Walking into Street Taco and Beer Co. in downtown Tucson reveals a dimly lit space with signs of an industrial style: exposed brick wall and electrical wiring, wood elements and hints of earthly colors with subtle additions of orange.
For a weeknight, the space is filled with customers at the bar and also scattered customers in the seating area. Both types of customers seem to be enjoying their time, representing ages ranging from college students to elderly couples.
The food counter resembles that of Chipotle’s, but with slight differences, such as different rice options and an added bean option without the varied toppings selections.
A male server greeted me politely and enthusiastically as I ordered one of the cheapest entrée items on the menu, a quesadilla with any choice of meat — I chose shredded beef. I then ordered a more expensive option, torta al pastor (marinated pork).
The server took his time making the entrées. A female server asked if I wanted sour cream with the quesadilla, which I accepted. The drink options were aguas frescas, Mexican sodas and fountain sodas. I ordered an horchata and enjoed the free chips-and-salsa bar. The order came out to approximately $16.
Filling the restaurant with noise is medium-loud background music with the occasional interruptions of advertisements.
At the bar, there are four television screens: one showing boxing, another showing baseball and two showing college football. There was only one bartender, a woman, and she rarely smiled. When she did, it seemed forced. There is a fridge that claims to have 100 different types of beer inside. There were five shelves in the fridge, with 50 counted in the first three, so by approximation, that claim is accurate.
Each table in the seating section has a button built in that says “buzz for beer.”
The shredded beef in the quesadilla was well-seasoned and had lots of flavor, a special addition to the normal quesadilla, not to mention its large size. The accompanying sour cream had a watery texture, but at least it’s cold.
The torta is flavorful as well, but not as spicy as a traditional Mexican torta. The pico de gallo salsa from the chips and salsa bar is chunky as it should be, and quite good. The medium salsa is watery and not spicy at all. Expecting the horchata to be sweet and delicious, it turned out to be too sweet, but still delicious, and had a great cinnamon taste.
After me, there were a decent amount of people to walk in the restaurant and eat.
Overall, the experience and mood of the restaurant is modern and relaxing. It’s a great place to come with a group of friends or a date and enjoy the food and time. Though the staff don’t quite match up to the atmosphere, the food speaks for itself. Street Taco and Beer Co. has a lot of potential to grow, and for now it’s enough to keep the customer full and satisfied.
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