Brazos Tacos — Restaurant in Charlottesville

How does being from Texas make you an expert on tacos? "Hey! Look at me! I'm from a county that has the same name as the Restaurant! That means I have an extra magic taco tongue and my opinion is made of gold and persuasion!" Sorry, I'm reacting to a one star review I just read. I think that may be a faux pas in review writing culture. Anyhow, I'm from Kentucky, so I KNOW my opinion is the only one that matters. I love Brazos. It's not the décor, or the outdoor seating, or the intensely intimidating and fashion forward staff. It's the... it is umm, yeah. You see it's hard to explain. Try this- you know how for years and years Americans were told that our taste buds were only capable of detecting sour, bitter, sweet and salty? But you knew- you just knew- those weren't the only ones because not everything you ate was gross? Then one day some awful know-it-all friend of yours says, "I just love kimchi, it has sooo much umami." and you just had to go and ask, "what's umami," and because they're smug they never let you forget it 20 years later? It's like that. It's umami. There is this hard-to-define quality to their creations. The Star-nitas for example. It has honey-salsa and watermelon pickles on it. I don't know what watermelon pickles are, but I know that with the pork and avocado there is an alchemical magic that is inexplicable. They have so many options that give me the same craving. I imagine it's like the tobacco stock infusion that the chef of the French Laundry used to make to keep the line cooks from taking smoke breaks back in "the day." I realize this is an unhelpful review, but I used to hate this place, and yet now I eat there more often than any other place in town- monthly at any rate. To be fair, I mostly hated it because I don't like going to restaurants where cool people congregate (by "cool people" I mean anyone out-of-doors in anything other than sweats- I am not cool), but that's what carry-out is for. Sure, they've screwed up my order, like almost half the time, but half the time they screw it up I discover something that I love and would never have ordered. I crave those Star-nitas all the time, but I would NEVER have ordered a honey watermelon taco. This place is amazing but addictive is the only summation I can conjure. There just isn't any expressible, quantifiable or qualifiable reason why I love it. They often mess up your order and the staff and clientele make you feel like you farted on on your first day at a new school when the teacher asks you to introduce yourself. Why is this the best taco place in Charlottesville? I don't know, but it is, and you can rest...

Terrible service. I stopped by with a friend for two tacos to tie me over until lunch. Over an hour later I received lukewarm tacos, one of which was soggy. Had I not paid before receiving my food, I would have left or requested the soggy taco be removed from my tab.

Upon arrival, there was a line. It moved steadily, and a food runner would emerge every few minutes to deliver food. Everything seemed fine, as typically tacos are quick and easy to prepare. Apparently, my assumption was incorrect, as the staff at Brazos took a little over an hour to prepare my food. I wish the cashier would have advised us the wait would be an hour to manage expectations.

We were lucky enough to find an outdoor table in the shade. The sound of rap music was gradually drowned out by hangry children and disgruntled patrons waiting for their food. I watched as my friend (who had enthusiastically recommended Brazos) slipped from cheer, to becoming apologetic, to anger.

The food runners scrambled around trying to locate customers. They never once stopped by to apologise or thank customers for their patience. At one point, an employee came out to bus tables while on his cellphone, adding insult to injury.

After an hour, my friend's patience had reached a limit. She noticed people who had arrived after us were beginning to receive their food and went inside to figure out what was going on. The food runner told her she couldn't find our table (located next to the exit) despite the fact we had our order number clearly displayed. The food runner implied her inability to walk by our table and see our order number was somehow our fault, and handed the food to my friend.

The tacos may have been better had they actually been hot (or even warm), but what I was served was not worth the price or the wait. To top it all off, we missed our actual lunch appointment we had with friends.

I usually like to give establishments the benefit of the doubt, but other reviews suggest the staff and system in place at Brazos are grossly unprepared to handle a weekend lunch rush. As others have pointed out, if there is a line, it's best to skip a meal at Brazos...

This was my second time visiting Brazos Tacos and will be my last. On the first visit, our entire order was incorrect. On this visit, I left before I even received the order. The girl taking orders was extremely slow, at certain points, the line was 10+ customers deep. At no attempt did I see another staff member assist her in taking orders. While I was waiting to place my order, another customer came to the counter to let staff know the coffee was out. The employee’s response was dismissive to the point she seems irritated that the customer was bribing it to her attention. This customer had an acquaintance directly behind me who she informed they had been there for 45 minutes and had not received their order. I probably should have left at this point, but I didn’t. I placed my order and the clock began to tick. I noticed that the earlier customer who had already been waiting 45 minutes before I placed my order just received hers, 27 minutes after I ordered. I also didn’t recognize any of the other patrons receiving their orders at that point in time, which leads me to believe that my orders still had some time to go. My order consisted of three very simple tacos, and I still had not received it, therefore I decided to cancel my order.

The staff delivering orders were sauntering about, the girl taking the orders was extremely slow, and when I approached the counter to cancel my order, I noticed two cooks who did not appear to have much motivation. The tacos here are definitely more complex than the standard tacos you would get at Taco Cabana, or any other taqueria in Texas, therefore, I understand that they may take longer to make. With that being said, 27 minutes is a ridiculous amount of...