Exciting New Place! Tacos & Beer

I was beginning to think that the restaurants in Las Vegas were tightening up and going away from liberal Happy Hours, but I'm excited to report that I've discovered a brand new place - just five months old - that pairs great food with great prices. Plus - it's seven days a week! Farewell are those Saturdays where there are few options for some cheap eats.

Tacos & Beer is located near Paradise / Flamingo (3900 Paradise Road), in the same lot as Marrakech. If you have ever been to Firefly - well, this restaurant occupies its old space. Get this - it is the same management as Firefly. Interesting...

Happy Hour is 3-6 PM and 11-2 AM every day. Featuring $2-3 tacos and $3 Mexican beers, their authentic tasting tacos will surely win you over. Here's a run down of the tacos:

$2 Tacos

Pork Al Pastor - marinated with achiote and chipotle, with avocado cream, pineapple, onion and cilantro. 

This is a refreshing taco that combines a sweetness with the pineapple and the hint of spice with the chipotle. This was my server's favorite and it's a flavor that I hadn't tasted before.

Puerco Verde - slow roasted pork in green sauce, with onion, cilantro and chicharones. 

This is my personal favorite as it combines my love for green sauce with the tender slow roasted pork. It's juicy and super tasty. You may have tasted slow roasted pork in other restaurants, but this one is at the front of the pack.

Beef Adobada - slow roasted with chili and beer, onion, cilantro.

The beef is shredded and very tender and juicy. This taco has a unique flavor with its chili and beer marinade combination.

Chicken Tinga - breast simmered with veggies, with salsa verde, avocado and pickled red onion.

I've had other chicken tacos before, but this taco combines a lot of flavors together. The chicken is simmered to super tender and then pulled. Coupled with veggies and the pickled red onion, it's a very light tasting taco.

Crunchy Taco - "guero" style seasoned ground beef and mashed potato, crunchy shell with lettuce, pico, sour cream, hot sauce and cheddar cheese.

What really struck me first with this only crunchy taco on the Happy Hour menu is that the shell was so crisp and fresh. You can tell it was just made and the crunch of it was awesome. The seasoned ground beef is super tasty, but coupled with the mashed potato gives the bite a great texture with great flavor. Most have had a ground beef taco before, but this place takes it up a notch, once again, with adding more ingredients to the mix that totally knock it out of the park. This taco is filled to the brim and quite filling.

$3 Tacos

Fish Taco - grilled mahi-mahi fillet with mango-habanero salsa, lettuce, chili-lime cream and guac. 

Baja Fish Taco - beer-battered mahi-mahi, slaw, chili-lime cream, guac and pico.

Shrimp Taco - sauteed with guajillo chili, with cilantro lime slaw, pico and guac.

I haven't tried any of the fish tacos myself, but my friend did have the Fish Taco and he said it was very tasty. That's all I can say for now, but judging on my experience with the other tacos, I don't doubt that any of the fish or shrimp tacos would be any less than great.

Also at Happy Hour, they give you one plate of chips and fresh salsa which tastes very fresh. When your tacos come, they can also provide two bottles of hot sauce. One is a green sauce and the other is a hotter hot sauce. I normally choose to eat the tacos as they come in their marinated flavors but sometimes I like to take it up a notch and put some of that bottled hot sauce on the taco as well.

UPDATED On the Border Happy Hour

Well, it seems as though that Happy Hours are springing up all over the place now and that includes New and Improved Happy Hours. Take On the Border as one. I hadn't ventured in here for a while, but to my surprise, they now have an extended Happy Hour that totally lowers the price points again. This makes everyone a very happy camper!

Available from Sunday through Friday (so no Saturday), 3 PM to Close, there offerings are anywhere from $2 to $4. Las Vegas only has one On the Border location and that's in Centennial at 5630 Centennial Center Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89149. It sits in between Panda Express and Cane's Chicken!

$2

Cup of Queso (Their traditional cheese queso dip is good.)
Cup of Black Bean Dip (Haven't tried this yet so people report back!)
Guacamole Appetizer (Haven't tried this either.)

2 Empanadas: Ground Beef or Pulled Chicken (These are good and what's nice is that the regular appetizer platter of Empanadas can almost be too much and having the small portion option is perfect!)
5 Avocado Fries (When there's avocado, it begs for me to try them! They came out nice and crispy and hot which means that the avocado melted in your mouth. It had a little bit of a spice coating to it. I think they were good, but if you've been to Kona Grill and had their Avocado Egg Rolls - nothing can quite compare to that!)

$3

Cheese Quesadilla (Well, who can really mess this menu item up? I haven't had it but I have had their Chicken Quesadilla before and it was good!)
4 Mini Chicken Flautas (I don't eat flautas too often, but they are crunchy filled rolls that are deep fried.)
3 Mini Crispy Tacos (When I eat tacos here, I just go for the regular sized ones. I saw them come out on a plate and they are kind of small. If you like their tacos, go there on Tuesday where tacos are a la carte at $1.25 each! Yum!)

3 Stuffed Jalapenos (I vaguely remember trying these eons ago, so I can't vouch for them today. Although I've rarely had a stuffed jalapeno that wasn't good. Enough said.)
2 Mini Chimichangas (OK, I've never tried these.)



$4

Queso/Guac Duo (Well, I imagine that it's just a combo of the two items.)
Bean & Cheese Nachos (I'm not a fan of their nachos because they aren't like the typical platter of chips topped with toppings. Their nachos are individual chips, each topped on their own. It makes for more of a soggy chip nacho and I don't dig that.)
Cantina Nachos (I think these might be the traditional type of nachos. I haven't had them so I can't vouch for them. However, the description does say "piled high with all the fixings".)
Crispy Corn Quesadilla (Hmmmm....not sure about this one!)


AND

Add Rice, Beans or Fries for just $1!