Taco in a bag - Lincoln Square..

Has anyone on the board tried the storefront recently opened by the ex-food truck (and winners of one of those food network shows) glutton-force give guys... "Taco in a Bag"...4603 N Lincoln Ave?

Their story is interesting - after winning the show, their "prize" was a kiosk space in a suburban mall (more like a curse than prize for an independent restaurant).. They stuck it out through their "prize lease", and moved into the city earlier this year.

I tried it once, and it was busy-ish... Fun space, very loud in design (in a fun way), and a good rendition of this classic fest food. Food didn't warrant a post (not in a bad way) , but now I'm curious what others have thought... It's pricey for traditional taco in a bag - but it's also done thoughtfully with better ingredients.. For me, it doesn't seem like the sum of different parts would equal a varied enough result to make it a frequent stop - but maybe I need to go again to confirm this.

Anyone else been? Thoughts?

We stopped in for a quick bite after biking in from Evanston. Loved it. Had a slow cooked beef taco in a bag. It was like really well prepared nachos. Not your typical fast food. Seemed like they put a lot of care into the recipes and ingredients. Also got the corn/elote on a stick. Three of us split them and all thought everything was very tasty.

I had avoided it for a while, thinking it to be more of a gimic, but I've since had three different tacos in a bag from them and been very impressed. I've tried the original (the Big Jim Reeves), the Miki Sudo (with citrus marinated shrimp) and the Vegemite and enjoyed them all. I've been impressed with the housemade chips and how they maintain their crispness despite the hefty toppings. With the Miki Sudo, the shrimp was far more impressive (in terms of both flavor and texture) than I would have expected for $9 and from a place like this. Nice people too. I was less impressed by their donuts in a bag, but oh well . . . I'll keep returning to Tacos in a Bag for the walking tacos.

http://www.tacoinabag.com

I've tried a few of their creations and really enjoyed them. The challenge for me is fitting TIAB into my regular dining patterns -- feels like more of a late night kind of thing and I'm rarely out on Lincoln at that time. It's certainly in my rotation of places I'd take visiting friends/relatives due to the novelty and fun factor.

Thanks guys, exactly the feedback I was looking for.

Like I said, I liked my (Jim Reeves) first visit - just wasn't eager to return as chips, cheese, meat, etc. all mixed together is difficult to impress. Sounds like they have impressed.

We're gonna be neighbors when The Budlong opens, so I'm glad to see they are doing well and are well-received. Lincoln Square is developing on the restaurant/business end - such a ripe neighborhood full of lovely homes, nice neighbors, but (until recent) not a lot of the new fast-casual restaurants that have flourished in the younger neighborhoods. Baker Miller, TIAB, Rainbow Thai, couple places on Western that are turning over from old to new, I just read about Iliana's new concept next to Elizabeth - which sounds awesome. Go Lincoln Square! Keep em comin!

rubbbqco wrote:Thanks guys, exactly the feedback I was looking for.

Like I said, I liked my (Jim Reeves) first visit - just wasn't eager to return as chips, cheese, meat, etc. all mixed together is difficult to impress. Sounds like they have impressed.

We're gonna be neighbors when The Budlong opens, so I'm glad to see they are doing well and are well-received. Lincoln Square is developing on the restaurant/business end - such a ripe neighborhood full of lovely homes, nice neighbors, but (until recent) not a lot of the new fast-casual restaurants that have flourished in the younger neighborhoods. Baker Miller, TIAB, Rainbow Thai, couple places on Western that are turning over from old to new, I just read about Iliana's new concept next to Elizabeth - which sounds awesome. Go Lincoln Square! Keep em comin!

Looking forward to your opening, particularly since it will fill a major void in the hood. And there is so much good going on in the area in terms of casual - Thai is huge (including the often forgotten PNA), Vietnamese has taken off some, Monti's of course, Luella's and hopefully even more (such as the eventual Roots opening) . . . too bad there will be such a large space being devoted to Jerry's . . . I just don't understand what excites people about that place.

I've been by there several times, this thread makes me more interested in trying it.

Taco in a Bag is a pleasant surprise. Wasn't blown away but for the price (they range from $7 to $9.50 and one is is enough for a lunch), I thought it made a good stop before heading across the street for a movie at the Davis.

The set-up is simple. Each bag comes with a bunch of excellent homemade chips topped with a protein and some kind of sauce. It appears they are all pretty messy, so a fork is a must.


I had The Angry Bird, which comes with verde-braised chicken thighs, queso fresco, roasted garlic infused sour cream, and cilanto. I thought it could have used a lot more flavor from the salsa, either in the chicken through the braising process or simply with some extra salsa in the bag, but other than that I thought it was solid. There was certainly no shortage of chicken - there's no danger of getting stuck with a bunch of plain chips at the bottom of the bag.


My friend got The Reverse Coney, which has a vegetarian three bean coney sauce, "Cajun" cheese curds, onion, yellow mustard cream sauce, and oyster crackers. I'm not much of a veggie chili person, so take anything I have to say about this one with as little credibility as you like. Again, there was more than enough chili and other toppings, but there was a sweetness to this one that I didn't enjoy. Basically I was expecting a faux Detroit but I got a faux Cincinnati.

The people were nice, the food is solid, and the price is right. I'm sure I'll be back but it won't be in my regular rotation. Would love to buy a bag of those chips though. They were really great.

I've never heard of a "taco in a bag" - so it's just nachos in a bag?

mdpilam wrote:I've never heard of a "taco in a bag" - so it's just nachos in a bag?

Also known as a "walking taco" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tostilocos