The Taco Stand (Alpharetta)

[luckileebob]

  The taco is in the final phases of getting the c/o but when completed  it will be an awesome hangout bar with great food...

not fancy really a dive bar...no one will ask if you want bottled water since the tap is triple filtered as are the ice and soft drink heads...custom ground burgers never frozen... no hormone or antibiotic meats at all...fresh cut fries...daily specials and the entire taco stand menu from Athens... people who love the taco stand are already excited .... but everybody is going to find something to love about this place

GG < changed case to retain my sanity >

..

[uOTPia Dweller]

[uOTPia Dweller]

Well I guess that means they are open. Offspring was already invited to a birthday bash there next weekend.

As Madbob would say, "Party on dude."

[MadBob]

The taco is in the final phases of getting the c/o but when completed  it will be an awesome hangout bar with great food...
So just where is this Taco Stand?

[uOTPia Dweller]

[RootsInAlpharetta]

Also, if you are looking for a quick lunch, wait until March. Kinks were conspicuous, but luckily not on the plated end product.

I took the family last night and had a different experience. Front of the house did great, no kinks whatsoever. Kitchen didn't execute well at all. More time is certainly needed here.

The prices seemed pretty cheap and the family atmosphere is there away from the bar. They have locally sourced meats for their hamburger, if that kind of thing is important to you. But otherwise nothing really jumped out at me. For cheap pub food, it might be a winner. I'm not in a hurry to get back.

[Girly]

I went a week or so ago. Got fish tacos and they were meh. I'll try the wings but I thought I was hitting the right angle with the order for Tacos!!

It certainly was a lot fancier than what I expected with the name "Taco Stand". Agree on the iffy location too.

Roots, what years were you at Clemson?

[Carl Muth]

Has anyone else eaten here?

[RootsInAlpharetta]

Roots, what years were you at Clemson?

I was on the five year plan, 92 - 97.

[uOTPia Dweller]

[Elijah Snow]

There has evidently been some sort of cosmic decree that the area within 3 miles of my house should become populated by mid-range Ameri-Mex restaurants. A year ago? Nothing. Now, we've got Burrito Gorilla, The Taco Stand, and Chepes and Mr. Taco coming soon. Dear cosmic powers, can you hook a brother up with some real Vietnamese? TRE is not doing it for me.

Anyway, made our inaugural visit to The Taco Stand, which is on the corner of Mansell and the Old Alabama Connector in a doomed location that has been 4-6 different restaurants in the last 10 years. They're clearly very happy to have business, and the manager was all over the place making sure everyone was okay. I had the guacamole, which was actually quite good. It's odd that I now compare most restaurant guac to the "Mexican" guac we get from the local El Azteca, but it's honestly the best in this area when the chef is paying attention. Anyway, The Taco Stand guac is definitely something I'd order again, but it's annoying that about 50% of what you get in your little crock is lettuce, not guac.

I ordered two tacos: the pork taco and the fried chicken taco. The pork taco was okay, with some sort of unidentifiable sauce on the pork and some very drippy slaw as a topping. I felt a little silly ordering the fried chicken taco, but I actually liked it a lot. The chicken was nice and crispy, they put a nice mayo-based sauce on it, and the cheese actually works as a topping.

The menu at The Taco Stand is confusing to me, as I'm not sure if I'm supposed to order the Ameri-Mex or the burgers. Obviously, given its roots in Athens as a place that caters to college kids, the combination makes sense. Has anyone tried the burgers, because the menu is trying hard to make me think they're high end.

I'm honestly not sure if any restaurant can resist the curse of this location, but so far I like The Taco Stand the best of all the various inhabitants.

[Elijah Snow]

I decided to explore the non-Mex part of the menu today and tried the (6 oz) burger. The menu assures me the meat is custom ground for the restaurant, it comes from happy cows, etc. I have to say it was pretty durned good. Juicy, served on the MR side of medium, a bit of char, nice bun (hey now). I would have preferred a bit more char and a bit more salt, but I was happy.

It's not up to the tops in the area (Kozmo's, IMHO), but the Taco Stand's burger definitely falls above the Five Guys line for me. I'll certainly order it again.

The menu also goes on about the hand-cut fries. They were fine -- thin, crispy and tasting faintly of olive oil -- but I'm not going crazy about them.

[Girly]

Meant to mention this earlier, but I went up a few weeks ago (maybe as much as a month ago) to grab some fish tacos and they are apparently closed? They were at least that day. Haven't tried to call as I don't use phones, but the website is down too: http://www.thetacostand.com/alpharetta/ Yelpers seem to have called for its demise when it first opened. 

[uOTPia Dweller]

Showed early potential, but turned out to be a waste. Very poorly run, yet they are back open as Chadwicks. Same owner, but not sure if they shook up management or not. I think they keep in all in the family, which makes it a bit tougher to clean house.

I think they are going to emphasize the bar concept more, which is not that bad of an idea. They at least had some good local bands and whatnot.