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October 07
Finally found Joe Coleman’s new Taco shop, La’au’s: it’s behind the building that’s across the street from Wooglin’s and you have to go through the alley on Cache to get there. It’s well worth it. They just soft-opened and Manager Scott Severson says they’re going to lay low for a few until they get their systems down.
As elegantly simple and exotic as you’d imagine a restaurant in a back alley serving gourmet tacos, La’au’s a nice bright space with lots of blonde wood on the floor and walls with some orange paint, some stainless steel and some cool green stools with plywood tops.
The tacos match the decor: simple and mildly cosmopolitan. You’ve got your choice of mixed veggies, Huli chicken (peanut and miso marinade), pork brasied in ancho chile sauce, beef w/ garlic-citrus marinade, mahi-mahi with “baja spcie rub” and shrimp with red pepper flake marinade. Then you’ve got your choice of cabbage slaw or green papaya salad and four salsas: mango-jalapeno, pico de gallo, roasted corn and aji de peru.
I tried the fish and the chicken with papaya and roasted corn and the peruvian green salsa. Excellent, simple and really cheap (four tacos is called a “set,” which ranges from $5.50 to $7.75, or you can order a la carte). Basically, it’s like a much better version of Chipotle without the lame aluminum siding or the burritos. This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s ever had lunch with Joe Coleman.
This is not a “fish taco shop” as the rumor went, but just a taco shop. Tasty and speakeasyish.
Posted by: darksandal in Food and Drink | Permalink
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8 Responses to “La’au’s Tacos: As hard to pronounce as it to find, but worth it”
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I should also add that they’ve applied for, but not yet received, their liquor license. Also: encourage them when you go in to continue to try to add organic and free range foods to their menu, which includes some, but not all.
taco star is opening at the old arbys next to 711 on wahsatch! 24 hour cheap tacos! tight!
I tried this place last night and…YUM! I was encouraged to try many combinations of the set of tacos I ordered, but being only mildly adventurous I didn’t. If you go…be sure to do that so you can sample their myriad of tastes.
A coworker and I just went over there for lunch, where I was charged over $10 for a soda, and two chicken, two shrimp tacos. I get back to my office to find that I have enough filling (all slathered together in a take-out box) for probably three of the four miniscule tortillas I was given to make my own tacos with (it would have been nice to have them prepared as they were the first time I went there).
The serving was pitiful for the money they charged, but I do have to say that what you are given is tasty. I was disappointed though, that they just lumped all the ingredients together, for different types of tacos.
Even though it is tasty food, no one from our office will eat there again as we have all been repeatedly disappointed. It’s a shame though, because what you are given DOES taste good.
Literally though - four tacos sounds like a lot of food, until you see that the tortillas are half the size of a normal taco, and eat fast - because they harden very quickly.
Are these people sure they went to the same La’au’s as I did? First of all, I went with a co-worker of mine on opening day. We were greeted cheerfully but that’s where my good impression of La’au’s stopped. On my first try, the tortillas were way to small to accomodate for the pork meat and veggies that the man behind the counter awkwardly placed inside my taco. Then, after returning to work, two of my four tortillas were bland and began to harden upon eating. Are tortillas supposed to become hard? So, strike one. Plus, portion size was pathetic for the cost. They need to make their tortillas bigger to accomodate the contents. We hadn’t been back and decided to give this place another try, after all, no one masters their craft right off the bat, right? a MONTH after our initial disappointment, we gave it another go. This time, the guy behind the counter when we said “these are to go” put my shrimp into a box, and rolled up the tortillas into some foil. When I commented, “I wanted a taco, don’t you guys make them for us?” He said, “you have to tell us that”. Um, last time I ate at a TACO shop, I didn’t realize it was an added luxury to have the counter person actually make the taco for me? The portions were meager at best. 10.52 cents later, I am again disappointed. I looked at the other patrons who had chosen to eat in and their plates are heaping with meat and veggies of their choice. Another frustration: Why is my portion size considerably less just because I don’t have the time to eat there? The staff is less than pleasant because my co-worker and I were visibly disappointed and they didn’t even offer any further incentives to come back, like a polite, “is there anything else we can help you with?” or “is this to your satisfaction?” would have been nice. Customer service, F. Food, C- and Portions, F. It will be a miracle if this place lasts more than a few months.
i went there for the second time yesterday, and i was a little disappointed that all the filling went in a box and the tortillas were separate, but no big deal, i do own several forks. there was plenty of food, too. I actually filled the tortillas to overflowing and then had more left in the box. la’au’s is okay in my book!
theres a new place on Spruce next to the liquor store. also new cuban restaurant on bijou and union, getting rave reviews from naive latin americans.
haha naive! i mean native.