The Perfect Food? Louisville Taco Week Set for April 17-24

Just look at that magic. Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

Why is it that people love tacos so much? In my view, there are so, so many reasons. And April 17-24, we get to celebrate the mighty taco in grand style through Louisville’s annual Taco Week.

I can’t remember the first time I had a taco, but they were a rare treat as I was growing up because my father didn’t like Mexican cuisine. Like, any of it. Occasionally, my Mom would make tacos at home, and Dad would have a ham sandwich for dinner, but on those occasions when we dined out as a family, tacos were never an option.

When I became a teen-ager and got a job and a car of my own, my culinary world opened up in the form of … Taco Tico. A location of the train was situated right across the street from the restaurant where I worked, and it became the preferred hangout for me and my friends. A handful of years later, after earning a college degree and getting a job as a reporter for a local newspaper, I took my next step into another world of Mexican, in the form of Chi-Chi’s. It was there that I had my first chicken burrito – and I had a LOT of them.

Nevertheless, tacos generally remained my go-to. To be fair, the simple taco, which at its base – or at least the Americanized version -- typically involves what we used to think of as the four food groups: protein (meat), dairy (cheese), grain (tortilla) and vegetable (lettuce). It’s basically a Mexican version of a sandwich, yet somehow it maintains a degree of fascination for many, in part because of its versatility.

Hey, you can put anything in a taco, and because of their size – sort of like Mexican sliders – you can mix and match. In the mood for fish? Taco. Steak? Taco. Chicken? Also taco. Wanna go veggie? Just toss black beans in that shell in place of an animal-based protein, and you’re still cooking. And that basic item becomes a vehicle for salsas, vegetable toppings, multiple types of cheeses, fruits and vegetables, and, well, pretty much anything you can imagine.

And so, we celebrate what might just be the perfect food.

During Louisville Taco Week, participating restaurants across the city will be serving up $2.50 tacos for the entire week. There are 18 total restaurant brands, some with multiple locations, that are set up for your week-long taco tour. A few of those include Agave & Rye, Bandido, Gustavo’s Senor Iguanas, Zombie Taco, Taco City, Taco Luchador, I Love Tacos and Limon y Sal.

Download the official Louisville Taco Week app, then check in to at least four different restaurants during the week, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for prizes ranging from Louisville Taco Week swag to $250 in gift cards. Each restaurant will offer their own unique type of taco for Taco Week, and you’ll be able to see what those are by using the app.

The taco extravaganza begins next week. Might want to eat light this weekend to get ready.