Our Taco Tuesday at Stella Taco started with a spicy bang.
My husband was trying the fried avocado taco. “This is better with the hot sauce,” he offered.
I was trying the black bean, which came with marinated jalapenos. “I can’t even think about that right now!” I countered, just before taking another sizable gulp of my Negra Modelo.
It was maybe a spicier jalapeno.
Stella Taco is a new taco joint, just opened in… August 2014? Wow, time flies. I’d been meaning to get here for a while. They serve three vegetarian tacos:
Fried Avocado: Hand battered avocado, grilled onion slaw, roasted mushroom sauce, cotija cheese (vegetarian)
Black beans: Vegan smashed black beans, soy marinated jalapeños, honey pickled carrots and onions, cotija, cilantro (vegetarian)
Mole: Spice roasted mushrooms with mole ancho. Crispy potatoes, green onion. (vegan)
There are also breakfast tacos available until 3pm. They aren’t marked as vegetarian on the menu, but I bet if you ask real nice that they’d make sure they were vegetarian for you. I doubt that they hoard the vegan black beans just for dinnertime.
These tacos are completely edible using one’s hands, if you so choose. There are napkins on the table, but you won’t need to go through 20 of them just to keep your hands reasonably clean. Some of the tacos we’ve had lately are too wet or saucy to eat cleanly, but these are a welcome change. (Sorry if that seems prissy, but hey, I’m me. I’m Kelley, and I don’t want mushroom juice dripping down my sleeve while I’m eating.)
BTW, they do have a kids’ menu, with quesadillas, tacos, and a bean and rice bowl available for the little ones. There are high chairs, too, as well as games and crayons for older kids. Or grownups. We got there early, so food came out early enough that we didn’t even have time to think about distracting the two-year-old.
Chips and salsa came out first, with a finely pureed salsa without too much of a kick, and thick seasoned chips. It didn’t quite scratch that “restaurant chips and salsa” itch, but next time I’m game to try those chips with guacamole. When a place lists their local purveyors on the wall, you know they probably do the fresh and simple things with good ingredients. At least one would hope.
Our meal, with six tacos, chips and salsa, a kids’ quesadilla, and two beers, added up to $25.50 before tip at happy hour, and we were definitely full. Go an hour later, though, and you’d be looking at $31.50 for the same order. They recommend 2-3 tacos per person, and so can I: maybe two at lunch and three for dinner. You could get out of here at lunch for $7 if you weren’t starving.
Order at the counter, and you’ll get a number to take to your table. Word to the wise: That number is supposed to hang above your table, next to the hanging plants, on the provided hooks. We didn’t figure that out until ten minutes after our food came out.
2940 NE Alberta St.
971-407-3705
stellatacopdx.com
Have you been to Stella Taco?
I went to Stella’s opening party (can’t believe that was 1.5 years ago – yikes!) and sadly haven’t been back since. But I would really like to. I always see people raving about their tacos. Like you I’m always game for some guacamole. I’ll give that a try and let you know 😉
Please do!
I love potatoes in tacos, so I need to get here and try that Mole one! I also love happy hour prices…
The potato is the crispy topping you can see in the picture. I’m a sucker for a crispy topping.
Those sound like great flavors!! I can’t eat grains (like corn) or beans, but I do love mexican sauces and avocado!
Well, there are always margaritas!
This has been on my list now since it opened. Thanks for both the reminder – maybe this weekend. In fact, I think I hear a mole taco calling my name right now!!
It was very mushroom-y, for better or worse.
I’ve been meaning to go since I missed their opening night and I cannot believe it has been that long!! Their tacos always look so good on their Instagram feed. Thanks for the tip about the table numbers, too!
I guess we didn’t think about why the number had a ring on it. Of course, it seemed VERY obvious after I saw the server take someone else’s number down.
Yum yum! I am a sucker for fried avocado. And it’s good to know about vegan black beans. Ill have to check out Stella!
Fried avocado has a new place in my heart. And probably in my arteries.
This place looks great and I have a friend who lives in that area…I’ll have to go check it out!
If you do, let us know what you think!