| rev:text
| - A few months ago I was driving to the south hills from town and got detoured through the Fort Pitt tunnels which led me to Banksville Road. Well, this was very fortuitous since it was just before 6 p.m. and I was hungry for dinner. I instinctively set my course to Beechview where I could drop into El Milagro but, once I hit Wentzel, I was again detoured due to a traffic accident. Since I couldn't turn up the hill I decided to try a place that had been recommended to me by a legal immigrant from Sinoloa working as a mason (and a really good worker). That place? Bea Taco Town. Now, I realize that there are multiple locations and I do not know much about the company but I can now do a legitimate review. In fact, I've been back to the Banksville Bea three times after my initial visit. Yup, it is really, really, really that good. Does it have a lot of Texas in their food? Yes there is some Texas ... not nearly as much as most other places and this place doesn't serve inferior food like many others do . Make no doubt about it, the classic Mexican flavors and quality are there in some delicious upscale authentic creations.
So, on my first visit I walk into a modest building with typical Mexican decorations and colors setting the scene for what to expect. I was seated and told Jarritos were in a cooler near the door. I am not a soda drinker but its always nice to see Jarritos (again, setting the stage). I take a good look at the menu. Excellent selection of food, competitive prices, clever combinations of "specialty or upscale tacos" along with the common taco stand build your own though they build it for you. I give them a lot of credit for admitting there are true Mexican style tacos with radish, cilantro and onion (white onion!) as well as the Americanized lettuce and cheese version. Also, even though Bea uses some creative names on their menu they have things set up in a way that it isn't "hokie" or "silly" with some giant picture of an iguana wearing a sombrero and bolero. My first and second visits were tacos. First time around was the basic carnitas tacos on double corn soft shells with radish, tomatillo sauce, cilantro, and white onion. They were OUTSTANDING. Everything about their tacos was excellent. I have to stress that I LOVE tacos and these are among the VERY BEST if not the best tacos in town. As far as tacos go, I think these ones duke it out with La Palapa. I cannot remember the name of the second batch of tacos during my next visit but any time a restaurant serves cactus as part of a meal it instantly makes me think "south of the border." The third time I visited I strayed from the norm and ordered their version of enchiladas verde. In case you haven't figured it out, I judge restaurants by many different things but enchiladas con verde sauce, tomatillo sauce, carnitas, types of tortillas, tamiquena, guacamole and salsa de mesa are staples that cannot be screwed up, period (I am not a soup guy unless it is cold outside and don't even really care for Menudo). Well, the enchiladas were definitely on the smallish side but the preparation and taste were authentic, legitimately sublime tasting perfection. Great things definitely can come in small packages. However, in this instance, the black beans were NOT good at all. They tasted almost like they came from a can and the rice was also dry. I was served VERY small side dishes too. If this were my first experience I'd be questioning the place but, being this is my third visit and my first two were AWESOME, I am chalking this up to Bea not having the best night (the place was NOT busy for a Thursday at dinner time) though they certainly need to be better on this night. To end, I had AMAZING tacos ... fighting for the best in town and they have delicious enchiladas (served with plenty of verde sauce thank goodness!) and good tasting sides two of the three times. For my money, if they served a bit larger portions and tighten up quality control on their sides Banksville Bea would fall between 4 1/2 and 5 stars. I highly recommend this place to anyone though it should be noted this isn't a restaurant with ambiance and superior decor ... it is highly recommended for the food. I'd go back there in a second ... in fact, sooner than one may think.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)