![]() ![]() It was as messy as I recalled, with chunks of meat oozing out with each bite and landing in the wrapper below. For the uninitiated, a taco burger presents itself as a sort of Mexican sloppy Joe, with sauce, lettuce, tomato and shredded cheese atop taco meat. Then, I unwrapped the taco burger, which back in the day was a favorite for my friend Greg. It worked well enough for my memory to feel satisfied. Certainly, the meat seemed to have the same consistency and texture. The sauce certainly was familiar, as was the crisp, white corn shell. I read beforehand that the recipes are the originals, but who knows how the ingredients may have changed over the years, not to mention how my taste buds have evolved.īut then I took a second bite and then a third bite, and my brain seemed to build a bridge to where it wanted to go. I started with the taco (I left the lettuce and tomato on it, because I’m an adult now), which I had ordered with house hot sauce, and with the first bite, the flavor didn’t match what I remembered. I took my food to my table and the clock rolled back. I got one of each, along with a large soda (part of the memory), and, in a few minutes, my number was called. If you’ve never had one, it’s really just what it sounds like: taco ingredients on a bun instead of in a shell. I was happy to see the menu has many of the items I remember eating back in the day: crunchy tacos (of course), chili burritos and taco burgers. When I walked into the place, which is in a small strip mall building along with a Little Caesars, the aromas immediately sparked memories. It’s about a 20-minute drive from my house, which is why I’d never been, until recently. These days, the only Kentucky locations are in Lexington and Louisville, the latter being in Pleasure Ridge Park on Terry Lane. These days, there are precious few locations left of my old friend, which originally launched in the early 1960s in Wichita, Kansas, coming to Kentucky in the 1970s. My loyalty remained for as long as I could hold out. For a long time, I refused to darken the door at The Bell. Business fell off, and, at some point, Taco Tico closed. ![]() Of course, Taco Bell would come along, ultimately, just down the street from my beloved Taco Tico. I remember a promotion called the Macho Taco (a bigger shell with double the meat) and playing “Twisting by the Pool” by Dire Straits on the jukebox. It seemed like we were going there several nights a week for years and years, even though it couldn’t have been more than a couple. I hung out there with friends for hours and ate taco after taco (meat and cheese only in those days) and got to know the employees. Gatti’s? I worked at a Ponderosa Steakhouse in Clarksville, and mine was a Taco Tico restaurant, which was just across the street. What was your teenage hangout? The local mall? Mr. ![]()
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