Tacos and Beer

Picnic Day. Like the six hundred pound gorilla in the room. We ignored it at our peril. The shuffling gait of those already infected with the alcohol, the sharp eyes of the disheveled, unmarked, & undercover deputies. They make the temperature rise uncomfortably and we, three, look for solace (and beer) from Froggy’s or Vito’s to no avail and are forced to continue our quest, stumbling upon this gem (conflict diamond perhaps) which for the mere cover of $ 5 we might actually be able to purchase beers. Now, I know it’s picnic day, and I don’t mind a cover to keep out the riff-​raff but I felt there was a massive component of people known by the über serious terminator-​esque bouncer (who refused to remove his sunglasses even when inside) who just walked in without payment. Whatev’s. The bartender was flawless in both appearance and execution, she was pleasant, cool under pressure and got us beers quickly. She was clearly aloof, no doubt due to the swarming hoards of flat billed, Nor-​Cal star tattooed frat boys prior advances. No food was orderered, although much drunken binging was observed, and no complaints were to be heard. Beers on board, we departed, dodging the zombie-​like picnic day victims and pedaling into the sunset.

I went to Tacos and Beer last Friday and I really enjoyed the food that was served. I am from LA so that means I am pretty spoiled when it comes to tacos and T&B did not let me down. I had 1 asada taco, 1 carnitas taco, I tried the veggie nachos my friend got and it was all delicious. Contrary to the other reviews I thought the meat had plenty of flavor to stand on its own but I added some salsa since I like it spicy. My only complain about the nachos is that there was not enough guacamole on it for my taste but seriously you can never have enough guacamole.
The bar has a decent beer selection that I hope they display in the future. They do not display their beer selection which sucks bc I hate asking bar tenders to rattle off their beers I would rather just be able to look and order. They serve cheap PBR 22oz that any college student or hipster can love.
As far as pricing goes it is fairly reasonable, yeah there are not $ 1 tacos nights but they have a 2 for 1 burrito deal on Wednesday I think but the $ 5 student discount is unbeatable, 2 tacos, rice, beans and a drink (beer or soda).
The DJ on Friday was great it was top 40’s which normally isn’t my style but after a few drinks I was on the dance floor regardless with the rest of the packed house.
Over all I enjoyed my self and the restaurant, I will be back when I am in Davis next time. I think people are being way to hard on this restaurant.

Thursday night for «Bar Review» for APALSA Davis Law School students. 20% of the proceeds go to the club… and since I’m such a huge fan of the BF (he makes me smile) I let him drag me to the «college bar». This was his first Bar Review as was mine. The experience was all right. I wore jeans, flats, and a cute top. If you wear heels to this place and you’re not coming from the club or about to go to one. then you’re definitely trying way too hard!!!
Tried the carne asada fries… definitely not like the San Diego Carne Asada Fries that I’m in love with. Totally dry, but whatever.
FYI: NO Liquor! Just beers on tap and margaritas :(But the bartender hooked it up with «special margaritas» for me all night long. Those extra shots of Agave Wine definitely took me to another level (in a good way).

Really? This place only got 2 ½ stars? I guess I only like this place because you can get dollar chips and salsa after a drunken night.
Best deal is during happy hour: 3 tacos and a PBR for $ 5 and you get free salsa and chips. I always say every Mexican restaurant should provide free salsa and chips, and because tacos and beer did, they get an extra star from me.
We sat at the bar and the incredibly nice bartender handed us the remote and my friend and I watched «America’s Top Model.» There was a man sitting next to us, but I think we scared him off because next thing I knew he was in front of a TV on the other side of the room watching football. Oops!

Having gone to the epicenter for tacos (LA for the slow ones), me thinks 2 stars is fitting.
Even in my inebriated state, I was shocked that the tacos were so expensive. I don’t think I’m spoiled by the $ 1 tacos in socal or that I’m cheap, it’s just ridiculous to have to spend about $ 8 for two tacos. But then again, in my stupor I didn’t care because I was hungry and devoured them anyhow. The smarter choice would have been to walk down a couple of blocks to order Taco Bell.
Coming back in my sober state was a mistake, even though I wanted to establish impartiality in a review, I was suckered into spending ANOTHER $ 8. Having friends who don’t eat tacos much and wanting to come here often also does not help in giving the place more stars because frankly it’s the same every time.
The taste of course is lacking. The meat (I tried asada and al pastor) was a little too dry and salty, but the salsa masked that roughness. Salsa shouldn’t have to do that, it should compliment it…
And on any given night, they can «run out» of an ingredient. It was 8pm and not so busy but they said they ran out of“cabeza leading me to try the above mentioned. The salsa bar itself was a little messy and sometime they run out of stuff and from the looks of it, don’t bother to replace it.
I have to give them credit though of its popularity at night due to their hours to accommodate bar hoppers. During the weekend it’s pretty lively and the wait for beer and tacos is a little long, but that is expected.
Seating is hard on busy nights due to the lack of tables but on a slow day, it’s really easy to find one. I wish that they would clear tables faster-​that is if they even do-​because the last few times I had been, I had to clean up after others.
Personally I would not come here again, but if you’re in need of a quick taco fix, and don’t mind burning your wallet for cash, it’ll do.

Damn you, drunchies!
After the bars, my friends and I came here to guzzle summore calories. And calories, they were. While my friend’s nachos were surprisingly good, my carne asada fries, were not. I haven’t tried other food here, but I would stay clear from the fries– they were soggy and did not hold up under all the toppings. I ended up taking four bites of it, and giving the rest away. You might think I’m a waster, but I am a Fwench fwy connoisseur; I can’t eat that! (I understand that this is a Mexican food place, so I guess I couldn’t really expect much out of the fries).
I’ve also been here when it was super crowded, and the scene was actually really nice. There were a bunch of friendly people and the margaritas and beer were great!

Cheap beer and overpriced food. The al pastor is not at all like what I’m used to at other restaurants. The black beans were served as a soup (wut?). Beer is just as cheap down the street at Davis’ only NY style pizza restaurant where it is served in giant frosty mugs.
Good for a taco if you cant make it to another downtown Davis Mexican food joint… not so much if you can.

The happy hour here is pretty good, but for very specific reasons. First, pitchers of PBR are $ 6. That’s just crazy talk. Granted, it’s PBR, but come on — where else in this college town can you get nice and toasty for $ 6, and all while enjoying greasy taqueria fare and tons of free chips and salsa? They have less beers on tap than they should (given the name), and I’m still not sure why very few places seem to be able to provide mexican beers on tap.
On the food front, the barbacoa is really good. No need to try anything else — just get any food item with barbacoa and your happy hour will be complete.

Okay, so I’ve only been here once and only had one thing here (the nachos) so I’ll only be writing about that. Just a warning.
I came here after a relatively late night in downtown with some friends, and opted to try their nachos. I don’t think it is worth the price, really. From what I remember it was something like $ 7, maybe $ 8 (sorry, it was a late night) and they were very stingy in the amount of chips they gave. I don’t know why, but we were given far less than the amount of chips shown in Anna B’s picture of the nachos. Maybe they give less when you have it «for here», in which they give you the nachos on a plate rather than a box? There was barely enough to share between two people who weren’t too hungry to begin with. I think there was something like 10. 12 chips?
The nachos themselves were passable in terms of taste but were not worth the cost. For the same cost, you could get more and better tasting nachos at Dos Coyotes. Then again, Dos isn’t open until 2:30am huh. Ah well, when people get hungry in the middle of the night, I suppose they wouldn’t mind spending a few extra bucks to satisfy their hunger pangs and cravings.

I’d give this place 2.5 stars if I could.
The first time I went here, twas Drinko de Mayo. It was pretty packed, but it was a good change of scenery from the usual busy places in Downtown (think Ketmo and Froggys). The margaritas are NOT poppin’ here. My tolerance is low and I’m a lightweight, and downing that $ 4 excuse of a «margarita» was a waste of money and bladder space — it did nothing for me!
The tacos are pretty good (w00t for them letting me use my card on just a $ 2 purchase! Some places are pretty stingy), but I’ve only ordered them when I have the drunchies (drunk munchies?), so my taste buds would’ve thought a Jack-​in-​the-​crack taco tasted the same.

My first impression:
Tried all 5 tacos ($ 1.75 each unless you go for the $ 1 taco nights):
1) Carne Asada — very flavorful meat with the right amount of seasoning. My favorite of the 5.
2) El Pastor — nothing too special.
3) Carnita — nothing too special.
4) Balbacoa — shredded beef which was decent.
5) Pollo — well seasoned and not bland.
There is the usual unlimited chips and salsa bar, which was nothing spectacular.
Overall, Tacos and Beer is a decent place to get some tacos late at night but don’t expect too much.

I was excited for this place to open. Davis really does need more places that open late to cater to hungry drunken college students roaming the streets of downtown. Sadly, it didn’t live up to expectations. And worse, went far below it.
I’ve tried most of their meats. whether in a taco or a burrito. And they’ve all been BLAND. Everything was lacking flavor. I had to drown my poor taco in salsa to get any flavor. The taco, which cost about $ 3 – 4 per taco, is decently sized but all that’s on is some chopped lettuce and meat. Their burritos (about $ 6 – 7) are nothing compared to Guads or Taqueria Davis.
This place just needs to revamp their food. They have a good thing going but the food is going in the wrong direction.

Thursday nights out in downtown Davis = late night munchies. Instead of venturing to the usual Jack in the Box, I decided to give this place a try. «Tacos & Beer» sounded like a legit combo for this food fanatic.
First impression: oh crap, it’s overpriced…
Compared to Guads and the other Mexican restaurants, the taco prices were not appealing. I started to lose my appetite.
I ordered a chicken taco and a carnitas taco. You can pick your own tortilla. One is made from scratch at the restaurant. I opted for that selection and my friend got the nachos.
The nachos came out first and they were good. They piled on the sour cream, cheese, meat, jalapenos, and beans. Nothing out of the ordinary.
I waited forever for my tacos. Halfway through the nachos and my other friend’s taco order, which was placed 10 minutes after mine, I had to ask them about my order. They were somewhat apologetic and sent another order to the kitchen. No bueno. At least they were making it now.
At last, my tacos arrived. The tortilla was shaped unevenly and the texture was bland. It was semi-​burnt from the grill. The meat was placed on sparingly. There was just not enough on the taco. Carnitas were plain. However, I did like how they seasoned the chicken. Just wish there was more on it to eat.
Overall thoughts: good if you’re super patient and willing to splurge on mediocre Mexican cuisine. There’s nothing special about the food here.

I went there only once on a recent Saturday afternoon for a burrito. I was pleased, as was my discriminating companion. Solid carnitas and al pastor, and competitive salsa bar.
This place is essentially ½ counter service taco/​burrito café and ½ quaint little bar. I think it works. I did not visit the bar portion for any relevant amount of time, but took a good look — and would gladly imbibe at a later date.
There are nice flat screens on all the walls.
Props to this establishment for doing something a little different and giving the citizens of Davis yet another attractive option for eating, drinking and socializing.
Update: on repeat visits, I’ve found that there are annoying DJs at night. At night, the overall experience is not as pleasing. Also, it was closed on a Sunday afternoon, once, which I thought was strange.

So, I went here the other night with a friend because the idea of Tacos and Beer seemed appetizing. I’ve been wanting to try this place for months, ever since I heard this establishment was opening.
Since it was around midnight on a Thursday, I’ll try to be as lenient as possible.
The overall experience was «meh». The ‘chip and salsa’ bar was out of everything, which is understandable because of the time. But still. I know that tomatoes are going through a rough patch right not, but come on, presentation is everything!
I ordered ‘asada fries’ and paid over $ 8 for a plate of french fries, 4 pieces of meat and some watery sour cream. I finished in less than 6 bites and was bewildered and upset with the fact that I forked over so much cash for a meal that did NOT fill me up.
Maybe it was all the hype surrounding Tacos and Beer but overall, opening an over priced taco place in Davis with questionable portions is a BAD IDEA.

I really thought this could work. Tacos and beer. the perfect combination. What would possibly go wrong?
Well, I’ll tell you what can go wrong, and it’s not the beer. I have had their veg burrito and their veg nachos, and both were extremely bland and boring. Are they using tortillas made from cardboard? Styrofoam instead of beans? Thankfully they have a pretty nice salsa bar, so I loaded everything up with some spice to kick it up a notch.
The staff is very friendly, and I like the atmosphere. But honestly, if you feel like a beer and some good mexican food, go somewhere else.

No bueno. Might be just the growing pains of opening a new restaurant. I was not disappointed the first time I went for pitchers and happy hour at the bar, but my return visit wasn’t good and it prompted me to Unilocal it.
Bad:
$ 2.25 for a taco that consists of two decent tortillas, a meat and lettuce (which ought to cost $.75 to make). They need to add cheese to the two tortillas in which it comes. They have cilantro, black olives (wtf?) and onions at the salsa bar, but I hate restaurants that make you assemble your own meal. Quesadilla needed to be re-​grilled because it was so plain! Tortilla was too soft and not even browned. It’s weird how the grill always seems to be so quiet. Go to Guad’s up Anderson and you’ll notice the grill is always clinking with the sounds of the spatulas and sizzling with constant orders for meat. Here, it’s dead quiet, which I think is a pretty good barometer.
¡No horchata! I asked what happened to the wonderful rice drink and she said it was clogging the drains. FIO (Figure it out) and get horchata back on the menu. Why does no other Mexican joint seem to have this problem?
The music — «Ol’ Blue Eyes» is great, but I’d rather not listen to Frank Sinatra at Tacos & Beer. Put some fun mariachi music on.
Good:
Salsa bar — the tomatilla salsa is amazing and the chips are great.
Hours — I’ve heard alot of people say, «Oh, Tacos and Beer… yeah, you gotta go there when you’re drunk!». Even though it’s still figuring out it’s opening-​glitches, they’re open late and serve better tacos than J-​in-​the-​B (or do they…).

I really wanted this place to be great. The concept of the place is just so perfect for a college town, and I love Mexican food. Unfortunately, the taste just isn’t there.
I came here on a Tuesday night. The place was pretty crowded, but tables were available and wait in line was pretty short. They have several large TV’s running throughout the place, which gives it a sports bar kind of feel. We made our orders at the front and food came about 3 minutes afterwards, which was really fast, but had me a bit worried.
I had the carne asada burrito and taco, with chips and salsa that came with the meal. I’ll start off with the good: the chips were great, and they had a nice selection of like 8 different salsas which are labeled and maintained decently well. I don’t remember the name of the salsas I tried, but one that particularly stood out was a deep red salsa that had almost a cinnamon-​like taste on it. It was a great way to start the meal. The tortillas here are made fresh and are very good… perfect texture and very tasty.
But now with the bad… the taco was very, very bland. The meat was juicy and tender, but completely devoid of any kind of taste. And, while tacos generally are just a bunch of meat and stuff thrown in the middle of some kind of tortilla, the portion of meat here made the taco look very plain — there was very little inside, but really it didn’t matter because it had no taste. Throwing in the side beans only makes it taste more like beans. Adding salsa makes it taste like beans and salsa… which unfortunately is the highlight of this meal.
The burrito wasn’t any better. It may as well have been a bean, lettuce and sour cream burrito, because nothing else in it had any flavor. They really, really need to do something about the meat here. The texture is fine, if not too tender, but there is absolutely no flavor to this beef. All it takes is a few seconds on the grill with some spices, guys.
Prices are pretty high, but from what I see they have a good happy hour deal going on with 3 crispy tacos for 5 bucks from 3 – 6 M-​F. I haven’t seen much of their beer selection, but I do know that they don’t have Sam Adams and Fat Tire, which was unfortunate for me. I saw some of the usual Mexican beers there, including Tecate and I believe Modela Negro.
Unless I really need to watch some TV while eating, I don’t think I’ll ever return. Even during happy hour, I think I’d prefer to spend a couple bucks more and have my tacos and beer at Taqueria Davis.

How telling is it that the only glowing review so far comes from someone who hasn’t even eaten here and is judging it based on the potential its name implies? Jennifer C., where’s your verdict at now? (on edit: Hey… she removed it!)
So, the people who own this place also own La Fogata in Woodland???
That’s interesting… because they totally FO-​GA-​TA put any spice in the food!
I do suppose that I’ll find myself at this place again someday, but that’s only because I know some stupid white people with no taste and way too much of mommy and daddy’s cash to blow… and even more especially because there’s only a few places in this town that are open so late.
The place really made a weird first impression on me. I walked in on a Thursday night just before 10pm when they start carding (I guess they go into «nightclub mode» after 10pm, but they don’t dim the lights) dressed like a ragamuffin because… HEY! The place is called Tacos and Beer. Yet, I felt under-​dressed!
Chile colorado was the dinner special for $ 7.50, and I was full-​meal-​hungry, so I got it. And I also got a taco al pastor for $ 2.89 because I use al pastor as a barometer for judging a taqueria. It was a big enough taco to justify the price, but it was certainly not al pastor. There was no spice, nor tropical sweetness. It was just pork that was sorrowfully over-​cooked, with each sinewy shred requiring a bit of jerky-​like jaw effort.
Chile colorado was more pork chunks swimming in a bland red sauce. The Scoville rating was wimpy, and the only hint of flavor tones were sorta bitter. Usually, the pork in chile colorado or chile verde practically dissolves in your mouth because it’s been stewing for hours, but the two components of this entrée seemed to have met right before plating. I have had worse (El Camino Real in Sacto was downright Swanson’s TV dinner-​level fare), but this was still not two-​star-​worthy. This would not even pass for good Mexican food in Seattle.
A few budding 22-​year-​old Co-​Op and Nugget-​shopper beer snobs I know told me that the beer selection was really poor… especially compared to the similarly named Burgers and Brew. This doesn’t matter to me since I virtually never drink beer. But it does say a lot when I hear college-​aged people slagging a place for its beer selection. You college kids will drink anything! (Hey, don’t get mad at me… I’m only generalizing your generation because it’s generally true… You may just be the exception… congratulations!)
Over-​priced, under-​spiced, and loud when the music’s blasting. «Sweet Child of Mine» struck a worse chord with me than usual. Play some 60s «frat-​rock» instead, and I’d be happy to put up with bad overpriced food. «Double Shot of My Baby’s Love»…“Land of 1000 Dances”…y’know, the kinda music that actually goes okay with Mexican food and a fun college-​y atmosphere. On the plus side, the music and the beer signs do make it seem like a perfectly fitting late-​night spot in a college town. Davis never had places like this 15 years ago when I was a student for better or worse.

I suppose they deserve some credit, they do in fact have tacos and beer in this restaurant. Not good tacos, nor good beer, but both are present.
The restaurant does make their own tortillas daily, and it is appreciated, but a taco, or burrito is only as good as the filling, and in the case of Tacos and Beer, it’s bland, under-​stuffed and thoroughly mediocre. It’s hard to even pick out a single ingredient from the mix for the lacklustre performance of the food, mainly because they were all equally tasteless. The beans were thick, gummy and flavourless, the lettuce, wet and flavourless, the rice was just flavourless. The salsa bar is nice, there is a wide variety of salsas with free flowing chips. However, it would be much nicer if the salsa they provided actually tasted like anything.
As if the quality of the food wasn’t disappointing enough, the price more than makes up for it. Lousy tacos can be acceptable if they are cheap enough, and the beer is plentiful. However at Tacos and Beer, the prices are rather steep, even compared to other Mexican restaurants in Davis. True, they are the only one with a bar, but that hardly makes up lousy food
The service is spotty, and the wait staff seem confused by the flow of things, but I don’t fault them too much since they just opened up. I’m sure at least the service will improve with time.
Tacos and Beer can be a great combination, but the tacos need to meet certain minimum standards first.