GUIDE |
Tacos have become as integral to American food culture as ketchup.
We’ve all seen taco memes floating around social media suggesting life’s problems can be solved with a taco. Taco Tuesday is part of our vocabulary and work week.
According to Boost Marketing, one in five Americans eats a taco every single day. If you’re one of those people who can’t get enough of this fare, then here are five spots to score a scrumptious taco that might be under your radar. Most of these places serve creative fusion tacos, so don’t expect anything ordinary.
Kung Fu Taco
Kung Fu Taco was the brainchild of Jay Jung, a Korean native who moved to the United States when he was 12. He grew up in a church whose congregation members owned a lot of Chinese restaurants (he estimates about 20), which influenced him. Jung has owned or co-owned several restaurants over the years.
As immigrants, his parents worked long hours and his mom would cook and leave food for Jay and his sister. Straddling both cultures, there were many American Korean fusion creations.
“Korean taco is one of my favorite childhood foods,” he said. “Simple and good. I just wanted to try it out in Springfield.”
He opened in 2021 and the tacos are delectable. There’s beef, pork or chicken bulgogi, a traditionally sweet and spicy meat. The nice thing is Jung offers plain or spicy versions of bulgogi for people who don’t like heat.
The beef and chicken bulgogi are favorites — tender, juicy chunks of meat that are as addictive as candy.
All tacos come wrapped in a flour tortilla, sprinkled with cilantro, spring mix, chopped onion and a squeeze of lime.
The Green Dragon is another lovely option and its fried shrimp is coated in finger-licking-good house wasabi mayonnaise. The chicken is killer, too. This style is also available in tofu.
Other tacos include garlic grilled cauliflower, fried tofu, garlic shrimp and more.
The tacos are also super affordable: you can order a five-pack for $12.99! Three- and four-pack options are available, too, and you can mix and match your tacos. If you haven’t been, you need to visit or order takeout. This place rocks.
Find them: 3354 S. National Ave., (417) 409-3478, or Kung Fu Tacos' Facebook page.
The Wheelhouse
Zach and Melissa Smallwood opened the Wheelhouse 11 years ago as a fusion food truck combining the flavors of Thailand and Mexico. The husband-and-wife team immediately won over hearts and tastebuds. When the Vib Hotel was built, they moved in there, serving their classic dishes.
“Everything we make is made from scratch and with love,” Melissa says.
They grind their own spices, make their own marinades, salsas, tortillas, kimchi and more.
Tacos come with chips and salsa, and your choice of bean or cabbage dip. Here’s how it works: you choose your protein — shrimp, chicken, tofu, steak, pork, kimchi falafel or vegetable — and then top it with a roasted tomatillo mojo sauce; or a sweet and savory peanut sauce like a satay sauce.
The shredded chicken taco with peanut sauce, Cotija cheese, cilantro, and onion is marvelous. The rich peanut sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and salty.
Vegetarians or vegans delight in the kimchi falafel taco made on a homemade corn tortilla, homemade falafel and homemade kimchi, topped with onions, cilantro, cheese and vegan aioli. Hold the cheese and make this vegan.
Find them: 1845 E. Sunshine St., inside the Vib Hotel, (417) 430-0400, or visit The Wheelhouse's website.
Not’cho Ordinary Taco
Casey McTavish owns Not’cho Ordinary Taco, a roving food truck. He opened in Bolivar more than a decade ago and built a huge following (he has 11,000 followers on Facebook). There’s often a line for his fare at festivals and events, and he makes frequent appearances at Wire Road Brewing in Battlefield. The best way to keep up with him is through his Facebook page.
Creativity and fun take center stage on the menu of Not’cho Ordinary Taco. One of the best-selling tacos is the Hawaiian Surf and Turf, which features teriyaki glazed sirloin steak and shrimp, melted Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and sweet pineapple chutney contrasted by a spicy aioli, served on a parmesan encrusted tortilla. This taco has won awards, he says.
Or try the Yin Yang: sweet and spicy honey sriracha glazed shrimp topped with teriyaki coleslaw, sweet pineapple chutney, spicy aioli, served in fried wonton shells.
McTavish has everything from a smash burger taco to a Caesar with blackened yellowfin tuna. You can tell he loves to play with flavors.
Find them: (417) 399-1101, or visit Not'cho Ordinary Taco Truck's Facebook page.
The Golden Girl Rum Club
When The Golden Girl Rum Club opened in 2016, it was Springfield’s premier and only rum bar. It still stocks the best selection of rum and rum cocktails in town. Here you can sip on a high-end rum or throw back a sweet Mai Tai or an array of festive rum-based drinks. The space is bright, with an endless summer tropical vibe.
While pizzas are the main menu items, they have a small but mighty selection of tacos, as in mighty tasty. There are three flavor options: Korean Barbecue; Tiki Curry and Al Pastor (with your choice or pork or jackfruit).
The Korean BBQ with pork is the most popular flavor and it’s delicious. Tender marinaded savory pork is topped with apple and daikon slaw and kimchi mayonnaise. It’s an absolute must!
The Tiki Curry is reminiscent of chicken tikka masala and is garnished with bell pepper, green onion and cilantro. Try this one with jackfruit. Jackfruit grows in the tropics and it’s a fruit that is increasingly popular as a meat substitute. Jackfruit can be stringy, but is high in antioxidants and low in calories. This meat substitute is one of those things people tend to love or hate, there’s not a lot of indifference.
Opt for pork in the Al Pastor as that is traditionally made with marinated pork and the slightly sweet and savory meat is topped with pickled red onion, minced pineapple and cilantro.
Find them: 137 Park Central Square, (417) 425-5162, or visit The Golden Girl Rum Club's website.
Haruno Sushi Bar & Grill
John and Young Jung opened Haruno Sushi Bar & Grill in 1999, and it was Springfield’s first sushi bar. It’s been a favorite spot ever since. Aside from the selection of sushi, they have a fabulous fish taco, which makes a perfect lunch option (it’s on the lunch menu).
For this dish, a soft flour tortilla cradles crispy battered fish, shredded green and red cabbage, cilantro, tomato and green onion. The presentation is beautiful as the taco comes sliced into bites and rests on a bed of spicy seafood sauce and avocado wasabi cream.
The avocado wasabi cream makes this dish. The green sauce is creamy and sweet on the front end, but then you get hit with intense wasabi. It’s incredible. You will want to lick the plate. If they bottled this, it would probably fly off the shelves like Chick-fil-A sauce.
They also serve Kogi Tacos, which are two Korean barbecue beef tacos filled with cabbage, tomato, onion, kimchi, and cilantro, for those who feel more carnivorous.
Tacos come with soup or salad. Great tacos at a sushi joint? Yep. You can thank our taco craze for that.
Find them: 3044 S. Fremont Ave, (417) 887-0077, or visit Haruno Sushi Bar & Grill's website.
