If you want to sit on a beautiful patio and play a game while you drink a frosty margarita, I have just the spot for you! Girls night? Check! Family dinner? Uh-huh! Date night? Yes, please! The Tacobar, in College Station, Texas is the perfect place for a fun, relaxed evening. The food is incredible, the music is lively, and the service is impeccable.
Owner, Rolando Gonzalez, attended Texas A&M and was always the friend who cooked for everyone after a night out. After graduation, he soon realized that his degree path wasn’t the right path for him. After looking around Bryan College Station and seeing no restaurants that he felt represented the area of Mexico he was from, Matamoros, he decided to bring the fresh, bright flavors that he grew up with, to BCS.
The original location of the Tacobar was on Welborn Road, then in 2021, they moved to a larger location, conveniently located just off of Texas Avenue, near campus. Now they have a patio, a much larger dining area, and a larger kitchen. With the increased kitchen space, catering is a large part of the business; catering everything from weddings to work events. As the business has grown, and Rolando has gotten an awesome staff in place, he has had to opportunity to step back from cooking and come to the front of the house to help with the hospitality side of things; the part of the job that he really enjoys. As a very hands-on owner, he runs food, checks on customers, takes orders and wears many other hats.
Rolando brought out 2 of their most popular craft tacos, the El Jefe and El Carnal. Both are served on a grilled cheese flour tortilla.
The El Jefe was loaded with tender beef fajita and pastor then topped with avocado, onions, and cilantro.
El Carnal was stuffed with cochinita pibil (pork shoulder), black beans, avocado, red onions, cilantro, and crema. The cochinita was flavorful, tender, and perfectly seasoned. This was my favorite of the two, but I am partial to beans on a taco.
One of their best sellers, the street taco platter came out. This platter had two tacos, one
filled with bistec and one with pastor; double corn tortillas, softened by lightly frying, held the meat. Then the tacos were topped with a sprinkle of queso fresco, sliced avocado, and cilantro, and served with a pile of grilled onions and lime on the side. The brightness of the toppings was a perfect balance to the richness of the meat.
Ok y’all, I’m not often a margarita kinda gal. Ask my sister about my 21st birthday…. I still have tequila flashbacks. But this margarita - oh my god, it was smooth, light, and refreshing; the tajin on the rim was a nice touch as well.
The quesabirria platter came with crispy corn tortillas filled with gooey cheese and seasoned shredded beef; served with cilantro and onion on the side, and a bowl of consume for dipping. The texture combination of the crispy corn tortillas and the melty cheese had me going back to this platter over and over.
The classic street corn was an ideal side dish. Corn topped with mayo, butter, chili, lime, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro. The brightness of the cilantro and lime danced in perfect harmony with the rich, smooth sauce that coated the corn.
Let me tell y’all about my little tour of the house-crafted sauces.
That light green, creamy sauce, I took a BIGGG OLE scoop of that sucker. Thinking it looks creamy, and I like a creamy green sauce. Look, I am a medium spicy kinda gal. I am not a, I like to feel my eyebrows sweat kinda gal. Had I just drizzled it on a taco, it would have been perfect, but a big scoop with a fork - no, not okay for me. By the way, that’s a creamy jalapeno sauce, and according to Rolando, that batch of jalapenos were exceptionally hotter than they normally are. So remember folks, drizzle on a taco.
After I’d had a few drinks of marg to cool off my mouth, I continued my tour. The red is a vibrant, mild red salsa, not spicy. There was a nice tomatillo sauce. And then the orange one. I learned my lesson after my first stop on this tour with the jalapeno sauce, and just barely dipped the tines of my fork into the orange sauce. Yup, I was right to err on the side of caution. This was the habanero salsa. Basically, two drops made it to my tongue, and that was two too many. If you like spicy, this is the sauce for you my friend!
I hadn’t had a good churro in.... I don’t know how long, but now I know where to go when I’m craving them. They were hot and crisp on the outside, with a slight chew, and every nook and cranny was covered in cinnamon and sugar. Now, let’s have a serious talk. That caramel that came on the side - phenomenal. Dipping the warm churros into the warm, gooey caramel - out of this world good.
I saved this for last, even though it came first, the chicharrones and guacamole. I saved it for last because I was legitimately the most excited about it. They fry the chicharrones in-house when you order them. So when they came out, they were still popping and crackling. The guacamole was fresh and incredibly creamy and the chicharrones, light and crunchy. This was a fun and delicious appetizer.
The tortillas, while not made in-house, are made locally, and I love that Rolando and The Tacobar support another local, small business.
Take a drive down the backroads this week and make your way over to The Tacobar, in College Station, Texas. Tell Rolando I said hi, and try the Chicharrones and guacamole. You’ll be glad you did!
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404 Jane St. 400 College Station, TX 77840
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