Last visit: May 2023 (Lubbock 50th @ Ave. T)
First visit: Sep 1983 (Lubbock 50th)
After Cooper's we made it to the next county seat which is Brady. Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. Much nicer than the Springhill Suites in Austin. Comfortable rooms and very good buffet breakfast. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise. Time to head on home to Colorado Springs. JL said he wanted Taco Villa again. He really liked that quick stop in Amarillo. I try not to "double up" on places when traveling, but it occurred to me that 1) lunchtime will likely be in Lubbock and 2) the Taco Villa there is technically different. See below for the details. So that's exactly what we did.
Everything went very well, and JL didn't notice too much difference between the two. He tried a steak fajita taco and said it was great - really like a good steak! They skimped on the cheese but otherwise I have to agree. They even use the same hot sauce package, so there's obviously a cobranding agreement. Also their salsa bar lacks any spicier options. So if I were to compare the two, I'd vote for the Amarillo franchise. I first started going to the Lubbock Taco Villa (which was the same back then) when I entered Texas Tech, which is why I'm confident the 1983 date is correct. That location is also on 50th (near Quaker) and is due west of the one we visited today. I was a regular there for 4+ years until I graduated at the end of 1987.
From here we drove through Lubbock and I got to see Texas Tech. Barely recognized it. So much larger than it was when I attended.
This Taco Villa remains an independent chain from the original Taco Villa. Currently there are 10 locations, 8 in Lubbock with one in Levelland and another in Clovis, New Mexico.
---original 2/14/13 review
Well...Curiosity killed the cow. Ever since the original Taco Villa found its way to the DFW market, I've been curious to see what happened with the breakaway branch. Apparently this Taco Villa is owned by a friend of Bobby Cox, so it stands to reason it will probably be similar. My personal history with Taco Villa goes back to the Lubbock locations (especially the one on 50th - the store closer to Slide), so the Mrs. and I decided it would make for a nice and light Sunday lunch... and to satiate my curiosity.
Just to set the stage here. As we mentioned in yesterday's post, the RJG was a student at Texas Tech in the mid 1980s. A seriously money-deprived student at that. So a cheap fast food meal, especially in those days, could be cheaper than going to the grocery store. In the 1980's, there were basically 3 taco chains in Lubbock. Taco Mayo (yes, the one from Oklahoma that we've covered on the blog recently) arrived sometime in 1985, and they went straight for the bottom of the market. 29 cent tacos. That's right. TWENTY-NICE CENTS. I could have a full meal on less than $2. That's good stuff right there. They were pretty good too, though the chain has changed dramatically since then and offer a completely different product. They exited Lubbock altogether around the same time I did. I would imagine it was tough making any kind of margin on that low of a food cost. As a response, Taco Bell lowered their price from 73 cents to 49 cents. I don't forget these totals, because they were part of my very survival. I'm not one to run for the border these days, but back then, Taco Bell was a Godsend. And then if I wanted a splurge meal, I'd go to Taco Villa, who were coming in at a whopping 89 cents. They were bigger tacos, no doubt, but way beyond my budget. But I always liked them - they had such a unique flavor, and I always loved their salsas in those white coffee creamer type containers.
Well, the original Taco Villa (the one DFW now has) is more like the one that used to be in Lubbock. The new Lubbock stores have decided to go more modern and hip. So they darkened their restaurants, similar to Taco Cabana, and they have traditional taqueria type fare like Street Tacos. If I'm going to have street tacos, I'll go to a real taqueria - not Taco Villa! But whatever, I can see why they made the conscious move to be part of the 2010's rather than the 1970s. To their credit, however, they left the core product alone. So their old fashioned crunchy tacos are exactly like they were 30 years ago. The salsa is similar to, though they don't have a packaged one, which can sometimes affect the consistency. In the end, it probably wasn't worth going to - only because we have one in DFW that is almost the exact same for what we order at these kind of places. But if you're in Lubbock, then consider yourself fortunate that Taco Villa is still around - and that they still have great crispy tacos!
Just to set the stage here. As we mentioned in yesterday's post, the RJG was a student at Texas Tech in the mid 1980s. A seriously money-deprived student at that. So a cheap fast food meal, especially in those days, could be cheaper than going to the grocery store. In the 1980's, there were basically 3 taco chains in Lubbock. Taco Mayo (yes, the one from Oklahoma that we've covered on the blog recently) arrived sometime in 1985, and they went straight for the bottom of the market. 29 cent tacos. That's right. TWENTY-NICE CENTS. I could have a full meal on less than $2. That's good stuff right there. They were pretty good too, though the chain has changed dramatically since then and offer a completely different product. They exited Lubbock altogether around the same time I did. I would imagine it was tough making any kind of margin on that low of a food cost. As a response, Taco Bell lowered their price from 73 cents to 49 cents. I don't forget these totals, because they were part of my very survival. I'm not one to run for the border these days, but back then, Taco Bell was a Godsend. And then if I wanted a splurge meal, I'd go to Taco Villa, who were coming in at a whopping 89 cents. They were bigger tacos, no doubt, but way beyond my budget. But I always liked them - they had such a unique flavor, and I always loved their salsas in those white coffee creamer type containers.
Well, the original Taco Villa (the one DFW now has) is more like the one that used to be in Lubbock. The new Lubbock stores have decided to go more modern and hip. So they darkened their restaurants, similar to Taco Cabana, and they have traditional taqueria type fare like Street Tacos. If I'm going to have street tacos, I'll go to a real taqueria - not Taco Villa! But whatever, I can see why they made the conscious move to be part of the 2010's rather than the 1970s. To their credit, however, they left the core product alone. So their old fashioned crunchy tacos are exactly like they were 30 years ago. The salsa is similar to, though they don't have a packaged one, which can sometimes affect the consistency. In the end, it probably wasn't worth going to - only because we have one in DFW that is almost the exact same for what we order at these kind of places. But if you're in Lubbock, then consider yourself fortunate that Taco Villa is still around - and that they still have great crispy tacos!
9//1983; 4/16/97; 2/14/13 (new entry); 5/11/23
Comments
Bobby Cox's taco villas website is http://www.tacovilla.net/index.php. two different owners