Sam Overton
It’s not hard to find a Mexican restaurant around campus, but most will reference Coco Bongo or El Cerro. While these places are a great bang for their buck, quality beats the price tag when it comes to Gym Taco’s food. With an astounding menu of authentic Mexican dishes beyond tacos, the restaurant surely surpassed our expectations.
Sam Overton, Managing Editor (SO): I was starving right off the bat, so I’m pretty sure anything I ate would’ve been delicious at that point, but Gym Taco’s queso was on another level. Some queso is reminiscent of a salty, creamy, cheese-like mess, but the restaurant’s queso really tasted like… cheese.
Mariana Fabian, Opinion Editor (MF): You’re absolutely right, Sam. The queso had a texture unlike any other restaurants I’ve had before. The chips and salsa that paired along with it were also delicious — not too salty and perfectly spiced for those who prefer a milder salsa.
SO: The service was pretty quick, so we got our tacos and non-tacos in no time at all. Plus, we stocked up on every sauce possible to dip our dishes in — all of varying colors and consistencies. I can take my spicy sauces, but I was a tad trepidatious of a few of them.
MF: Gym Taco offers four distinct salsas — Tomatillo, Avocado, Red and Peanut. The peanut was the spiciest of the bunch and avocado was the mildest, respectively. The avocado was my favorite as it was chunky and not watery at all. The peanut sauce confused me a bit — I’ve been to a lot of taco places before and have never heard of a spicy peanut sauce. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t know what to pair it with. As for the other two, they are common and necessary staples to any Mexican establishment — no complaints from me.
SO: The first dish I picked up was a gringa, a flour tortilla filled with pork al pastor and cheese. I know Mari will be disappointed in me, but I had never actually squeezed the accompanying lime’s juice onto my dish before — the gringa was my first lime experience. Of course, that leveled up the dish. Mari’s rarely wrong.
MF: It’s true. The first dish I chose was a tostada — a crunchy and fried corn tortilla smothered in lettuce, refried beans, Mexican crema and cheese and (with some help from the cashier) some added Mexican chorizo. It comes garnished with a tomato, avocado slices and a few radish slices. This dish is truly a mouthful and very messy but worth every bite. Though, I wish I had added some more salsa as the tostada on its own lacks a little flavor — albeit, the chorizo was a wonderful addition.
SO: Although I’m sure the tacos were delicious, I only had a few small bites of a couple due to my cilantro-soap gene. Pro tip for anyone who experiences the same thing — be clear about your distaste for the herb. Every single taco is garnished with a fair amount of cilantro.
MF: I tried five out of eight of the tacos offered which included: Carne Asada, Chorizo, Pollo Asado, Shrimp (The Gym Taco) and Carnitas. I don’t have the cilantro-soap gene, thankfully, so I enjoyed a bit of each of these with all the toppings, some lime and mixed some sauces in there as well. My favorites of the five were the carnitas and the carne asada. While you can’t go wrong with any of these choices, the carnitas really surpassed my expectations as they tasted fresh and pulled apart perfectly (unlike the dry carnitas I’ve received at other establishments). It’s hard to mess up such a staple like carne asada, nevertheless, Gym Taco’s asada was perfectly seasoned, cooked and cut up to satisfy my taste buds.
SO: If you have a slight aversion to spice, I’d recommend a borrachita — an open flour tortilla quesadilla with carne asada and cheese. It’s simple yet delicious, and I was definitely not disappointed. If you’re looking to level up your standard quesadilla, Gym Taco’s borrachitas are fairly inexpensive, and you can always add one of their many sauces for an extra kick.
MF: The second non-taco item that I tried was the sope — which is basically a corn-based fried tortilla shell/boat with carne asada and pollo asado. It was drenched in a spicy brown sauce and covered with cheese. These are meant to be soggy and eaten by picking them up and making a mess of your hands and face – it was totally worth it. They were pretty spicy though, and I’m saying this as someone who enjoys spicy food — be trepidatious!
SO: I personally stick with a Mexican Coca-Cola every time I try a new taco joint, and Gym Taco didn’t disappoint. It’s not like the drink will vary too much from place to place, but there’s something about sipping a fresh, cool Coca-Cola straight from the glass that pairs perfectly with tacos, borrachitas and nachos. You really can’t go wrong with one.
MF: Gym Taco also offers two authentic drinks — Horchata and Jamaica. For those unaware of these amazing drinks, Horchata is a rice milk beverage that is just the right amount of sweet and creamy to battle the fiery tastes of Gym Taco’s sauces and tacos. Jamaica is a hibiscus tea drink, also served over ice. It’s not as sweet as Horchata, but still offers a tartlike cranberry tea floral taste which works perfectly with some tacos.
Between the storefront’s tasty tacos and delicious queso, you really can’t go wrong with Gym Taco. Instead of heading to Coco Bongo for the millionth time, maybe turn the other way on Hillsborough Street and indulge in authentic, affordable Mexican food.