Restaurant 1: OMG Tacos
OMG tacos is a franchise taqueria (fancy word for taco restaurant) that has locations dotted around the state of Texas. Its main attraction is its wide variety of menu options, ranging from asian fusion tacos to traditional quesabirria, and its most appealing factor to not only me but every college-aged individual who just got ran through by midterms is the fact that the restaurant stays open ‘til 3 a.m. I came to this restaurant for that very reason at 1 a.m. on a Monday evening with my companions after a long day of exams and work. The vibrant lighting, wall decorations, and open floor plan helped us feel welcome and gave us the sense that this place was especially active at night, as there was no shortage of people there even with how late it was. My friends ordered two traditional tacos with chicken and beef, while I ordered the asian fusion specialty tacos — aptly named the OMG chicken, beef, and pork tacos respectively — and we all shared a side of elote to go along with it. This cost about 15 dollars for 3 tacos plus the elote we split, which I felt was very fair for the amount of food we received.
The asian fusion aspect immediately made itself known once I took the first bite, as the flavors of teriyaki and taco seasoning mixed very well together. I have to say that those tacos were quite unique in their taste, I’d never had anything like them before. OMG Tacos definitely delivered on its promises. We stayed late chatting and hanging out, and it was almost 3 a.m. by the time we all left. The food we enjoyed while chatting went along with the vibe perfectly. I’d definitely recommend OMG Tacos as a wonderful after-party spot, or even as a place to unwind after a study session.
Food: 8.5/10 Vibe: 8.5/10 Price: $3-5
Restaurant 2: Velvet Taco
Velvet taco gives very heavy early 2015 millennial restaurant vibes, especially when their main tagline is “Our tacos may not change the entire world, but we think they’re pretty freakin’ great.” And I’d have to agree with that statement. The restaurant has locations all across the US, but especially in Texas. It typically stays open ‘til 2 a.m., which is appealing to the average UTD student who’s so hopped up on redbull there’s a good chance they don’t even sleep anymore.
Those previously stated millennial vibes were apparent as soon as we entered the restaurant which had no normal seating, just barstools and benches. We took note of the pricing of each taco and meal while we ordered our food, mainly to comment that we weren’t fond of it. It’s usually 5+ dollars per taco, which means I should be getting an absolute BANGER of a taco. Whether or not that’s the case is subjective, but in my opinion, it was not the case here. I ordered the beer-battered cauliflower taco as well as the very intriguing chicken tikka taco, along with a side of brisket nachos, which we all split. My share was roughly 16 dollars, which I wasn’t particularly fond of considering the amount of food I received. Although, the food itself was “pretty freakin’ great” in velvet taco’s own words. The cauliflower was nice and crunchy, and I was a big fan of the guac they topped it off with.
The chicken tikka was an interesting experiment that could frankly use some work. It wasn’t bad necessarily, but the rice and chicken combo didn’t pair as well as it could have, mainly because it was hard to get a bite of both at the same time, which resulted in me taking a bite of rice taco followed by a bite of just chicken. I could see that meal being really great with a little tweaking, although it was already pretty decent.
As a whole, Velvet taco wasn’t a terrible experience. I wasn’t disappointed, but I wasn’t really excited either. The prices really put me off, so I’d recommend this more for special occasions rather than a consistent spot to grab a meal from.
Food:8/10 Vibe:7/10 Price:$6-8
