The second I heard about the Diablo Taco, I had to try one. So, when I was feeling a tad peckish last night, I stopped in to try one.
The Diablo is packed with meat, onions and peppers--so much so that it came out as two flat corn tortillas with a tower of edible edibles on top instead of folded up like a traditional soft taco. I ordered mine with cheese, but extra spicy to cancel out any potential cooling benefit from adding cheese.
In a half-witted attempt to get the taco down to a foldable mass, I decided to pick off some onions and peppers from the top of the taco and eat them. The sauteed onions are delicious, having soaked up some of the heat and flavor from the peppers and the deliciously smoky habanero (I think it was habanero--it kind of had that barely sweet flavor to it) sauce they put all in the taco. There were a few too many onions on my taco for my liking, though, as I prefer a bit more meat than veggies in my taco, but that's easily rectified by picking them off and eating them.
Popping a pepper into my mouth to get the taco down to a good meat : veggie ratio, though? Bad idea. First of all, I was a moron who picked it up with my fingers. Anything I touched got a bit of leftover capsaicin after that. Let's just say I was glad I was wearing glasses instead of contacts that day! Secondly, those peppers are HOT. They work in the context of the taco, bringing a bit of tangy heat to the whole package. On their own, though, they just bring the pain. And pain. And more pain! Thirdly, this took away the main source of the taco's heat.
Underneath all the toppings, the Diablo Taco is really not that spicy. When you get to the bottom layer of meat, it's downright mild. Sure, the smoky habanero sauce is all over the meat, too, but it's not really all that hot. Most of the heat comes from the peppers on top, so if you're out to tackle the 666 challenge, keep that in mind.
I couldn't have been happier with the meat in this taco, though. It's perfect, flavorful and tender. I just wish they would have worked more heat into the meat somehow, perhaps with an Evil Marinade of Pain and Doom, or by chopping up bits of pepper in with the meat itself.
The tortillas held everything together just fine, although they were a tad soggy. Be careful what you touch afterwards. I tried washing all the spicy juices off, but it lingered anyway.
With my Diablo Taco (extra spicy, with cheese, to go), I got three tubs of extra goodies. One contained crunchy, uncooked onions that had the same tasty kick as the sauteed ones on the taco. I guess these must be stored in some way that allows them to soak up some heat. Another tub contained more of the same smoky, fabulous habanero sauce that's already on the taco. The third tub contained a fabulously limey green salsa that I really enjoyed eating on the onion-bomb Diablo Taco. It's a milder salsa, but it works well with the onions.
I'd love to go back and try the other items on the menu sometime. The counter staff was friendly and the pictures of the other dishes on the wall all looked fabulously tasty.
Well, as you know from the wonderful blog by Chad on "the Deal with the Devil," we could not fully complete our challenge the other night. I, however, was pleasantly surprised by the new menus, signs, and overall feel of Taqueria Mexican Taco! If you have not yet ventured to this gem of a restaurant, you should do so soon. The food is delicious, and the prices are some of the best in town. I look forward to defeating their new challenge "666," mostly because it will be my pleasure to eat 6 delicious tacos! Check out the taqueria soon, and tell them the pastor is coming after the devil!
I love tacos al pastor and they do em right here! Great flavor on the meat. Fresh tortillas. MMM. And they are open late for when you have that craving. I've tried a bite of the diablo and that's all I needed. I like to think I can handle spicy food fairly well but this thing is nuts. Just stop by and grab a taco or two. You'll like em..unless you hate tacos.
When you're hit by a taco craving late at night, this is the only place you should consider going. The pastor is great, and this is the only place in town that I know of that does queso the right way. It's literally a tub full of melted queso fresco, I recommend the chorizo. If you like spicy food, I haven't come across anything in Waco that'll set your mouth on fire as much as the diablo taco. Imagine a pastor taco with an onion and habinero salsa topped off with more sliced habineros. Fair warning, they aren't playing around with this taco. Order extra spicy if you're really crazy.
