And They're Off -- To School

School Supplies for Kindergarten

It’s been a busy week across Texas as teachers returned to their classrooms to prepare for the new school year and families met the teachers who will expand their kiddos’ minds. 

As Richardson ISD begins a new year, Taco Ocho wishes everyone a great start to a year full of learning and fun. Taco Ocho is surrounded by Richardson businesses and homes filled with people who learned about the world from great teachers. They had families who helped them do their homework when it was just too hard to figure it out on their own. And all of that is starting for a new generation.

On Monday little preschoolers and kindergarteners will be launched into the world of circle time and centers. First graders will transition from those little kids to big kids who’ve already put a school year notch on their belts. Second, third and fourth graders will start learning more complex subjects and start thinking more about the world at large. Fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders will struggle with that transition from being young into the great unknown of puberty and peer pressure. And the high schoolers are that much closer to knowing more than their parents (or so they think). 

Richardson ISD is about to start a whole new year of exciting sports, music and art. Students will find their groove, meet their best friends and be inspired by a teacher who appreciates them and challenges them to be something great.

Taco Ocho is proud to be part of the Richardson community because the schools are respected and strive for even better each year. And because of this, we will be watching the district throughout the school year, enjoying all the great things they do.

Heck of a Jicama

Whole jicama

We are a fresh casual restaurant in Richardson, Texas and we have found the root of all freshness. And by root, we mean jicama – that slightly sweet, crunchy and bright root vegetable found in many Latin cultures.  Used in some of our customers’ favorite dishes, jicama is a hero of texture here at Taco Ocho.

Commonly used throughout regions south of the Texas border and in some parts of Asia, the tuber has a mild flavor similar to a potato and a water chestnut. When cut up, it looks like a peeled radish but lacks the peppery heat. 

Wait. Did I say tuber a couple sentences back? What the jicama is a tuber? Well, it’s a swollen part of the stem that grows under the soil and where all the goodies like vitamins are stored. So, because the nutrients are stored in the meat of the totally tubular tuber, eating jicama means you are getting a healthy dose of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium. And it’s low in sodium. And because it’s mostly water, it’s a great hydrating vegetable.

Jicama is so significant in Mexico that it's featured prominently in their annual celebration of Las Posadas as one of four traditional ingredients. But be careful eating the morning glory type of flower, seeds and vine because those parts can be poisonous – and Native Americans used it to poison fish for easier fishing. 

Jicama is one of those veggies many Americans take for granted – if they even know about it. But Taco Ocho realized its importance in the many Latin cultures used to influence slaw for our fish tacos or grilled with cactus for a tostada. And we're excited to be introducing it to diners in the Richardson area. Perhaps jicama will be the next mango. Spreading foodie goodness across the United States.

Grilling up some jicama at Taco Ocho

 

If you want to learn even more about jicama, you can check out the sources used for this post.
A Cook's Thesaurus
Resource from Newport-Mesa Unified School District

For the Love of the Grill

Out here in Texas, we grill. I’m pretty sure, although I don’t have a source to cite, that Texans have grilling in our blood. And usually when we grill, we grill meat (insert Tim Allen grunting here). Dry cooking on a high heat is integral to getting a sear and smoky flavor. Grilling is also a traditional, serious style of cooking in Latin cultures. In many Latin countries an asado is a celebration around grilling. Grilling is like a really big deal.

But grilling has been elevated to more unique ingredients here in the United States. Ingredients not so unique elsewhere.

If you have been watching Top Chef Masters on Bravo this summer, you have seen one chef grill a head of lettuce and anther chef grill heads of cauliflower. Okay, the lettuce was a total fail. But the cauliflower was a hit. 

For fish and chicken, mango is a popular new compliment and nowadays people are grilling the mango to release a smoky sweetness. Pineapple is another ingredient meeting the grill to add a zesty pop to counter salty smoke. These flavors are fresh and exciting. They aren’t the familiar proteins and zucchini we throw on our backyard Weber grills. One day, somewhere, a foodie said, “Hey, let’s put something sweet on the grill.”

The chefs at Taco Ocho, in Richardson, Texas, grill all day long. And they are embracing the idea of outside-the-box grilling by taking fresh fruits and veggies like tomatillos, jalapenos, jicama and plantains and grilling them up. Plantains?! Yes. That sweet version of a banana grills up to perfection: the sugars caramelize and make a surprisingly perfect complement to the spice and rich flavors of shredded beef or the earthiness of black beans made from scratch and infused with jalapenos.

Fresh Grilled Tomatillos, Plantains and Jalapenos at Taco Ocho in Richardson, Texas

 

Considering grilling is such a tradition in Texas and Latin cultures, it makes sense that a restaurant in Texas that serves authentic Latin flavors would take the time to grill up Latin ingredients on the oh so familiar grill.

Mi Casa es Su Amigo

The folks here at Taco Ocho are going to start blogging more frequently on a variety of topics we hope you’ll find interesting. We’re going to discuss our concept, foodie trends and small business, as well as a few other topics. With each post we’re going to do our best to personalize this taco shop. We want you to know who we are, why we’re here, and how we envision changing the way you experience food.

Before we introduce you to Mani (the owner), Rodolfo (the executive chef), and the enthusiastic cooks and staff, we want to introduce you to Taco Ocho itself. If we were to imagine Taco Ocho as a person we could apply certain personality traits -- traits you might like in a friend.

• Taco Ocho is relaxed. You can come in and chill with a group or get away by yourself or use the free Wi-Fi. The atmosphere is easy going, BYOB, sunny and anything but stuffy. There’s no pressure to be anyone you’re not at Taco Ocho. No expectations other than just enjoying the food and your time  here.

•  Taco Ocho is bold. With fresh jalapenos and onions grilled every day, rice and black beans prepared from scratch and infused with bright flavors, and tasty tortillas cooked just for you, Taco Ocho is no wallflower. Even the mural on the wall proves that.

• And like any best friend, Taco Ocho is committed. The seriousness of fulfilling a new restaurant concept called fresh casual is at the core of Taco Ocho’s personality. It’s the dedication to real ingredients, authentic flavors, unique recipes and painstaking efforts of the staff to ensure quality in each bite, in each visit.

Black Beans Made from Scratch

Taco Ocho wants you to taste the extra effort put into the food – we make our own sauces and don’t allow additives in the kitchen. Taco Ocho wants you to notice the difference between a Taco Ocho meal made right here in front of you and some other place that opens a bag and pours food -- made somewhere else, frozen and shipped -- into a big old pot to warm. Taco Ocho doesn’t go halfway. Taco Ocho takes every step to help you feel welcome and special. No, the special china doesn’t come out. But the special flavors and techniques and genuine care that go into Taco Ocho’s personality make you feel pampered.

So, let our home be your friend. Because if Taco Ocho were a guy, we think you’d really like him.

Our Bold Taco Ocho Mural

 

A Taco Can Be Good for You In Ocho Many Ways

Fresh Pico de Gallo at Taco Ocho in Richardson, TX

Taco Shop Goes Gourmet

One of the growing trends in restaurants is the upscaling of fast food - a concept known as Fast Casual - like they're doing at Taco Ocho in Richardson, Texas. Kind of like the Jeffersons, fast food is moving on up to the East Side – providing high-society quality within an average person’s budget.

This new style of dining means you don’t have to wear a tie or a fancy dress to eat gourmet flavors. You don’t need to make reservations to have authentic and fresh ingredients. It also means there’s no need to eat pre-prepared food when you escape from the office for lunch. You don’t have to feed your kids a tub of fat or an ocean of salt because you’re rushing from school to practice to games. And it means it’s perfectly acceptable to rush in for food that takes you on a mini-vacation through flavor and quality.

That’s what upscale fast food is all about.

This trend is pretty cool. It’s pushing restaurants to think of new ways to serve you by:

• Making your meal better than good with carefully developed recipes from multiple influences
• Spoiling you with fresh ingredients that are hand-chopped, roasted and grilled each day
• Surprising you with layers of ethnic spices, creams, and vegetables -- flavors unified with care and pride
• Ensuring your paycheck doesn’t force you to settle for less taste and more fat
• Satisfying the time-crunch you face between work, home, activities and just living life

Pricing that isn't Fancy

Ingredients prepared daily and meals prepared to order aren't necessarily red-flags to make your wallet worry. In fact, the concept of upscaling fast food is about upscaling the flavor and quality and not the price. Places like Taco Ocho develop recipes that give you the gourmet experience and portions that are satisfying without the high-end cost. It flips the notion of "you get what you pay for" on its ear. In the case of upscale fast food, you get better than what you pay for.

Restaurants can do this by incorporating efficiencies and techniques that limit waste in their preparation. And, frankly, they don't have fancy table cloths that cost a lot to clean when juicy tacos drip all over them. There's no need for fancy silverware or champagne glasses. And the staff aren't in tuxedos.

Your Health Goes High-Class

And, finally, this trend is coming as Americans are finally addressing obesity. There are many factors to our country’s weight gain and we know that we need to do something about it. One of the factors is simply time. Americans cram too much into a day and are in such a hurry to get stuff done. So we grab food. We need food to survive but we make the quality of that food a lower priority than the urgency.

It’s the habit of feeding fast rather than eating well that is the first habit we can break. On the days when we can’t make lunch or dinner ourselves, there are inventive choices coming on the scene. Choices that are good for the clock and better for our bodies.

And this may be the surprising and welcome benefit of the upscaling of our fast food.

Our Inspiration

For far too long,

Tacos have been given a bum wrap.

Sorry excuses for these savory morsels

have been passed along,

slathered with poor quality meat.

Sub-par cheese.

And thrown into flimsy, mass-produced shells.

That’s not a meal, my friend.

That’s a tragedy.

Real tacos deserve attention.

Every detail well-calculated.

Not by machine. Not by some formula.

But by the tried and true taste bud.

And homemade recipes passed through the generations.

Real tacos deserve real ingredients.

Fresh veggies. Meats of the same caliber.

Cheeses that aren’t legally called “product.”

And yes,

ingredients from the places real tacos were born.

And where real tacos are still loved today.

See, for far too long

Tacos have been disrespected.

Hidden on menus like second-rate citizens.

Forced to the supporting actor role of a la carte,

While burritos, quesadillas and drive-thru combos took lead.

Well, far too long has gone far enough.

Because now tacos have a new name.

Taco Ocho.