tacos impala

tacos impala
1204 H street NE, washington, DC 20002
tel: 202) 375-0537 (call tacos impala directly! don't call erik! haha~)
hours: sunday-thursday 12pm-10pm-ish, friday-saturday 12pm-3am-ish

what was consumed: carnitas taco, steak taco, beans and cheese taco, red sauce, green sauce, chips and salsa

so, erik (a key person behind tacos impala) is a friend so you may say that this review is biased. but it's not! seriously, only good things about tacos impala - here goes!

the toki underground website (which looks great and delicious) went up, so a bunch of us got all excited and set a date to go. turns out, toki isn't open yet (hurry up!!), but their sort of related taco stand has been up and running for some time now and we decided to try only their wares instead (this turned out to be better as our original thought was ramen, then tacos. i.e., waaaay too much food. per usual.)

i got to tacos impala before the rest of my group, so after some foolish waiting, i decided to walk over to 'the pug' to grab a beer while waiting (a few notes about the pug: 01) they have a great beer selection (and a full bar, of course); 02) toki underground is above it; 03) they used to have cheese balls, but didn't see them when i was there last; 04) i love this bar). i walked in and saw erik there ... who let us know that when we were ready to order, he would help us out with getting our food (and some how finagled it so that we could eat at the pug. or maybe we were just the rude customers who brought in 'outside' food to the bar. oopsie poopsie!). we put in our orders and waited with great curiosity about what was ahead of us ... a bit later, erik came back with our fares - one of each of the three types (steak, carnitas, and bean & cheese (veggie)) of tacos for j and me, and just the veggie taco and cheese quesedillas for m. just in time! i was famished.

let me tell you about these tacos. these delicious, delicious tacos. the steak and carnitas were cooked perfectly - tender and seasoned wonderfully. the bean&cheese one was surprisingly filling and while i usually opt for black beans, the pinto beans used here were flavorful and delicious. the corn tortillas, made in-house, that the tacos came in were probably the softest corn tortillas i've ever had. and then, topped with just a few little fixin's, the tacos were simply delicious. while i had 3, i probably could have easily ordered (and consumed) 3 more. easily. the tacos were served with both a red and green sauce - a bit different in flavor, both with a bit of heat, both delicious. i tried each of them and prefer the green tomatillo sauce over the red, if i have to choose one. but the best is, per erik's recommendation, is the green sauce topped with a touch of the red. yay combos! i seriously think we gobbled up the tacos in what couldn't have been more than 5 minutes. sigh. the deliciousness was so ephemeral ...

chips and salsa rounded out our meal (thanks, erik!), but i didn't get a photo because by the time i remembered, we had pretty much demolished the crispy (homemade!) chips and fresh pico de gallo, while saying things like, "i don't know why i can't stop eating these chips!"

as we concluded the night, we all contemplated getting more tacos (after all, there was no line - maybe that was our destiny!), but refrained. for now. ... i could go for some tacos impala right about now.

tacos impala is in the philadelphia water ice space, being used while philadelphia water ice is closed for the winter (brilliant!) ... and it is literally just a stand. order up at the window, pay for your food, wait for your food (you won't have to wait long, but keep in mind the tacos are made to order. imo, part of the deliciousness of the tacos is due to this face. totally worth it!), get your food, try to eat while walking/standing (i probably would not make it if i were to wait to eat the food "at home"). so, be sure to get out to tacos impala before they close for the summer - spread the word! i guarantee it will be worth your time and effort. i will surely be going back. can't wait!

online: no online website for tacos impala (though there are lots of people talkin' about 'em!), but check out the toki underground website: http://tokiunderground.com ... hurry up and open guys - we can't wait! ^_^