San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
The best vegetarian taco is at Velvet Taco – really
If you’ve ever struggled to choose between Indian and Mexican for dinner, Velvet Taco is the restaurant for you.
Velvet Taco’s menu travels all over the globe, offering tastes of Korea, the Mediterranean, Cuba and, of course, Mexico. But among the several dishes I tried from the roughly 20-taco menu at the Dallas-based chain’s Pearlarea location in the former home of Tacoland, the standout dishes were those featuring a craveworthy blend of Indian spices.
Tops was the Fried Paneer taco ($3.95). This is the best vegetarian taco I’ve tried this year.
Paneer, a nonmelting white cheese similar to queso fresco, is battered and fried to an impressive crisp, piled into a flour tortilla, and doused with a pungent and chunky tomato chutney, Indian-spiced crema sauce and Thai basil leaves. This meat-free fare is anything but bland and boring, with oodles of bold flavor and a terrific balance of crunchy and tender textures.
Another great dish inspired by India was the Spicy Tikka Chicken tacos ($4.75), with a generous cargo of fried tenders doused in a creamy and tangy tikka masala sauce piled on a bed of aromatic basmati rice laced with cilantro, all wrapped in a flour tortilla. It definitely delivered heat, but without overpowering the dish.
Everyone’s favorite cheese dip gets a subcontinental makeover in the Red Curry Coconut Queso ($5.25), which packs a heady blend of spices and chile heat into a familiar gooey dip topped with pickled onions and crumbled queso fresco, with blue corn tortilla chips.
Velvet Taco is far from traditional, but it provides an intriguing alternative to the plethora of outstanding taco shops San Antonio has to offer.
Velvet Taco, two locations: 101 W. Grayson St., 210-960-5650; 5515 N. Loop 1604 W., Suite 105, 830253-4545; velvettaco.com, Facebook: @VelvetTaco. Grayson hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.