Taco Via

If you know anything about me, you know there are two things I love in this world: 1. Eating alone, 2. Johnson County, Kansas.

Pysch.

I loathe both, but I put my feelings aside when it comes to eating a good meal.

A work appointment last Friday brought me into the neighborhood of Taco Via at 95th and Antioch (edited from previous, incorrect intersection - again, that goes with my love of Johnson County). And by "neighborhood", I mean I was nowhere close when I remembered that Taco Via had been sounding good for the past few weeks. Well, lucky me, I happened to be on the Kansas side of the State Line at the time, albeit, about 20 minutes away. But, hey, it was Friday, and I was lonely, so I thought I'd have a nice lunch date with ...myself.

A little bit of history about Taco Via: There used to be a lot more of them around town, and now there are not. That's about all I know about the place. I miss the old one out at 123rd and State Line. Or was that Taco John's? What the hell was the difference, anyways? I'd love to know.

Back to the food. I totally spaced on the fact that the Taco Via lunch "special" is a pretty safe bet. You basically get a Taco, Nacho and a Sancho for about $6. Which, when I think about it a little more, is a total rip off. There's a place on the Boulevard...Paco's (I'll be heading there soon)...that gives you much more food than that for pennies on the dollar (Side note: I had no idea what that phrase meant up until about 2 years ago...)

Regardless, I failed to remember to get the "special." So I, of course, ordered basically the same components of the special, except I forgot to say the magic word: "special." So...I over spent ($11) and over ordered...and left under satisfied...Not for the product, that was good. I just had buyers regret. I assume Elliot Spitzer had similar misgivings a few years back.

Perhaps my regret was fueled by the bad soap opera on the 15-inch tube-TV that I watched while eating my meal. Or perhaps it was the fact that to get a refill on my Diet Coke, you have to PAY 75 cents! What is this, 1993? Seriously, I didn't know it was legal to still charge for refills. What a joke. The funniest part is that the damn menu on the wall is basically a Coca-Cola advertisement. You mean to tell me that Coke has branded the entire menu (which is straight out of the 70s, and consists of pictures of the food...a la most Chinese take-out joints), and they're still charging for refills? It left a dry taste in my mouth, literally. Or maybe that was the salsa, which is pretty good, I admit. Watery, but welcoming.

Meanwhile, the Sancho is a terrific concoction. Last time I checked, a Sancho is just a loaded soft taco with lettuce and tomatoes. I opted for the beef. (That's what she said.) The tacos are terrific too. The "Nacho" cracks me up. It's like a Tijuana version of the standard "Nacho" that we all have come to know and love (i.e. Lew's, Peanut, etc.). If a newcomer walked in to the place and said, "Man, nachos sound good, I'll have that,", they would be more disappointed than Michael Douglas is in his son...his real son, not the one in that movie where M.D. is a high-powered judge and his son is some pharm-party, cabinet thief, pill popper. Catherine Zeta Jones is in it too. Decent movie. Wish i could remember what it's called. Actually, unless it's Basic Instinct or the Perfect Murder, I really don't care.

Anyway, the Nacho is a flat, crunchy corn tortilla with cheese, salsa and crushed jalepenos. It looks like some gamer nerd made it in his microwave in between games of Zelda. It's surprisingly tasty though.

All in all, it was a good meal. I'll definitely continue my patronage. And one more thing, if you go to Taco Via, remember to order a cheese cup. I seemed to be the only patron in the place that didn't know to do that. I was extremely jealous. I felt like that idiot at the Royals game that gets a soft pretzel without getting "Cheese as you please" for $3.75 extra. Totally worth it.

Anyway, get over there to Taco Via. Just bring 75 cents for a refill.

 

- BTF