Papi's Tacos

Every time I try a new restaurant I order way too much food, and my first time at Papi's Tacos was no exception.  I think I just get way too excited about all of these new things that I've never tried, and I don't want to leave without tasting them.

In the last year, Greenville has gotten quite a few places that feature gourmet street tacos, including Gringo's and The Local Taco.  But Papi's has done a great job differentiating themselves from the others.  It feels much more authentic to me.  I love the story of this place, too.  Jorge Baralles, known as Papi to most, has been with the Table 301 restaurant group since the doors opened in 1997.  Papi started as a dishwasher, and worked his way up in the company through the years.  He now has a restaurant named after him that serves the kind of food that he grew up eating in Mexico.

Table 301 has also done a great job at differentiating this restaurant from all of their others. I'm sure this was quite a challenge since they already own six other restaurants in the small town of Greenville. Papi's is very casual with a simple menu, and quite small inside.  They actually describe it as a stationary taco truck.  Table 301's answer to the food truck craze, genius. 

We tried three different kinds of tacos; Shrimp, Chicken and Chorizo, and Carnitas.  We split an order of chips and salsa, and ordered their secret menu item- The Walking Taco.  We  also shared a Tamarind Agua Fresca, a fresh house made juice.  I wasn't lying when I said we ordered a lot of food.

The tacos were great.  All of the ingredients used were fresh and ripe, just like they should be.  T and I were wishing for a hotter salsa though, the one they gave us just wasn't doing the trick.  They offer a Salsa Verde and Peanut Salsa, so we'll try one of the two next time.  Hopefully one of those will have more heat.

Then came The Walking Taco.  This isn't on the menu, but they always serve them for $5.00.  It's a bag of Fritos topped with pulled pork, shredded lettuce, queso fresco, sour cream, and pico de gallo.  At first I was set on eating this out of the Fritos bag, but it was actually easier to dump it in the bowl it was served in. 

All in all we were very impressed with Papi's tacos.  We loved the atmosphere, and the food was authentic and fresh.  We'll be back for sure, but next time I'll probably limit myself to just two tacos...or three.