Alice Eats: The Mad Taco at Blackback Pub and Flyshop
1 Stowe Street, Waterbury, 244-0123
In 2010, Ricky Binet, the owner of the Blackback Pub & Flyshop, told Andy Bromage, "If I have a Bud Light tap in here, it’s going to be on the toilet flush."
Rightfully, the bar has since gained a reputation as a mecca for beer lovers, even in bar-happy Waterbury. With eight Hill Farmstead Brewery varieties currently on tap, the casual pub may also be one of the best places to sip the best beer in the world.
But since November, the Blackback has earned another distinction: It's now a Vermont destination for Mexican food.
The third Mad Taco is just as delicious as the other two, in Waitsfield and Montpelier. And because executive chef Joey Nagy allows his chefs de cuisine room for innovation, there's something different at each.
One example is the guacamole at right, courtesy of chef Todd Cassel. The ultra-tangy, creamy dip was speckled with whole cilantro leaves, chunks of tomato and tiny squares of onion. The concoction was so addictive, I didn't mind that the whole, fried tortilla chips were a tad too thick. I just kept eating, tired jaw be damned.
The house tortillas found a greater purpose as part of the special tortilla soup. In the bright, acidic broth, they became more like noodles or dumplings. The potage came to me fiery hot in temperature, but I would have liked a bit more spice. Even the jalapeños floating in the soup, along with a welcome glut of braised chicken and onions, didn't pack much punch.
The greatest successes were versions of my classic Mad Taco favorites.
Since all the taco plates cost $8 for two, the Blackback Mad Taco allows mixing and matching. The al pastor didn't have pineapple, as I generally expect, but the braised pork within was pure fatty, umami pleasure.
Both that and the slightly underseasoned, beer-braised chicken greatly benefited from Cassel's masterstroke, a hot sauce called Pinky & the Brain.
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