America's Taco Shop — Restaurant in Derby

We thought about this rating for a few days. This is really a 3.5 star rather than a 4. Vermont is a Mexican desert for some reason, and while we've searched for years have never found anything that had the right flavor profile. It's odd, because certainly the quality ingredients are everywhere, but other than a place in Burlington which while very good suffers from eye-watering prices, we've not found it. So we were really looking forward to trying America's Taco Shop, based on the fab reviews that basically say the same things we did, but had finally found nirvana. We wanted the fish tacos, but it wasn't the right day. We thought the chicken would be most likely to have the least flavor, so avoided that and went with carne asada and shrimp, 2 tacos each, plus a side of guacamole. We were asked to choose a salsa, and both choose the green. The beef, while certainly tender and of high quality, was missing any char or really any flavor. It was uniformly grey and appeared to have been cooked too close together in the pan so it essentially boiled. Thank goodness the salsa was delish, because it needed to carry a lot of weight. The shrimp did have much better flavor to begin with, and would be the far better choice based on our experience. We went in expecting a lot, and didn't get it. It is Vermont, and we should know better. It's not fair, and very likely had we come later in the week we'd have had made a better choice with the fish taco... On paper, that had baja goodness written all over it. It's also pretty much the only game in town for an early week lunch with all the fallout from COVID, unless you want the fast food giants. Faced with the same choices, we'd come again, but it is not knock your socks off goodness by...

Discovering America's Taco Shop was a pretty significant find for this Mexican food-lover and an Albuquerque native. Tacos done right are a rare find -- it's either too much grease, or too much heat. What good taco chefs don't understand about the humble taco (burrito, enchiladas, flautas, y otros included), is that it's not about the heat. Good Mexican cooking is more about the complexity of flavors, textures, and temperatures. America's Taco gets everything right -- from the cool crispy tangy cabbage topping, to the hot slow marinated meats. There's few places where a couple can go for a $20 lunch and walk away satisfied, but America's is one of them. I think we've sampled everything on the menu over the past few months, and that's a rarity: to try the entire menu and keep going back for more. Sure I have my favorites, like the carnitas, asado, and flautas (smothered in avocado sauce, sour cream, and shredded lettuce), but America's is the kind of reliable south-of-the-border food that I'm not afraid to order anything on the menu because I know it's going to be full of quality, flavor, and satisfaction. Don't skip the chips and try them with more than one sauce (verde and roja, or pico) because you'll be...

From the moment I stepped into the restaurant, I knew I was in for a good time. The menu was super descriptive (helpful for a picky husband) and the choices were overwhelming in the sense that I couldn't decided what to eat: it all sounded amazing. I got the adobo pork tacos, husband got a quesadilla, and my daughter got flautas. As soon as we got the food, I knew this was as authentic as it could get. My mother from Chihuahua was surprised when I told her about the amazing food we got in VERMONT. I was beat to the punch. I wanted to bring some Mexican cuisine to Vermont, but you guys win! The most delicious food I have had in a very long time. I felt at home. Like my mom would pop out of the kitchen. Thank you so much for such a wonderful trip down memory road. I hope everyone comes here and gets the full experience. Also, I got two red salsas which meant I got to bring some home for breakfast the next morning. Again, thank you and keep up the great...