The Original, The Taco, The Scoop

There is a new Mexican place in the location previously occupied by Sala in the Highlands/Morningside area called The Original El Taco, which I guess translates to The Original The Taco. I am not aware of any new El Taco restaurants so I am not too sure what "The Original" refers to. This is the latest Fifth Group concept, and at first I was scared (actually, I was petrified), that this would follow the same mistakes as The Original The Sala, which meant overdone and overpriced Mexican. But fear not, this is not the case with El Taco.

When you first walk into the restaurant, you realize right away this is supposed to be a casual neighborhood place. Cool, fun colors, star chandeliers, and my favorite- a prize wheel, which among other things, awards free pitchers of margaritas for 15 minutes if it lands on that space and you hold the winning number. Gambling, tequila and tacos- you know this is a Steakhead kind of place!

The menu is pretty standard for the modern taqueria these days. The queso royale includes japapenos, and chunks of chorizo sausage. Other items include fajitas, mexican pizza, enchiladas, etc. But given the name, I went for the tacos. There are 8different tacos on the regular menu, including the fried tilapia (don't be scared off by the salsa habenero, it is not spicy at all), fried chicken, mexican chorizo and the pork carnitas tacos. But the best taco I had this night was the Red Chili Steak taco (of course, you say). The chili rubbed steak was tender and extremely flavorful. There is a salsa bar towards the back which has some decent concoctions, though nothing overly spicy if you are into that sort of thing. The great thing about the taco menu is that they all are about $3 each. So with the change you save on food, you can direct that toward the drink menus. Speaking of which, the margarita list is impressive and I've heard good things about the frozen mojito (though I will not admit to having one of those).

I think El Taco should do very well. They offer decent food, at a good price, in a fun atmosphere. Its both kid-friendly and singles-friendly. The front porch will be a popular spot in the Spring and Summer months. They do need to run that prize wheel a little more often- they didn't spin it once when I was there. I want to be like that guy in the KENO commercial when my number hits winning free pitchers of margaritas for all my friends!

Shaun Doty & Fifth Group Opening The Original El Taco

It seems like the taco is about to get some attention from some heavy hitters in the biz. Shaun Doty (of Shaun's in Inman Park) and Fifth Group are coming together to bring you The Original El Taco in the space formerly occupied by Sala. I was never a big Sala fan, primarily because they strayed from two tenants of good Mexican in my mind- it was neither simple nor cheap. I hope Fifth Group learned their lesson from that. Here is the official release.

"The owners of Fifth Group Restaurants have joined forces with Executive Chef Shaun Doty, owner of Shaun’s, to create The Original El Taco in the former Sala space in Virginia-Highland. The new restaurant will open in mid-October. Doty is developing recipes for creative Mexican fare like tacos, tortas and salsas, and the Fifth Group Restaurants team is working with William Peace, Peace Design, to change the look and feel of the restaurant.

“The Original El Taco will be lively, bright, open, and - most of all - fun,” said Robby Kukler, co-owner of Fifth Group Restaurants. “We have known Shaun for years and when we found out he had been thinking about doing Mexican too, we knew it was a great partnership.”

“I love Mexican food and have wanted to do a restaurant like this for a while,” said Doty. “To have this opportunity to work with the pros at Fifth Group Restaurants is great.”

“We are going to create an easy, approachable destination for great Mexican food,” added Kukler.

Doty will work with a chef de cuisine at El Taco when the restaurant opens, while remaining executive chef at Shaun’s.

The Original El Taco is located at 1186 North Highland Avenue N.E. (formerly Sala) and will be open for dinner nightly. Fifth Group Restaurants sold Sala in mid-2007 and reacquired it in July 2008.

Fifth Group Restaurants is the privately owned company that operates Atlanta restaurants South City Kitchen® Midtown, South City Kitchen Vinings, La Tavola Trattoria and Ecco, as well as Bold American®, a catering and events company with onsite services at the Studio 887 and the Event Gallery at the King Plow Arts Center and offsite at private homes, offices and Atlanta's premier venues. For more information, call 678-302-3251 or visit www.fifthgroup.com.