Tacos Locos food stand

Usually located between South 1st and 2nd Avenues on Main Street, and mostly only during peak downtown nights (weds thru saturday).

3 thumbs up

The Tacos Locos food truck has become a permanent fixture of downtown nightlife over the past year and change.  Let's face it.  Everyone can go for a late-night taco, especially after a few drinks, and these guys capitalize on that market big time.  I've tried 3 things off their menu over the past few months and am finally weighing in.

First off, much like Burrito Brothers, it's not terribly authentic tex-mex street food.  But that's not the worst thing in the world.  I sampled their nachos with cheese (which of course was delicious), the shredded chicken taco (which wasn't so great), and their spicy beef taco (which was good but a bit unusual).

The nachos with cheese sauce was pretty awesome.  I believe they made their own cheese sauce, and I thought it was quite tasty.

The shredded chicken wasn't very flavorful and the toppings didn't wow me.  The iceberg lettuce was soggy and a bit of a bummer.  I would have much preferred the reliable crunch of cabbage on there. 

The spicy beef was much better, but it didn't taste terribly authentic.  It almost tasted like a beef stew taco.  It wasn't bad though, and I enjoyed it.

I think the truck is a much needed addition to late night food offerings downtown, and the tacos are pretty good overall. You can certainly get a better street taco from Pelican Brothers if they're serving them that night, but you really won't be bummed to have chosen Tacos Locos.  I think a few little changes would make them much better (more sauces, better seasoning of the chicken and beef, crunchier cabbage instead of lettuce).  But overall, it's pretty good. 

Bev's Better Burgers (Alachua & High Springs)

230 Main Street : Alachua
639 Northeast Santa Fe Boulevard : High Springs

Four thumbs up

If you've ever driven to the springs or passed through downtown Alachua, odds are you've seen Bev's Better Burgers.  We recently took a day trip to Ichetucknee Springs State Park and hit up Bev's on the way home.

Immediately, we wondered what made these burgers better.  Were they better than they used to be?  Were the old ones inferior somehow?  Or were they just better than the competition?  We'd soon find out.  While there, we sampled a range of their menu and enjoyed their "what the fuck do you want?" style service.

I ordered a cheeseburger and small fry.  The cheeseburger didn't look too pretty, but it was pretty good.  I'd say it was certainly a better burger than what I remember of fast food joints (I haven't had a Burger King/McDonalds/Wendy's burger in as long as I can remember).  The fries were good too.  They were like McDonald's, but soggier.  When the girl at the window barked "you want that all the way?" I said yes not knowing what that meant.  Apparently "all the way" doesn't include pickles, which I would have liked.  I figure "all the way" should be more than lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo.  But it wasn't.
 
Other people in our party tried the jalapeno poppers, which could have been called the deep fried death balls.  They were cream cheese and jalapeno pieces, battered and deep fried.  I highly doubt they made them themselves, but they were pretty offensive.

Overall, I and everyone in the group did enjoy the meal here.  The burger was smaller and provided much less remorse than a Whopper, but had similar characteristics.  Obviously, it wasn't healthy, and the people working there had some of the worst attitudes this side of the county jail mess hall, but it was a fun little stupid meal after a long day at the springs.

Back to School!!!

Even though it's been nearly 10 years since I've finished grad school, I cannot avoid the back to school vibe that hits this town this time of year.  None of us can.  Traffic picks up considerably, movie theaters are more crowded, and our beloved restaurants feel a surge of new life as dollar after student dollar begins to flow again.  If you're new to town and just discovering this blog, I hope I can help you.  If you're a long time reader (we almost have 20,000 views!!) I hope you continue to read.  So, in the spirit of getting back to the books, I'm going to do a handy reference local restaurant guide for you. 

Breakfast
Best: Karol and Bill's Plaza Diner.  This place is excellent.  It's everything you'd want out of a greasy spoon diner and more.  I love this place to death.  They also do lunch. Review here. 
Best: The Jones. Equally excellent but for different reasons.  Review here.

Lunch
Best: Flaco's.  Easily one of my favorite restaurants in town.  Great for lunch, dinner, or late night grub.  Excellent Cuban food.  Review here.
Worst: Gelato Company.  Just bad food.  Review here. 

Sushi!
Best: Fuji Sushi.  Hands down the best in town.  Review here.

Overrated: Dragonfly.  Overpriced, underwhelming, aimed at 19 year old sorority girls on their birthdays.  Review here
Worst: Ichiban (I'm sure there are worse places that I'd dare not try, but this place passes itself off as two legitimate restaurants).   Review here

Mexican/Tex-Mex
Best:  El Indio.  Some menu items aren't great, but easily the best in town.  Review here
Honorable Mention: Burrito Brothers. I like this place.  Not terribly authentic, but authentically Gainesville Review
Overrated: Las Margaritas.  I believe Mexican food should be eaten out of a bag, not off a plate.  That being said, Las Margs is OK, but I've had just as many blah experiences here as good ones.  I have not checked out the new location yet, but assume it's the same food.  Review here
Worst: Boca Fiesta.  I could submit Boca Fiesta as worst restaurant in the world and it would come close to winning.  I have no idea why this place is so popular. The food is terrible, the staff unsanitary, and the service slower than molasses.  Review here

Pizza
Best: Blue Highway (Micanopy or Tioga locations).  This is some of the best pizza I've had anywhere, and I'm picky as hell about pizza.  They make a damn good pie.  Review here
Overrated: Satchel's.  I love the vibe of the place and they make good salads, but the only explanation I can come up with for people who love this place (and there are TONS of them) is that they've never actually eaten pizza before.  Review here
Worst: Everywhere else.  I've never seen a town with such terrible pizza options

Pan-Asian
This is a tough category.  There are some REALLY bad Pan-Asian restaurants in town.  Some were so bad that they got shut down by the health inspectors.  I'll do my best to rattle off a few of each genre here:
Chinese Worst: Chopstix.  This restaurant is terrible.  People love it.  Again, my only explanation is that these people have never been to any sort of restaurant in their life before.  Review here
Thai Worst: Tim's Thai.  Easily the worst restaurant in the world.  Review here
Vietnamese Worst: Pho Hanoi.  Some of the saddest food I've ever seen.  Review here.
Vietnamese Worst: Bagels and Noodles.  Just as bad as it sounds. Review here
Chinese Worst: Mr. Han's.  Clearly a front for illegal exotic marine life and opium.  Review here.
Decent: Liquid Ginger.  This place is OK.  It takes forever to get your food, but it's really not bad.   Review here.
Decent: Saigon Legend.  I haven't been here since they moved locations.  Their ingredients are usually pretty cheap, but somehow, their food is always pretty good. (I somehow have never reviewed this place)
Unfortunate: Bahn Thai.  This place used to be pretty good.  It was in a seedy location and was always sketchy/dirty feeling, but they made good food.  It was far from the best Thai I've ever had, but it did the trick.  They recently changed owners and the quality has steadily plummeted.  Review here

American
Best: The Jones.  With a new location opening downtown, I'm excited to see what the good folks at the Jones are going to bring us next.   Review here.
Honorable Mention: The Top.  I don't go here much anymore, but it's always been a reputable source of solid food, good atmosphere, and a great bar.  Review here.
Worst: The Lunchbox.  This place sucks.  I've actually reviewed it multiple times, as I wanted to give it a fighting chance, but it has always sucked.  Review here.

Indian
Best: Indian Cuisine.  Great food.  Very slow service, especially during peak dinner hours.    It's not uncommon to be there for 2 hours for dinner.  Reivew here.
Best: Kabab House. Great, fast food.  Really like this place.  Don't be scared by the interior decorations.  Review here.
Worst: Taste of India.  This place is super gross.  I bought a bag of naan to go from here, and when the owner took the first bag out of the cooler, he deliberately put it back and took another one from the back (as it was clearly the oldest).  Needless to say, it had mold all over it.  (No review).

Late Night Munchies

Best: Pelican Brothers Food Truck.  Typically parked outside High Dive (Formerly Double Down/Common Grounds) late at night.  Excellent food.  These guys are upping the local food ante all out of a truck.  Review here.
Best: Hot dog cart on corner of SW 1st Ave and SW 1st St.  Great dogs.  Perfect late night eats.  Review here.

Dessert
Best: Karma Cream.  This place epitomizes what is great about Gainesville.  Locally owned and operated, artisan vegan baking (trust me, you won't care that it's vegan because it's excellent), and organic ice cream and vegan ice cream.  Review here.
Best: Mochi.  Another local success story.  Operated by the owners of Bento, this place is just great.  Japanese Frozen Yogurt is big these days, and no one does it better than Mochi, in my opinion. Review here.

Food Shopping
Best: Wards Supermarket.  A fantastic grocery store.  Locally owned and operated.  Review here.
Best: Dorn's Liquors.  I love this place.  Great beer, liquor, cheese, chocolate, and specialty items.  Review here.
Best: Uppercrust Bakery.  A truly European experience right in GVL.  Excellent breads, pastries, wines, cheeses, and other specialty items.  Review here.
Best: Wine and Cheese Gallery.  I'm not so in love with the attached restaurant, Panache, but I do love this cozy little wine store downtown.  They also have a great happy hour on Fridays.  Review here.

Bars
Best: Depending on what you're looking for, Gainesville probably has a bar/club for you.  Right now, for me, the best is The Bull.  It's laid back with a sophisticated, yet small selection of great beer and wine.  I prefer when the owners hand select 30 different beers for me to choose from rather than having 400 choices.  Review here (note they no longer serve food)
Best: Durty Nelly's.  This place has the best college-town bar vibe of any other bar in town.  It's somehow perfectly blends a representative sample of every population group.
Best: High Dive.  Formerly Double Down and Common Grounds.  It's the premier live music venue in town.  Plus, the porch is a great place to grab a laid back beer and bump into friends. 
Honorable Mention: Stubbies. Face it, they brought good beer to town.  Based on their efforts, the local distributors kicked their beer lists into hyper drive.  They also serve German food.  I find it a tad sterile and the bartenders can be a bit snooty about the beer, but it's really a well stocked bar.

   
Finally, I want to review how I rate a place.  I use a 5 thumb system.  I'm going to start using graphics to help explain


5 thumbs up : Excellent! Love it! Eat here multiple times a week!
4 thumbs up : Very Good! Not quite perfect. Eat here one-two times a month.
3 thumbs up : Good. It does the job and nothing to really complain about. Eat here only when you're in the area and can't think of anywhere else.
2 thumbs up : Not bad. I would think about trying somewhere else first if I had the choice. Eat here rarely.
1 thumb up : Meh. It's calories. I would definitely try to eat somewhere else if I had a choice.
0 thumbs up : Not worth my time. They're not even trying.
(skip 1-4 thumbs down, because at this point, who really cares?)
5 thumbs down : Terrible