First visit: Sep 1998 (Boise, Idaho)
Locations: There are two TacoTime's. The original is based around the Seattle area. The other TacoTime (same brand) was purchased by Kahala, and that's the focus here. The website is difficult to navigate but they thrive in Big Sky country.
This is where we had lunch on Monday in Bozeman, but we sadly learned they were closing down the location in the next couple of months. That was going to be our sole visit, but we were struggling to find an early lunch spot in Montpelier. Yet another beautiful drive landed us in this pleasant town. I wanted to try the Arctic Circle chain but Mrs. RJG kept "making a face". Following her instincts, she wanted tacos again. Something light yet filling. Otherwise we would have had to wait for other places to open at 11:00 and we needed to get a move on.
This TacoTime sits in a gas station, so Mrs. RJG insisted on the drive through. We grabbed a bag and parked under a leafy tree and happily devoured. Interesting to note that this location did not have their hottest sauce which is called 5 Alarm. But they did have the next one down which was sufficient.
In an earlier review I had mentioned we enjoyed Taco John's more. But on these two visits (including Bozeman), we enjoyed TacoTime more. Hot temperature, great tasting meat, excellent hot sauce. At close to $3 a taco it's easy to see how they would struggle to compete. We rarely go due to availability, so it's fun to visit on occasion.
---9/25/22 review (Casper, WY)
Well look at this. All these years and I never added TacoTime (stylized as such) to the RJG. I first heard about this chain while still in high school actually. My one and only official Uncle (& Aunt) were in Dallas around 1982 or so to visit the fam damily. In those days I enjoyed a "late night taco" at Taco Bueno near my high school. I was always hungry it seemed. I'm pretty sure I cover this phenomena under that chain's entry on the RJG. A chain we don't have here in Colorado, but we did just before we moved here and closed unfortunately. My Uncle said he liked to have tacos once in awhile (which he pronounced as "tack-ohs"), so I took him on one of my excursions. He enjoyed it and told me that I would really like TacoTime, a chain he was familiar with in his hometown of Seattle.
It wasn't until 1998 that I finally had the opportunity to try TacoTime. I had just secured a DBA consulting gig at Boise State University, and there was one walking distance from the campus. Perfect - so roughly on day 3 of my first week, I wandered over and enjoyed a handful. Very different tasting than Taco Bueno, but yes, essentially the same kind of gringo crunchy tacos I've long enjoyed. I probably had them once a week for my entire three month tenure there.
When driving around Casper I noticed that they had a TacoTime. The only other one we've been to in recent times - and the only location in Colorado - is way out west in Delta. And we have stopped in for a snack when visiting Grand Junction. I certainly didn't want to waste our one dinner at TacoTime - but maybe they're open for breakfast the next morning? And sure enough, they were. Now sometimes these fast food places won't serve all their menu at any time. So we went, and yep, you can get crunchy beef tacos anytime. Perfect. We just wanted a light snack to start the day - and decided we'll do this instead of the bagels or whatever at the "free buffet" breakfast at the hotel, which is usually a questionable activity to begin with.
Only problem is - they had to cook the meat. As could be expected, they mostly had only breakfast ready to go, but we didn't care - it was going to be a long drive home, so we'll just wait. Not long after came our fresh tacos. How do they stack up against the competition? Oh - they're good - but not great. On this visit they needed to drain the meat a bit more. And the Mrs. said it needed more salt. They're not very strong on flavor to begin with, sort of putting them in the same league as West Texas' Taco Villa. But usually the salsa will come to the rescue. And those sauces are good - but their "super hot" or whatever they call it is what most people would call "medium". We still had a good time doing this, and likely will always stop by one if we have the chance. Brings back memories.
TacoTime was founded in 1960 in Eugene, Oregon. There are many locations throughout the Northwest including Canada. It looks like they're finally beginning to expand, with one location each in Illinois and Virginia. A positive sign. According to Wikipedia, they currently have 226 locations total, with only the one in Colorado.
9/9/98; 7/4/10; 9/23/11; 8/1/14; 7/6/19; 9/25/22 (new entry); 8/28/24
Boise, ID; Delta, CO; Salem, OR; The Dalles, OR; Beaverton, OR; Pocatello, ID; Missoula, MT; Casper, WY; Montpelier, ID
Seattle area locations we've been: Lynwood; Federal Way
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