tomato sauce with pico de gallo, which kind of threw me off at first. I couldn’t really get over the cold tomato soup part, but the shrimp were cooked to perfection and tasted yummy. My dad said it was “very refreshing,” and ate the entire thing.

If the words “Cold Shrimp Soup” throw you off, you might not enjoy this.

We also tried the guacamole which came with 3 chicken taquitos, which was kind of cool. I liked the taquitos and ate pretty much all of them immediately. The guacamole was good, but not the best guacamole I’ve ever had. Definitely better than most mexican restaurants, though. You could tell it was pretty fresh.

Sorry for the poor quality. I was in a hurry to get to eatin’

We also tried some of the tacos, which ranged from your normal chicken, ground beef, and pork, to more unusual options, such as beef tongue (lengua), beef cheek (cabeza), and beef intestines (tripa). We ordered three- al pastor, cabeza, and lengua. I loved the al pastor, which ended up being my dad’s least favorite. We both really liked the beef tongue (lengua) tacos, which had the taste and consistency of pulled pork. My least favorite was the beef cheek, as it was just a little too dry for me.

I have to say, eating tongue was not as gross as I expected.

The first time we went, my mom ordered the barbacoa platter (marinated, shredded beef served with Mexican rice, refried beans, and a small salad), which I really liked, and I don’t usually like beef.

Also, they have amazing refried beans

Ben always gets the enchiladas verdes with chicken because those are his favorite, and I love to steal bites from his plate because they’re so yummy. They’re listed on the menu as “your choice of four enchiladas topped with green sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and queso fresco. Served with choice of salad on top or Mexican rice.” I don’t know what the green sauce is, but it’s delicious. Ben always gets the rice, which is really yummy. Lots of times Mexican rice can be really dry, but the rice at La Norteña is never dry and always very flavorful.

I promise there are enchiladas under all that sauce.

When Ben was visiting with his friends from Auburn, we took them to La Norteña and they each got burritos. The burritos there are huge and they have seemingly endless options on what to put in them. Everything from cheesesteak, to fajita meat, veggies, beans… you can even get a seafood one stuffed with octopus, shrimp, and scallops. They opted for the basic Burrito La Norteña (Made with refried beans, Mexican rice, lettuce, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and choice of meat filling) and raved about how delicious it was. Forgot to take a picture, so enjoy just screenshot from their menu.

Pixellated burrito!

I usually get the order al pastor (marinated, sliced pork and steak layered and slow-cooked on a rotisserie served with charro beans, sweet onions, cilantro, and soft tortillas). It’s my favorite thing and unlike anything I’ve eaten at other mexican restaurants. The charro beans (Delicious combination of bacon, chipotle sauce, beef franks, Mexican sausage, and onions) are like a Mexican version of beanie weenies, and are surprisingly good.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve ordered this.

On my most recent visit, I decided to be more adventurous and get something other than al pastor, so I decided to try enchiladas poblanas (four enchiladas with choice of grilled chicken or steak, topped with poblano sauce and cheese. Served with choice of salad on top or Mexican rice), with chicken. The poblano sauce turned out to be a mole-like sauce (savory chocolate sauce) which was pretty good. My only issue with molé sauce is that I really want to like it, but in reality I usually don’t. This one was good, but I don’t think I’d ever order it again. If you like mole sauce, then I definitely recommend you order this.

I love chocolate, so I don’t understand why I don’t love mole sauce.

We also tried the Sopes once (specially made thick tortillas with your choice of meat with refried beans, tomato, lettuce, sour cream, and fresco cheese) with chicken, and it was good, but kind of strange. It was almost like eating a savory funnel cake.

Obviously I didn’t take this picture.

They also make pretty delicious margaritas. I tried a “Texana margarita” which is made with tequila and grand marnier, so it’s sweeter than your typical margarita. It was really good and they definitely give you your money’s worth of liquor.

It’ll get you drunk!

Basically La Norteña is fast becoming one of my favorite restaurants in Charleston. Even if I do have to drive all the way out to North Charleston to get there. Plus they have really awesome live music on Friday nights, and they have a special loyalty card where you buy 6 meals and your 7th one is free. How can you beat that?

Thank you Google Maps for being so creepy.

La Norteña
6275 Rivers Ave
North Charleston, SC 29406
(843) 225-7055

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 5/28/12

May 28, 2012

Happy Memorial Day! Sorry this post was so delayed. I’ve been in a food coma for a few weeks, recovering from all the food my mother made for Memorial Day weekend festivities.

Saturday night we went to dinner downtown Greenville at Pomegranate, a Persian restaurant. Who knew Greenville was worldly enough to have a Persian restaurant? I sure didn’t. But it was amazing. I’m sure I’ll be reviewing it at some point, so keep checking back!

Sunday, we celebrated Sean and Ben’s birthdays in the usual fashion: Tina made way more food than any normal human would be able to consume, and we all ate too much and drank too much and stayed up til the wee hours of the night. It was great. My dad smoked a pork butt in his new smoker (insert requisite butt joke here), and grilled hot dogs. Tina made this fruit dip from cool whip, vanilla pudding, and amaretto which was absolutely divine. I didn’t even bother with the fruit, I just kept using a spoon. She also made grape tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese (which I kept stuffing into my face), caprese bites, some kind of veggie dip and a bunch of vegetables, bread-wrapped asparagus with blue cheese, cheese dip and chips from the mexican restaurant, cold cuts, cupcakes, a cotton candy vodka sponge cake, cookies, and other various desserts and foodstuffs. There was also beer galore, and different flavored margaritas being made throughout the night.

Needless to say, I woke up Monday morning feeling like I’d been hit by train. It’s a good thing it was a holiday so I didn’t feel so bad about lounging around in sweatpants for the remainder of the day. For lunch we went to Logan’s Roadhouse (the one where you throw peanuts on the floor) where, for some reason, I thought it was a good idea to order cheese fries, and spent the rest of the day feeling even worse than when I’d woken up. And of course, that was when my mom decided it would be a good idea to go to the mall to look for bathing suits. I bought 3.

This week’s food quote comes from George Bernard Shaw and I think it pretty much sums up my thoughts about this weekend.