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.

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.