Artisanal tacos (Coup de Taco)

Towards the West, in a faraway land, there exists a very special food truck that serves tacos. "But tacos are just tacos are just tacos," you might say. Well, my friend... you'd be wrong. They don't just serve plain beef, chicken, and pork tacos, they make splendid interpretations of other cuisines into taco form, an idea that's as equally brilliant as it is bold. Flavors such as 'Sweet Thai Coconut,' 'Southern BBQ,' and 'Chicken Tikka Masala.' Indeed, they're what I call... artisanal tacos.

All hyperbole aside, there actually is such a truck. It's normally parked on 40th, between Locust and Spruce, and it's called Coup de Taco. I've been on some sort of Mexican food bender lately, going to the Mexicali truck and Tacos Don Memo more than I care to admit. When I found out there was a truck serving tacos filled with roasted chicken and sweetened coconut sauce, I was sold. I begrudgingly trekked 4 blocks (that's like 10 NYC blocks!) over to 40th and got myself some fucking tacos, like a boss. They're $3.50 per, or 2 for $6 (and supposedly 3 for $8, but that wasn't written), so they're not as cheap as Don Memo's are. Seeing as I'm a poor/cheap, I only got 2 of 'em. The first being the 'Southern BBQ' you see at the top.

The pork is soft, no doubt. It's basically pulled pork, plucked from the bone, drenched in a slightly tart BBQ sauce. The sauce isn't overpowering, and lets the sweetness of the meat really shine in the big picture. Finished with just enough rice to soak up the juices, a smattering of melted cheese, and just a hint of cilantro, this taco was good. Plain and simple. Not an epiphany of flavors, but definitely noteworthy.



What I really wanted to try was their 'Sweet Thai coconut.' Juicy shredded chicken is placed on a bed of fluffy rice, and smothered by a combination of sweet coconut sauce, a thicker, more robust peanut based sauce, and slivers of soft apple. A magnificent blend of the savory and sweet, I fell in love with the mix of sauces. If I could have a bowl of rice and just blend it in (they serve rice bowls for $6 btw), I'd be overjoyed. The aftertaste is a bitch... it lasts in your mouth for a while, and makes you regret not buying more...

Except I'm a student and I can't do that all the time. Sure, Coup de Taco does a bitchin' job at making fusion-artisanal tacos, but are they so good that I'd spend $8 on 3 (and be left hungry and wanting)? Maybe once in a while, but there's something that just feels inherently wrong about that.