Truco Taqueria & Margarita Bar, Randhurst Village

As I reported previously, the latest restaurant to open in Randhurst Village is Truco Taqueria.

I was initially skeptical by the prominence of its frozen drink dispensers, and the glossiness of its decor making me think it's part of a chain (it's not), but hey, the food's pretty good. Yelp classifies it as a gastropub, which isn't right, but there is an upscaliness to the menu.

They start by bringing you tostada shells (commercial ones, there's bags of them by the kitchen), a thin bean dip and a tasty green salsa (all nicely warm). The tostadas are probably the weakest part of the entire meal: they're a little thick and hard as a substitute for chips, and a far cry from fresh chips.

It had been years since we've eaten Queso Fundido, so we decided to try theirs ($10 - add chorizo, mushrooms or chicken for $3). A large serving of melted cheese, topped with a squiggle of jalapeno aioli, accompanied by a mix of flour and corn tortillas. Very tasty -- I prefer a little browning on the top of the cheese, but it's a long-forgotten treat.


The tlayudas, tortas and mejillones (mussels) all sounded interesting, but in the end we went for tacos. They have 14 varieties, served in pairs (of the same kind) for $7. Pricey for taco stand, but not outrageous. The Camaron had a "chile de arbol pesto" and goat cheese, and was quite delicious. The Chorizo is made with lamb (!!!), nicely greasy, with chicharron for crunch. Both were winners.

At $7 for two tacos (no accompaniments) I'm less likely to grab lunch here than Mi Restaurante, Los Huaraches and Monicas (all within the same distance), but it is certainly a good stop for before or after a movie. I definitely need to try a few more of those taco options, including octopus with chorizo and nopales, braised short rib with tamarind guajillo sauce, and duck confit with peach pico de gallo. Service was friendly -- they push the drinks but not too hard. Definitely worth a look.

Menu:




Truco Taqueria & Margarita Bar
211 Randhurst Village Dr
Mount Prospect, IL 60056
(847) 577-TACO
http://www.trucotaco.com/

We went again a couple weeks ago, I forgot to post until just now.
We were hungry, and forgot that the portions were pretty good sized (although still far from a bargain compared to most taquerias).

The Tlayuda was like an unfolded quesadilla (flour tortilla). We had the Costilla (short rib) version, which was delicioius, and quite filling.

The tacos we ordered were less wonderful than the ones we'd chosen the first time: Cochinita Pibil had no zing, was just braised pork. The Pato was similarly pretty bland. Both were supposed to have habanero, but there was no heat there. I don't know if they've dumbed them down, or got a weak batch of chiles, but it was a disappointment.

I'll give them another shot, since it's fun food right next to the theater, and doesn't have the lines that Smokey Bones does (haven't tried it yet for that reason). But fail me again, and I probably won't be back.

I didn't find the duck (pato) tacos bland at all. The peach pico de gallo gave them the burst of flavor they needed. They weren't super spicy though. The mushroom (hongo) tacos were crazy hot though. So much so, my wife couldn't finish hers and gave it to me. I really enjoyed this place and will go back. My one complaint is that the tacos weren't served hot. They were lukewarm. I'm not sure if that's because they sat for too long before being served or if the ingredients are held in a tray before being stuffed in taco. If the latter is true, they should be tossed on the grill for a bit before serving.

Per their web page, Truco Taco has closed. The store itself has a "closed for remodeling" sign, but appears to be more permanent.

I'm sorry to see it go -- I was only in a handful of times, but the food was always tasty, well-presented and creative... although as time went on, they lost more and more of the creativity in an attempt to capture more market, adding hamburgers, and losing things like lamb chorizo.