Torchy’s Tacos (https://torchystacos.com/) is a fast-casual Tex-Mex chain founded in Austin, Texas, with over 90 locations across 16 states. All my Texan friends love it, and so does my supervisor in Los Angeles, who recently tried a location in Arizona for the first time. I had heard about Torchy’s for many years and was excited to hear they were starting to open in Florida. This past Friday, I brought my wife to the Altamonte Springs location, which opened a few months ago, for our first taste of Torchy’s. I bring home takeout a lot more often than we dine out, but looking through the online menu in advance and seeing photos, the intricate tacos from Torchy’s looked like they would be a lot better enjoyed immediately, on the premises. I’m glad we did it that way, because I’m not sure they would have traveled well.
We arrived around 3:00 in the afternoon after a matinee movie and an ice cream snack at the Jeni’s in Winter Park Village (excellent ice cream), but it was my first real meal of the day, and I was hungry. Tacos at Torchy’s aren’t cheap, ranging between $5 and $7 each, but I had a gift card burning a hole in my wallet, so we both had some fun. Normally I’d be taken aback at those prices compared to so many wonderful, amazing, authentic Mexican taquerias in and around Orlando that are much cheaper (like my beloved Francisco’s Taco Madness and Tortas El Rey), but I’m pleased to say the deeply inauthentic creations at Torchy’s were all very fresh and tasty.
I was also very pleased that they walked our tacos out of the kitchen to our table, one or two at a time, and the guy very patiently identified what each one was — perfect for people like us who ordered a bunch of stuff without keeping track of it all in the moment.
This was the Brushfire, with spicy Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled jalapenos, diced mango, sour cream, and cilantro on a soft flour tortilla, served with fiery Diablo sauce on the side. I thought the chicken was a little dry, but very well-seasoned. 
On the left, you see the Republican, a cheddar-jalapeno sausage topped with pico de gallo salsa, cheddar jack cheese, and creamy, spicy poblano pepper sauce on a soft flour tortilla. It was delicious and delightful, two words I would usually never use to describe anything Republican-related. 
On the right, I got the Trailer Park, with fried white meat chicken, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo salsa, green chiles, cheddar jack, and the same poblano sauce on the same flour tortilla. There wasn’t a lot of chicken in this one, and I probably would have skipped it completely due to how similar it was to the Republican, which had more flavor and interesting texture from the snappy sausage. But I got sensory overload while ordering at the counter, so that’s how I ended up with both of these.
These are both fried avocado tacos (one for each of us), with crispy breaded and fried avocado (the hell, you say!), refried pinto beans, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, cheddar jack, and poblano sauce — another very similar taco, aided by the pleasant crispiness of the avocado — but on corn tortillas this time. This might have been my favorite taco of all the ones I tried. The combination really hits different, especially with that poblano sauce. 
This was the Crossroads, with smoked beef brisket, grilled onions, pickled jalapenos, cilantro, avocado, shredded pepper jack cheese, and tomatillo sauce on a fresh corn tortilla. I got really full and didn’t get to this one until the next day, back at home, where it was still quite tasty. 
My wife also chose these two tacos. The Mr. Orange on the left (I’m assuming named after Tim Roth’s character in Reservoir Dogs) contained blackened salmon, grilled corn and black bean relish (a very nice touch she appreciated), crumbled cotija cheese, avocado sauce, cilantro, and a lime wedge on a corn tortilla. I was worried the salmon might be either too dry or too fishy, but she loved it and gave me a little piece, which was better than I expected. 
On the right, she got the Democrat, with shredded beef barbacoa, avocado, cotija cheese, onions, cilantro, and tomatillo sauce on another corn tortilla. I don’t know how the Torchy’s folks came up with what goes into the Republican versus the Democrat, but at least they were good combinations of ingredients.
We both really enjoyed Torchy’s Tacos, and it lived up to the hype. I should note that they are famous for breakfast tacos, but I didn’t feel like adding a bunch of eggs to my tacos for that very late lunch. I was pleasantly surprised that they also had fresh lemonade, although they add turmeric to it for some reason. But it was a scorching hot afternoon (aren’t they all?), so I couldn’t refuse, and it was perfectly fine. We would go back, and with so many options for tacos in and around Orlando, that’s a big compliment right there, even with the prices being what they are. A lot of places aren’t worth a return trip, but the Torchy’s empire has expanded for a reason. Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican (or want to order those particular tacos or not), give it a shot, and I think you’ll find you can agree on liking the food, if nothing else.
The Saboscrivner 