Taco King
“After contemplating some typical fare for a quick cheap bite in the area, I was immediately intrigued as soon as she began to describe this place as a Mexican joint run by a Chinese family.”
“When you walk in, the place will remind you of a chinese take out restaurant….”
“Pretty large selection of Mexican, Tex-Mex, and American fare.”
Taco King
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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I serendipitously ventured into this hidden gem because my significant other and I were running some errands in Long Island and this used to be one of her old haunts after long work shifts in a nearby hospital. After contemplating some typical fare for a quick cheap bite in the area, I was immediately intrigued as soon as she began to describe this place as a Mexican joint run by a Chinese family. While thoughts of General Jose's Chicken and Peking duck quesadillas started popping into my head, this is in fact straight up Mexican fare done properly with perhaps slight Asian nuances discussed below. I was disappointed to read an Elite reviewer going on a borderline racist rant regarding this place as both a violation of culinary authenticity and some unfounded claim that this was somehow some apocalyptic sign that Mexicans were being pushed out of the community by an Asian empire. The interior may look like a typical fast food chinese joint, but there is a nice polite Chinese couple with their two young kids behind the counter cranking out fresh made flour tortillas one at a time and preparing the fillings to order, just trying to make a humble earnest living.
I ordered a variety of soft tacos consisting of chicken w/ guacamole, steak, al carbon, and I always throw in a wild card in this case being the fajita shrimp. The chicken consists of dark meat from the thigh/leg which may be an Asian preference (random sidenote: what is the obsession in this country with white meat? Dark meat is more tender, juicy, and flavorful, whereas the only argument I can think of for white meat is that it can be more easily shaped into individual pieces and is more uniformly consistent or boringly monotonous in texture/flavor which probably led to the expression "tastes like chicken") and the grilled peppers/onions have that nice fresh-off-the-fajita-plate smokiness and crispness (akin to wok hay in Cantonese cooking). The steak and al carbon were hard to distinguish from each other and were on par with a moderate street taco truck so not much to say there. In regards to my wild card pick, there is usually a high risk or high reward possibility, and in this case I was rewarded in spades. I was expecting some cheap mini frozen shrimp since that usually tends to be the case in a taco less than 3 bucks, but what I got were lightly tempura-battered regular-size shrimp that were cooked to an ideal consistency and served burn-the-roof-of your-mouth hot like a solid honey-walnut shrimp minus the walnuts/mayo. This is where some Chinese cooking technique showcased its personality without trying to force itself to be fusion.
All in all, my expectations were exceeded based on value and the pride and effort the owners put into their product, when they could easily settle with less. It may have been years since my significant other has been back, but I hope the community continues to support them in the years to come.
Bad experience! The employees were so rude. They were on the phone like no big deal talking to random people while making my food. They were very unprofessional. Also, the guy taking down my order sneezed and did not wash his hands which was disgusting! I will never return to this taco king again. Im only giving them one star because the food was good. I will never return to this place! Stay away!!!!
I've only been at Taco King once, but so far, it's probably one of my favorite cheap Tex-Mex restaurants.
I tried the steak combination with tex-mex chili and it was better than I expected. They weren't stingy with the steak (unlike other places).
Lots of seating also.
This place has great fajitas and they're dirt cheap. For the price of what you would pay at taco bell for "crap", you can get fresh wholesome food here.
Their hacked chicken and steak is great. They make the torillas fresh with the help of a spiffy machine that they have on hand. When you walk in, the place will remind you of a chinese take out restaurant…. don't let that scare you off.
The service is great, everything appears to be very clean and the quality of the food is pretty consistent.
I was surprised to found out that the managing team of this Mexican restaurant are of Chinese descent . Anyhow, the tostada salad bowl that I ordered for today was enjoyed by my husband. It is a healthy serving,something different from a regular Mexican salad bowl – no rice as part of the ingredients and taste was just right. A little pricey .The place was quiet , no client much at the time of visit and under renovation . Location is accessible , lots of parking space . Could come back for just take out order , not dine in.
This joint could use a cleaning and a fresh update. Very dirty outside area and garbage bin is broken and old. I heard someone hacking in the background right after I put my order in. Can't complain about the food. Everything tastes delicious. A little weary of the sanitary conditions though.
When the line at Chipotle is a 45-minute wait, sometimes you have to settle for a smaller local tex-mex place like Taco King. (Interestingly enough, the business is run by Asians.) It's cheap, fast, and healthier than Taco Bell. Large portions, too! Personally, I really like their combo that comes with steak, guacamole, rice, and beans. The homemade hot sauce they have in bottles at the counter is too watered down and vinegary, though. True rating would be a 3.5, not a 4.
This review is for the take-out/delivery service only.
First and foremost, I couldn't even tell they are Chinese-owned, cuz their food just tastes so good with no trace of Asian to be found! I've never been IN the restaurant, but as far as delivery goes, they're fast, and they get the orders right.
The good:
They ask you to place your order using the item number on the menu. Great, saves me saliva of saying the whole item name.
Price is cheap for the amount of food. It always satisfies, and you get better quality than Taco Bell for less than the pricing of Chipotle/Qdoba.
The "needs improvement":
Steak tastes pretty gamy. Please fix!
Recommendation:
Special Combos (backside of menu): They come in a box and consists of small salad, choice of beans (Blk or pinto), bed of pilaf, 2 tortillas, choice of meat (grilled chicken, steak, etc), choice of side (guacamole, jalapeños, another meat, etc), and a soda all for $6! My monstrous appetite guy friends get full from this. Good deal!