The Taco Factory — Restaurant in Rockingham

We hit the highway yesterday for a little downtime at the beach for the next week. And we are cruising down Hwy 74 and decide it's time to get something to eat about the time we are getting to Rockingham. We are guilty, as I'm sure 99% of people that are traveling 74 to not really give Rockingham much of a thought anymore as you zip right past it on the bypass. But believe it or not, there is a really good reason to jump off that bypass and going into town. That reason would be "the taco factory. The owners of this place took the old waffle house that sat on business 74 and flipped it on its head and made this cool, modern but rustic looking little Mexican restaurant that has some amazing freaking food. They started off impressing us with just their chips and salsa and even brought us a bottle of their Chipotle ranch to enjoy while we waited on our food. My wife got her burrito bowl as I ordered something a little more complex, but after her first bite, she just gave me that look of pleasure and pushed the bowl towards me to give it a try. She just about didn't get it back, and she may not have if I didn't see my food coming around the corner. My dish was in the seafood section of the menu that was supposed to be served with shrimp in one of their signature spicy sauces. I can't eat shrimp to ask for steak, which they happly substituted. I like my food with kick to it, and normally, when I see " spicy " on the menu, it's not all that hot to me. But this here didn't just light me up with heat it also had some well developed flavor to it and had my taste buds dancing all over the place. We have found a new "must stop" on our trips to the beaches of NC. next time you are heading that way. Jump off that bypass and discover what...

As a Mexican woman from Southern California, one has access to really good food. In North Carolina…? Well, apparently I can get food just as good!! On the way to Florida, we stopped in Rockingham, NC and found Taco Factory. At first I didn’t want to go there because of the name. I envisioned taco bell-ish tacos in a contrived environment.

When it comes to food, I do not mind being wrong. THIS IS SERIOUSLY LEGIT MEXICAN FOOD!

The restaurant is the best iteration of an old cafe. It is decorated in the Mexican style, and is so welcoming. We were greeted and seated quickly. My first gauge of a Mexican restaurant are the chips and salsa. They served a good red and a Chipotle creamy sauce whose heat creeps up the back of your throat and tongue to remind you of that great smokey flavor; oh yeah!

Both dishes were Gastronomically and Visually superb! My husband had Birria tacos that can make you cry; they were that good. Both the Consumé and the taco filled with beef, cheese, onions and cilantro were simply outstanding! I had Sopes of Barbacoa (BBQ beef). They did not disappoint!

They had Mexican Street Corn on special, but for some reason (silly) we did not get any 🤷🏻‍♀️. A variety of Tres Leches cakes and Churros are available.

PEOPLE…driving south, or coming back up, stop in Rockingham! Wait!!! Pre-program the stop so you don’t miss this perfect Mexican Food Heaven!

This place will be where we plan to...

Food was ok. Not enough meat in birria tacos and wasn’t even cut up so when we took a bite the whole piece of meat came out. My elote corn was brown and mushy when i bit into it. Guacamole was good, a little small but good. Now i am allergic to shellfish and didn’t have any tonight when i ate but on my way home I started to have an allergy attack. I noticed in the restaurant they had the guacamole and salsas in the same area, i guess to serve easily to customers. I called to ask if maybe the ceviche was in that area too and maybe there was some cross contamination that happened because i never get an allergy attack unless i have eaten some shellfish. I don’t think the person who answered was understanding what i was saying because he was telling me the guacamole is the best ever when i was trying to figure out how shrimp gotten in my food somehow. If the ceviche and guacamole are in the same location, i would recommend changing that because people are allergic to seafood and allergy attacks can be lethal. My throat was closing while i was driving home. And i never in my life have been charged for water. So seeing a 56 cents charge for 2...