We love tacos, and I Love Tacos does them right

[Robin Garr]

We love tacos, and I Love Tacos does them right

I Love Tacos' birria tacos, a tradition from Guadalajara in Mexico's Jalisco province, feature long-simmered, tender brisket on flour tortillas grilled in a spicy adobo sauce, served in traditional style with cilantro and onion.


I should have probably gotten out to I Love Tacos in Jeffersontown sooner. It certainly got my attention when its owners were brave enough to open up (takeout and curbside service only) on March 25, one week after Governor Andy shut down dining in across the state.

And then there’s that "I ❤️ Tacos" logo with an emoji heart. I don’t think I’ve ever checked in at a restaurant with an emoji in its name until now.

But then I Love Taco’s management announced last week that they're planning a second shop in the Highlands. Hoping to open around Thanksgiving, they’re taking over the landmark building on Bardstown Road that long housed Ear Xtacy, and more recently, Panera Bread.

Co-owners Ernesto Rivera and Alfredo Garcia bring abundant Mexican-restaurant experience to the after years working at Ernesto’s Mexican near Middletown. Rivera had originally planned to open the J’town shop the week that Beshear ordered a halt to dining-in. Rivera told WLKY-32 at that time, “It was like, 'Oh my God, what are we going to do now?' We have everything invested in this and they shut us down before we opened.”

But they geared up for takeout a week later, and have been garnering good word-of-mouth reviews ever since, reopening to socially distanced indoor dining and extensive patio space as soon as the regulations allowed.

On the restaurant web site and Facebook page they describe their approach as “authentic street tacos in a comfortable, fast-casual setting. … We are a local family restaurant and we have different flavors from Mexican, Cuban and Puertorican. Our menu has from the traditional tacos, elotes, nachos, masitas, brisket and more.”

That all sounded mighty good to me, so I checked off assorted goodies on the online menu. It was easy enough to use, although I must have skimmed past the “when do you want it” block, so they gave me a half-hour to hit the road and roar out to Jeffersontown. Just as we got within sight, my phone dinged with a message informing me that dinner was ready. We had to wait a few moments for curbside delivery as I had to hail a patio server to let them know we were waiting. But the delay was short and the wait worth it.

The menu is diverse and interesting, and ranks among the best cheap eats around town, with not a single food item topping $9.99. ...

Read the complete article on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/i-love-tacos

You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly's Food & Drink section today.
http://www.leoweekly.com/category/food-drink/

I Love Tacos
9909 Taylorsville Road
384-2154
http://ilovetacoslouisville.com
https://facebook.com/ilovetacosjtown

We found them to be ok, but we tried them shortly after a visit to Fairfield, Ohio where we found a taqueria that absolutely blew me away. They make their corn tortillas in house, right where customers can watch. When we walked in the door, we were hit with the delicious scent of fresh masa. I don't think I've ever had a better taco. It's amazing how much difference a fresh, homemade corn tortilla makes.

I fear I'm going to judge Louisville's taquerias based on the smell in the area when I walk in now.

[Robin Garr]

I fear I'm going to judge Louisville's taquerias based on the smell in the area when I walk in now.

That's entirely reasonable, Terri! I'm that way about bagels and pizza after living in NYC a couple of times.

Terri: we have lots of those places here in Louisville. Just head out Preston highway.

[Robin Garr]

Terri: we have lots of those places here in Louisville. Just head out Preston highway.

Yep, Preston Highway or Taylor Boulevard-Churchill Downs or Northern Boulevard in Clarksville or even Little Guanajuato on LaGrange Road. We're doing great for a town that used to think Chi-Chi's was Mexican.

Terri: we have lots of those places here in Louisville. Just head out Preston highway.

Yep, Preston Highway or Taylor Boulevard-Churchill Downs or Northern Boulevard in Clarksville or even Little Guanajuato on LaGrange Road. We're doing great for a town that used to think Chi-Chi's was Mexican.

No doubt. These places go about their business mainly unheralded. I tend to pop into one of these types of places from time to time and often in streaks. The supermercado "La Preferida" on Bardstown Rd is one place worth mentioning---fresh tortillas, horchata, sopa de rez, etc., including a butcher area with meats not easily found elsewhere and all kinds of cool stuff. Guanajuato on Preston Highway is like an Epcot Pavilion for those looking to have an out-of-country experience. Same with some of the nondescript Cuban, Somali, and other places.

Pre-corona, I would pop into the Somali (international) mall on 9th near Broadway and a small Somali cafe in Iroquois Plaza for a coffee and a few somosas (or chicken legs) to go. There's a cool Cuban place at Old Shep and Poplar Level with great coffee and huge portions of food (at least pre-corona). The Asian supermarket, Viet Hoa, on Preston Highway has a rather large and unique to Louisville fish market in the back end, as well as a whole genre of foods that most of us have never seen before. The place is another mini Epcot experience! The list goes on.

There has been periodic mention of such places here in the forum. But frankly, there are so many such places that one would have to do systematic tracking to even locate them, much less frequent them. Hence, one of the reasons why I'm not eagerly impressed with the tacopalooza movement. I'm not opposed and am in fact glad they are cropping up. But there are so many other choices worth exploring in town.

Special note: By the way, Robin said "chichis" (Chi-Chi's) above. I'm having a Beavis and Butthead moment!

[Robin Garr]

My daughter lives in London and says that our selection of Mexican restaurants is one of the things she misses the most. Her British husband had never had Mexican food prior to coming to Louisville. I would have thought that London would have had everything.
I guess we take a great deal for granted.

My daughter lives in London and says that our selection of Mexican restaurants is one of the things she misses the most. Her British husband had never had Mexican food prior to coming to Louisville. I would have thought that London would have had everything.
I guess we take a great deal for granted.

Oddly enough, I ate at a Mexican place in London. In 1985, so the cuisine is certainly not new to Londoners. Granted, I doubt they can match us in terms of taquerias per capita.

My daughter lives in London and says that our selection of Mexican restaurants is one of the things she misses the most. Her British husband had never had Mexican food prior to coming to Louisville. I would have thought that London would have had everything.
I guess we take a great deal for granted.

These megacities are so big that it is often too difficult--traffic, distance, parking, etc to access many places. We can pretty much be anywhere in the area within 15-20 minutes. That is certainly not the case in cities such as London.

[Robin Garr]

These megacities are so big that it is often too difficult--traffic, distance, parking, etc to access many places. We can pretty much be anywhere in the area within 15-20 minutes. That is certainly not the case in cities such as London.

That's true, although megacities like London, New York, Paris, etc., do have excellent rapid transit that can zoom you through the city surprisingly fast. I'd rather jump on the Métro and/or walk to a distant Paris destination than head out to PRP for dinner.

These megacities are so big that it is often too difficult--traffic, distance, parking, etc to access many places. We can pretty much be anywhere in the area within 15-20 minutes. That is certainly not the case in cities such as London.

That's true, although megacities like London, New York, Paris, etc., do have excellent rapid transit that can zoom you through the city surprisingly fast. I'd rather jump on the Métro and/or walk to a distant Paris destination than head out to PRP for dinner.

Agreed.
However, each case is unique. Assuming one lives within easy walking distance to a metro stop, and said person is healthily mobile, sure, its rather fluid. But living in, let's say Chicago, can mean either living in a apartment downtown with easier access, or living as far out as a certain suburban perimeter.

We stayed in a hotel near the subway in the O'Hare area last time we were there. Going to Greektown was a very long haul of walking to metro, waiting, many, many stops, walking a bunch after the metro, etc. The previous time was even worse with a 1.5 hr trek between driving to the metro, 20+ stops, and then a bus to get to the pier. The suburbs are still considered "Chicago."

The suburbs are still considered "Chicago."

From downtown to our son's house in Deerfield during rush hour is 2 hrs by car, or 30 min to get to a train, 65 minutes on a train, and 10 minutes drive from the train to his house, so we save 15 minutes (maybe) by taking a train!

(in the same time, we can drive to Indy or Cincy!)

We have no problem driving anywhere in Louisville!

The Bardstown Road location is open and the food is really good. The location looks great, will not recognize the former Panera (or earXtacy) that was there before. Spacious, colorful, 12-15 seat bar (not in use yet), good quantity and pricing. We did carryout and the papa (chorizo) taco was especially good, the flautas appetizer also a standout, a meal in itself. I expect many return visits.

Great news Silvio. I've been passing it almost daily for the last couple of weeks and I could tell they were close to opening. First on my list are the birria tacos. I want to see if they are as good as Las Margaritas.