TACO CO.
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Benson
Casual hangout with puffy tacos
Perfect For: Casual Dining; Happy Hour; Vegan Options
Standout Dishes: Birria Taco; Barbacoa Taco; Steak Taco; Chips & Guacamole
For all Omaha’s taco joints, there aren’t many that serve puffy tacos. Maria’s is best known for these lightly-fried shells, so Michael Sanchez (Maria’s grandson) had a brilliant idea: why not build a restaurant concept around the wildly popular tacos?
And thus, Taco Co. was born.
Located in the heart of the Benson district, Taco Co. is not a second location of Maria’s. While the beloved tacos are joined by quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas, and more at Maria’s, they’re the star of the show at Taco Co. In fact, other than chips & dips, nachos, and taco bowls, the eight varieties of puffy tacos are the only thing you can order at Taco Co.
There’s a reason why Sanchez chose to so heavily highlight the tacos, and it all starts with the unique, incredible shells. These fried concoctions are taco pillows, almost empanadas in the way they enclose the meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese inside.
Fried to a perfect golden brown, these shells have a perfect crispiness on the outside, yet somehow maintain the soft, doughy texture of a flour tortilla on the interior. The result is somewhat like pita bread, but with much more flavor.
Maybe the most impressive factor in the shells is the lack of grease. You might expect the fried shell to be dripping, especially after a few bites forced out the oil trapped inside. But Taco Co. clearly uses a quality tortilla that crisps up in the frying process without simply absorbing all the oil. These shells were not at all a greasy mess, nor did they fall apart after a few bites.
Taco Co. could stuff these shells with baby food or wet socks and they’d still be delicious. Fortunately, the restaurant opts for more delicious proteins. The cubed Steak is perfectly seasoned. The slow-cooked Barbacoa is shredded into tender ropes of flavor. The Carnitas is tender and juicy, infusing each bite with a burst of smoky pig flavor.
But the real home runs are the Brisket, which combines rich, slightly sweet shredded brisket with a creamy jalapeno-line crema, and the Birria, which is stuffed with enough tender, slow-roasted beef to be delicious on its own, but it reaches another level when dunked in the rich, flavorful consomme.
Taco Co. also features a Taco of the Month to keep things fresh. An example is the Philly Cheesesteak Taco, which delivers exactly what it promises: everything you love about a classic Philly, from the gooey cheese to the sauteed peppers and tender marinated steak, but in taco form.
Not all the proteins are a home run, as the Beef and Chicken are a bit mild. But even then, the shell is so good, it’s still an enjoyable experience.
The proteins are accented by crisp lettuce and plump, juicy slices of tomato. And because it’s enclosed in the shell with the hot meats, the cheese melts into a gooey, delicious glue.
Whichever meat you select, the flavor gets amped up to an 11 with the provided red sauce. This concoction looks villainous on the table. Pepper seeds, the heat vessels that provide most of the kick in their hosts, are easily visible, giving the hot sauce a daunting presence. But the heat isn’t overpowering and is at a pleasing level, and the garlicky, salty notes make this hot sauce a real hot. If Taco Co. sold these jars, I would have leave each time with two or 20 of them.
The Chips and Guacamole are the perfect appetizer. The corn-based chips have plenty of flavor on their own, and they have layers. The outer shell is perfectly crispy, but the interior is soft, much like a flour tortilla. You can see salt crystals, but the sodium isn’t overpowering at all.
The chips are great with the hot sauce, but they’re even better with the creamy guac, which employs chopped onions, tomatoes and cilantro to amp up the flavor and add some texture. And the Queso adds a spicy, rich punch.
If you need a sweet treat to end the meal, the Churro Bites are good balance to a savory feast. They’re crispy and have plenty of sugar, whether eaten on their own or dunked in the rich, thick chocolate sauce. They’re a bit oily, and some are dark and over-fried, but on the whole they’re a good shareable plate.
The most is complemented by a fun, vibrant atmosphere. Even if you don’t get a spot on the cozy, inviting patio, there are plenty of great seats inside, where you’ll enjoy balanced decor, upbeat music, and giant vault doors (the building housed a bank before Taco Co.) moved in. A couple of the booths even include bench swings.
All in all, I have little doubt Taco Co. makes Maria proud of her grandson. The puffy tacos are reminiscent of the original and are among the best I’ve had in Omaha. The atmosphere is fun, and though the menu is limited, there’s nothing else I’d want to order here.
It’s definitely worth checking out Maria’s for a more wide-ranging menu. But if you want those delectable food tacos, there’s no better place to find them than Taco Co.