The Original Grande — Restaurant in Abilene

Back when I first tried this place, way before their rebranding, I really, REALLY, didn't like it. My husband on the other hand enjoyed their food. It took me a few years with several tries sprinkled throughout to ... acclimate to the food here. Now I tried a handful of items off the menu throughout the past decade, and for a LONG time (years) I simply refused to eat the chicken soft tacos, because without fail, EVERY SINGLE TIME, I'd end up with bone fragments or bits of cartilage or something painful in my mouth. I must have had the worst luck ever, because my husband never experienced that. Luckily, since the rebranding, I haven't encountered that issue, and now all we order (on the rare occasions that we do) from here are the regular crunchy beef tacos, and the chicken soft tacos. They hold till the next day rather well, I've even eaten them 2 or 3 days out (I'm a big fan of leftovers, with a gut of steel apparently), and they are a fantastic vehicle to get my favorite hot sauce into my face. Now while I do like the food these days (sporadically), I would never call it Authentic Mexican Cuisine. In fact, we don't even call this place or it's food by it's proper name. We just call it "ghetto tacos" cause that's exactly what it is. No shame in that, it does it's job valiently, but it's defintely like ... dollar store Taco Bell? It works. So every once in a while my husband will look at me and ask "want ghetto tacos"? All in all, not a favorite place of mine, but much better than they used to be. I've included 2 pics of the beef tacos, and one of the chicken, so you'll be able to tell exactly what you're...

great place for quick cheap tacos

The taco is a staple of Mexican cuisine, so it might be surprising to learn that tacos don’t have a very long history. There is no exact history of where and when they came about. However, historian, Jeffrey M. Pilcher, professor of history at the University of Minnesota, has traveled around the world researching Mexican food. He has a few ideas about the history of tacos, and you may be surprised to read his conclusions.

It is believed that the origin of the taco started in Mexican silver mines. Mr. Pilcher believes that they came about some time in the 19thcentury. This hypothesis about the taco comes from the fact that the first type of taco was “taco de minero,” which translates to mean miner’s tacos. Also, have you ever realized that taquitos look similar to a stick of dynamite? Taquito is a Spanish word that translates to small taco. It is believed that the word taco originally referred to pieces of paper that miners would wrap around gunpowder and use in holes that were carved into the face of the rock.

So as you can see, the taco isn’t an age-old cultural food, it is fairly new, compared to some of the other Mexican foods dating back to Aztec times. The role of the “taquería” (taco shop) is also an important element in the history of the taco. For many years, taquerías were mostly for working class Mexicans. Many women migrants brought tacos to Mexico City to sell for income. These women eventually made Mexico City into a taco hub, with many different styles and kinds of tacos that people...

I have gone to this place since I was a kid... i have fond memories of going here with my gramma for a treat. After 15 years away from abilene, and ks altogether.. being 44 and my grandmother nolonger with is..... Ihad to come back for a visit and was happy to see that it survived covid. It's the only place I've ever asked for tostadas and wasn't asked if I meant tacos. The only difference between now and then... before: the toppings were pushed to the edge... and the tomatoes were two thinly sliced circles... and now... there is a 1/2" of bare shell around the outside... not as much lettuce and it looked like still thinly sliced tomatos... but they were in a small pile in the center of the tostada... still tasted the same though... I still loved it! I never eat anything besides beans on mexican-ish food... so I did the same this time... and my husband got meat... I think it was some sort of ground meat with cheese in a burrito shell... he said it was the worst and tasted like Manwich meat made into taco meat. So... he didn't have a good experience.... but this is MY review and I have to say, I loved the food I had with beans as the filler...I've never in my life have gotten anything besides tostadas and a chacotacos.. too bad that company is out, btw... but Taco Grande is my fave since I can remember being alive and I will always stop to go to it any time I am...