Chicago Restaurant Week 2018 (CRW) officially began on January 26 and ended on February 9. This year, I had my life together and finally reserved seats for one of the CRW participants. I set my sights on Tallboy Taco after browsing through over 300 restaurants.
I chose to try Tallboy Taco’s dinner menu with my friend because it costs $33 for two, which is very affordable and a pretty good deal compared to most of the other CRW participants. Here is my experience:
Menu
Overall, the taco selection has a good variety of meats and seafood, but it doesn’t seem too friendly for the vegetarians. It took us a long time to decide on the 6 tacos because they all seem like fancy twists for traditional tacos.
Chips, Salsa and Guacamole
The chips were freshly fried, so they were still warm and very crispy. The salsa was good, but not so amazing that it stood out to me. However, I would definitely give the guacamole a 10/10. And if you’re someone like me who likes having big chunks of avocado in the guac, this is the guac for you!
Tacos
For the tacos, my friend I chose Spicy Chicken, Pork Al Pastor, Carnita, Carne Asada, Grilled Shrimp and Steak & Egg. I had the Carnita, Grilled Shrimp and Steak & Egg, and my favorite was the shrimp taco. The shrimp was grilled to the point that it was chewy, the kind of texture I like. The Steak & Egg felt more like a brunch option, but I liked its novelty. On the other hand, the carnita taco was too watery, and the meat was a bit mushy, so I wasn’t too impressed; I did appreciate the slice of avocado on top, though.
My friend loved all her tacos and highly recommended the al pastor. I would definitely go for that the next time I visit Tallboy. On a side note, the corn tortillas were delicious.
Churros with Dulce de Leche
I liked the warmth of the churros and their sugar coat, but I wasn’t a huge fan of how fluffy they were. It felt to me that the churro was too hollow on the inside, even though there was no filling in it. I did like the dulce de leche sauce, even though there was so little that it wasn’t enough for both my friend and I to do third dips.
Overall, I would rate my experience at Tallboy Taco 7/10. The tacos and churros didn’t amaze me that much, but they were conventionally delicious, especially after getting tacos at Hutch five Saturdays in a row. The chips, salsa and guac were definitely the highlight of this dinner.
I personally really like the idea of Chicago Restaurant Week, because most of the participating restaurants’ special CRW menu makes them a lot more affordable than usual, and includes their signature courses. I highly recommend all of you trying one restaurant because it’s a perfect occasion whether you want to grab fancy dinner with a friend, impress your date or just treat yourself.