Big Truck Tacos

[theilluminatedfirefly]

[category=]Restaurants[/category]
[category=]Uptown 23rd[/category]
[category=]Current[/category]

[toc]no[/toc]

Address: 530 NW 23rd Phone: (405) 525-8226 Hours: Mon-Thu 7:30 am - 10 pm Fri-Sat 7:30 am - 12 am Status: Opened 2009 Links: Official Website Menu Facebook Page Yelp Urban Spoon

Information & Latest News

Gallery

[okyeah]

the location of the restaurant being remodeled is 23rd & Dewey. I think it used to be Daylight Donuts, and then after it was a middle east restaurant that I cant remember the name of

[metro]

Cool. This will definitely help revive the Uptown Corridor

Did a quick Google search and found a couple articles, read the comments section for this one:

http://coolrulespronto.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/kogi/

[tburn]

so it will be Korean tacos? sounds delish!

[metro]

I'm wondering if Good Egg Group has anything to do with it. The link I posted mentioned the entrepreneurs plus it said a nearby succesful retail operator. I know the GEG has at least one new concept in the works...

[onthestrip]

Korean tacos? Sounds odd. If in fact good egg group does have something to do with this then I can't really complain. I just wish some of the authentic taco places on the south side would make their way to this area. Especially the taco joint just south of cattlemens, they have the best tacos in the city.

[dalelakin]

Especially the taco joint just south of cattlemens, they have the best tacos in the city.

Details please name address anything I have been interested in trying one of the Mexican restaurants in the Stockyards area.

[ultimatesooner]

Details please name address anything I have been interested in trying one of the Mexican restaurants in the Stockyards area.

Los Comales


I want to go try this one

[tuck]

I'm wondering if Good Egg Group has anything to do with it. The link I posted mentioned the entrepreneurs plus it said a nearby succesful retail operator. I know the GEG has at least one new concept in the works...

The Good Egg Group has nothing to do with this project. Chris Lower from The Metro is the guy behind this deal. Great addition to NW 23rd.

[kevinpate]

Big Truck Tacos - they're airhorn good

[onthestrip]

Yes, I was talking about Taqueria los Comales. It is phenomenal.

[metro]

How is the progress coming?

[SoonerFever1]

From their Facebook postings they say it they are about 3 weeks away from their first taco.

To quote them from yesterday "Good News!! Kitchen equipment is being delivered on Wednesday!! Cally and Kathryn are going to start making the neighborhood smell gooooooood!!!!"

They are getting close and I have high hopes about this place!

[MoeStooge]

Am I missing something? I don't see anything on their Facebook page that suggests they are anything like Kogi's, which btw is really good (although waiting in line for an hour is a killer). I caught Kogi's in Fullerton a while back.

Anyone have a menu for this Big Truck place yet?

[SoonerFever1]

Am I missing something? I don't see anything on their Facebook page that suggests they are anything like Kogi's, which btw is really good (although waiting in line for an hour is a killer). I caught Kogi's in Fullerton a while back.

Anyone have a menu for this Big Truck place yet?

I don't think they will be serving the same menu. From what I gather it seems they are using the same concept as Kogi's. Using tweeter to give out their truck locations and using Facebook and other internet forms to gather/spark excitement.

If you go to the article linked up above. It looks like the owners of Big Truck Tacos posted a comment referencing their inspiration of Kogis.

I am excited about the place but not sure if the menu is going to be the same as Kogis......

[okyeah]

I doubt they will have Korean BBQ tacos...probably they'll just have their own take on the taco. more authentic perhaps? IDK

Patrons will not find the typical taco with shredded lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. Rather, Big Truck Taco’s offerings will include a variety of meats – duck, barbacoa, shrimp, fish, beef, buffalo, short rib, pork, chicken, lamb and goat – plus fresh herbs and vegetables, several fresh and dried peppers, and non-traditional sauces.

“It’s not watered-down Tex-Mex,” Mathis says, adding there will be no hard taco shells, only soft flour and corn tortillas.

Prices will range between $2.50 and $3.50 per taco.

Also available will be burritos, gorditas, tortas, quesadillas, flautas and enchiladas, as well as à la carte sides, and fresh fruit beverages and 3.2 beer

OKCBiz > Big Truck Tacos rolls into OKC, with too many locations to count ? literally

[metro]

Great article. I'm following them on Twitter and can't wait for them to open.

[upisgr8]

Word is this weekend, Get in line.

[tburn]

so its not korean bbq --- but maybe a higher end mexican taco truck? I've tried several of those around town - always good and so cheap! Al Pastor is my fave.
Looks like she will have more meat selections to try!

[upisgr8]

Link to ink on Big Truck Tacos in todays Oklahoman http://tinyurl.com/no64hn

[Dekoung]

Big Truck Tacos catered the exhibition opening at The Untitled art gallery Friday evening. I had a pork taco and my husband had a chicken taco and we both had guacamole and chips. I think my husband said the tacos were $2.45 each or something like that. They were open face on soft tortillas and were a little difficult to eat since there was no silverwear. I'm not sure what was in mine other than pork but it was very tasty and tender although not huge.

My husband said they should come to Norman and they said they will be there for the football games.

[onthestrip]

They were open face on soft tortillas and were a little difficult to eat since there was no silverwear.

Umm, its a taco. You shouldnt need silverware.

$2.50 for a taco is a little on the high side IMO.

[okyeah]

My husband said they should come to Norman and they said they will be there for the football games.

I'll believe it when I see it...campus corner is blocked off and they obviously wouldn't be able to park in any of OU's parking lots or parking garages because they will all be full, including Lloyd Noble. They wouldn't even be able to park in any of the parking lots near OU like Braums because there are signs saying you can't.

[metro]

Four-diamond restaurant to taco kitchen on wheels
by Kelley Chambers
The Journal Record July 15, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY – If you’ve started Oklahoma’s only four-diamond restaurant, what’s your next act? A taco truck.


Kathryn Mathis, Cally Johnson and Lisa Taylor with Big Truck Tacos are finalizing the menu for the restaurant, which will open at the corner of Dewey and 23rd Street by the end of the month. (Photo by Maike Sabolich)

Chris Lower, the man behind successful restaurants like the Coach House, the Metro and Irma’s Burger Shack, has partnered with two chefs to open a taco stand on NW 23rd Street and will also hit the streets this month with a roving taco kitchen on wheels. Lower and his partners, Cally Johnson and Kathryn Mathis, based Big Truck Tacos on similar operations seen on the East and West coasts and in Austin, Texas.

Vince Orza, founder of Eateries Inc., said one hurdle established restaurateurs face when changing concepts is not dissimilar to a movie actor who is typecast playing certain roles.

“People assume that you’re good at something almost to the exclusion of whether you could be good at something else, something different,” Orza said. “Chris (Lower) has a long history of successes; that helps him.”

Johnson, originally from Southern California, and Mathis, who spent the last 14 years in Austin, have seen taco stands and mobile taco kitchens serve long lines of customers, but know the concept is untested here.

When Lower showed interest in the project three months ago and was willing to lend his reputation to the project, Johnson and Mathis knew they had the backing they needed.
“It would have continued to be a dream a little longer without Chris,” Johnson said.

Johnson and Mathis will handle day-to-day operations and Lower will handle administrative duties.

The storefront is in a former drive-in at 530 NW 23rd St. The building had been vacant for at least a year when Lower took a look at it as the potential home for the taco business.

“When we first looked at this building is was pretty ramshackle,” he said.
Lower liked the large kitchen that occupied about two-thirds of the 1,900-square-foot building.

Although customers can stop by the shop on NW 23rd Street for items like breakfast soft tacos, and more exotic offerings like duck, buffalo and fish tacos, Lower said he hopes the big draw will be the truck. The taco truck will set out each day with its destination updated on social networking sites. That idea came from Kogi, a Los Angeles company, which dispatches its taco trucks each day and uses social networking sites to let customers know where they will be.

When Lower, Johnson and Mathis went to pick up the catering truck they purchased in California, they found a Kogi truck and waited in line for more than an hour for tacos.
But they are not the first to try a new concept on 23rd Street.

Restaurateurs Jerry Hency and Thomas Batista converted their upscale eatery to a Mexican restaurant earlier this year at 1501 NW 23rd St.

Hency said they are suffering a lag due to the economy after a strong opening. But Hency still stands by his decision to offer Mexican food that starts at $5.99 per plate.
Unlike Hency and Batista, who closed Tom & Jerry’s Steak and Fish Grill and replaced it with Mexicasa, Lower has no plans to close his upscale eatery, The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro, or the two locations of his casual hamburger restaurant, Irma’s Burger Shack.
If the truck proves successful, Lower said he would like to purchase more trucks to cover several areas of the city during peak times, and after-hours in places like Bricktown.

Orza said success with restaurants often lies with good ownership and management and a whole lot of luck. But Orza has also seen well-run restaurants with great concepts suffer due to economic conditions.

“The fact that you’ve had success in the past is certainly no guarantee of success in the future,” he said. “But it doesn’t hurt to have experience and the know-how to develop a concept.”

The Journal Record - Article

[Platemaker]

Early review:

Got a chance to try a few selections at Big Truck Tacos this weekend... yum!

I tried three tacos... my favorite was the braised short ribs with roasted potatos taco. Wonderfully flavorful!

I also had the bison picadillo and the smoked tongue called the "Flaming Lips." For those that are afraid of something like tongue, this would be a nice introduction... smoked and sliced thin like brisket with fresh avocado.

The have several salsas to choose from, including a HOT one called "OMG" and they ain't lying! But it tastes great and is not just hot for the sake of being hot.

They also have a wonderful avocado sauce... not a guacamole per se.... but a sauce. It was pretty delicious added to all my tacos.

As I understand it, they will only be open 7a-7p and they do have a breakfast menu. After 7p, they will sell out of their "big truck".... late night at Bricktown on the weekend etc. I suspect the truck will make an appearance and all sorts of events.

I'm unsure when the actual opening date will be, but when they do I think it's worth a try.