I have a "friend" who describes himself as a lunch addict. He goes out to eat lunch...then after a few hours in a food coma, awakes with several recurring questions; "Where has all my money gone?!?" "Why am I surrounded by taco truck containers?!?" "Why do I keep doing this?!?"
I will neither confirm, nor deny that the above person is me...but I do have an unhealthy love affair with the taco truck(s) Taco-N-Ganas in my chosen hometown of Memphis, TN. I don't speak Spanish, but I do know that "Ganas" translates to "desire" or an "urge." I asked a Mexican co-worker of mine what Tacos-N-Ganas translated to in English. He said it was a play on words in Spanish, but it roughly translated to "These tacos are the BOMB!" or "These tacos are AMAZING!" I thought my translation that these tacos created a desire and an urge in me was probably a better translation, but what do I know? I will defer my Spanish to English translations to my Mexican co-worker. He was the one who introduced me to Taco-N-Ganas in the first place, so he is probably my best friend in the whole wide world now. But I digress.
All told, there are 4 locations in Memphis where one can get his/her Taco-N-Ganas fix. My obsession began with the location on Summer Ave., but I was recently delighted when one opened up just down the street from my place on Central Ave. The other two locations are on Germantown Parkway and Perkins Road. They are all open Monday-Thursday: 10am - 9pm, Friday-Sunday: 10am - 10pm.
They have have a full menu, but from my observations, most everyone gets tacos. The tacos come without cheese, but I would highly recommend adding the cheese. (As I always say, "Cheese is bad for the heart, but good for the soul!" I just realized I say that about a lot of foods that are bad for me.) They have several options of meats to put in your tacos:
1. Al Pastor - pork marinated in spices and pineapple
2. Asada - thin cut beef steak chopped up and grilled
3. Barbacoa - marinated slow roasted shredded beef
4. Carnitas - fried chunks of pork
5. Chicharon - pork skins in salsa
6. Pollo - marinated chicken breast
7. Camarones - marinated grilled shrimp
While they make the most urge inducing tacos I have ever eaten, they also make an incredible consume beef broth which is prepared daily from the drippings of the barbacoa meat. I have started getting that instead of the tacos. I am trying to eat a little healthier, and I have it in my head that the consume is better for me than the tacos. Many folks use the consume as the ultimate taco dipping sauce, but that sells the consume short. It is incredible on its own. It is hearty and flavorful, with large chunks of potatoes, carrots and beef. I didn't think I could love anything more than their tacos, but I might just have begun cheating on my tacos with the consume.
