3301 E Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85018
Review Highlights
Tacos Veganos Restaurant Review
Have you ever substituted meat for a plant-based protein? Recently, I visited Tacos Veganos, a plant-based Mexican restaurant specializing in street tacos and burritos.
They are located in Arcadia, about a quarter mile east of 32nd Street and Indian School Road. I did some research and discovered that Tacos Veganos started as a food truck and is now a very modern, fast-casual restaurant.
In addition to vegan street tacos and burritos, they also feature trending foods like loaded fries, birria, and birria ramen. I also saw tortas, sopes, and mulitas on the menu.
Tortas = Sandwiches
Sopes = Fried, thick corn bread [instead of tortilla] with meat and toppings; usually served open-faced
Mulitas = Two tortillas formed to make a sandwich; similar to a stuffed quesadilla
Everything is served ready-to-eat. There is no condiment or salsa bar.
For this visit, I ordered the three taco plate which includes rice and beans. They offer four options for plant-based “meat:” asada, pollo, birria, and al pastor.
Yes, you can mix and match. I chose one each: pollo, birria, and al pastor. Additionally, the tacos come with a blend of cilantro/onion and guac.
It appears the birria tacos are special and do not include extras.
I also tested the nachos, which are loaded with vegetarian “meat,” refried beans, jalapenos, guac, vegan sour cream (from cashews), onion/cilantro blend, and cashew-based nacho cheese.
I have tried vegan proteins in the past and was already aware of how the plant-based food technology had evolved. Essentially, the veggie stuff is no longer tasteless and boring.
Everything I ate was Justin Leonard Approved. I couldn’t pick a winner out of the three tacos. Maybe al pastor was the best? I don’t know. They were ALL good.
By the way, the birria at Tacos Veganos is made from jackfruit. This was my first time trying jackfruit.
While the flavors were definitely close to the real deal, the texture was not. I would describe the plant-based “meat” as significantly more tender compared to real meat and similar to having a fatty texture.
Real meat has a bit of toughness to it. But the technology exists to manipulate the texture and toughness of things like soy to match that of real meat.
Nachos were full of flavor. The vegan sour cream was undetectable taste-wise. The cashew nut cheese was down by law. The thickness and creamy texture really shined.
Blended with all the other flavors, the cheese both looks and tastes like real cheese. However, it lacked the sharpness and aroma of real cheese that makes it easily distinguishable. So once they figure that part out, it’s a wrap.
The rice was on par with other Mexican restaurants. I felt the beans were better than most.
Tacos Veganos offers two salsas that compliment their food really well. Usually, red is hot and green is mild. But I felt they were both mild.
I did not use a lot of salsa because I wanted to really taste the tacos and nachos unobstructed.
I was able to finish the three-taco plate. I took most of the nachos home. Surprisingly, when reheated in the microwave, the plant-based “meats” held up really well.
If there was ever a meat shortage, look for me at Tacos Veganos.
