Az.taco King

[Juliano Nichols]

WhenJazmin Sears quit her job to focus on her catering business earlier this year, she was excited to unleash her passion for cooking. She had been catering parties and events for a few years and wanted to make it her full-time gig.

AZ Taco King, the parking lot version, drew visitors from far and wide. "People were sitting in lines for three hours, coming from Tucson, Maricopa, Casa Grande," she said. They were all just waiting to get a taste of her birria de res, a Mexican beef stew with dried chiles and flavorful broth.

When there got to be too many people for the drive-through liquor store parking lot (one day the line of cars was so long it caused an accident, she said), Sears and her husband Samuel decided to start the brick and mortar location of AZ Taco King in Phoenix.

It's not just the famous quesabirria though, a dish that features a corn tortilla dipped in consom broth and packed with cheese and birria. Sears is an innovator, coming up with uncommon dishes such as "ramenbirria," with ramen noodles in consom with cheese and birria.

One thing to know before trying AZ Taco King: it's usually pretty busy, according to Sears. On a recent Sunday around 12:30, only 30 minutes after the restaurant opened for the day, it was already fairly crowded for dine-in and takeout.

The food typically also takes at least 20 minutes to prepare, so factor that into your time when planning a visit to the restaurant. Sears said customers can call in orders in advance, but sometimes the family-run operation is so busy they don't have a chance to pick up the phone. The best way to order food is to come inside and then wait in your car for someone to bring it out when it is ready.

After trying the birria, it's easy to understand why people waited in their cars for three hours in the hope of tasting this dish. The quesabirria taco dipped in the delicate consom (which some people call "the dip," Sears said) is one of the best taco experiences I have ever had. Don't skip the dip, but don't forget you need to ask for it on the side.

The shredded meat inside the taco is remarkably tender and juicy after hours of stewing. While the chiles add rich flavor, it packs only a mild heat. With the quesabirria overflowing with gooey melted cheese, some of it gets crispy on the edges from the grill. These tacos are accompanied by classic toppings of onion and cilantro with spicy salsa. One quesabirria is a little bigger than a street taco, but still small, so order at least two or you might be disappointed.

The birriafries are also a must-try. I ate this giant pile of French fries smothered in birria, cheese, onion and green salsa while watching football and I could scarcely think of a better plate to enjoy while having a lazy Sunday at home. Just be sure to save some of the consom to dip the fries in too.

AZ Taco King operates as a full-service restaurant with servers taking orders and bringing food to the table. The staff are especially helpful when it comes to differentiating among the myriad of formats in which birria is served here. The birria at the restaurant is beef, rather than the goat or lamb sometimes encountered. One promising place to start is with the lunch specials. For customers who want to sample the birria on its own, the #3 combination is a worthwhile introduction with a generous portion of seasoned meat served with rice, beans, and tortillas.

The most indulgent birria experience is found in a pizzadilla, the ultimate supersizing of the current birria trend. This 14-inch disc, designed to be shared family style, has three layers of quesadilla and two containers of consomme for dipping. If the pizzadilla is the peak birria experience in terms of quantity, the ramenbirria is the item designed for crossover appeal. In a bowl full of broth, meat, and cheese, with toppings of cabbage, onion, cilantro, and wedges of lime, the queso and birria melt together with coiled instant noodles almost an afterthought.

Of course, birria can be found in other more traditional formats here, including tacos, tortas, and burritos. For the last choice, the King Burro is the way to go with any meat filling. The tortilla is wrapped around a mixture of protein, rice, and sour cream before being dipped in consomme and finished on a griddle.The resulting burrito is crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, and infused with flavor from the broth. Beyond birria, the straightforward carne asada is a good candidate to go inside the tortilla, and the pollo asado is another strong and consistent choice.

As with its birria, this restaurant is always willing to take things to the next level with its drinks. Lechera, sweetened condensed milk, can be added, or a drink can be accentuated with chamoy syrup, a rim of Tajin, and a tamarind straw. There is no liquor license, so a beer or margarita is not an option. The birria trend seems just about everywhere by now, and some executions are better than others. AZ Taco King, despite its taco-centric name, seems to have embraced the birria concept with equal attention to fundamentals and tradition balanced with trendy excess.

As a team member, you're fully immersed in the spirit of the establishment. You're high functioning, adaptable, and ready for whatever a customer throws at you. Working with other team members isn't just your strong suit, it's one of your favorite parts of the job. When you clock in, you're daring the day to challenge you.

Tuesday - Oct 31 - Trick or Treat at the farm on Halloween night from 7-9pm. Bring a chair and let the kids dress up! We'll close the parking lot and hand out candy. You are welcome to come and just hand out your candy or stop by to grab some "goodies".

Amadio Ranch is a heritage farming venture in Laveen, AZ, on the outskirts of Phoenix. Established in 2010, Amadio Ranch brings back the style of small family farming common in the Phoenix area in the 1920-1950s.

We were talking at Taco King one evening last week. Telling me her family, the Wessbergs, had been eating there for more than 40 years, Polchow had issued an unusual invitation. She said her extended family was gathering for what might be one last meal. Would I join them?

People remembered walking to Taco King from their home in the Foothill Knolls neighborhood or driving from Upland High. One or two recalled the time before the dining room was enclosed. Some had worked there or at the previous business, House of 19, which sold ice cream, burgers and tacos.

Speaking of cactus, the vertical sign along Foothill Boulevard is topped by an image in glowing neon: a green saguaro cactus, against which a man in a yellow sombrero, red shirt, blue pants and green serape leans.

When the high school had an open campus for all, not just for seniors, Horta could set his watch by the arrival of students, tires squealing, for their 11:15 a.m. lunch break, with second period lunch at 12:15 p.m. The line would stretch out the door. Some regulars would avoid Taco King during those times because the students would take over the place.

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