Shocker! Serving inauthentic tacos, San Diego chain to open restaurant, bar in Eagle
If a Mexican-food chain claims to be authentic, it might be best to take it with a grain of Tajin.
But what about one that brags about being inauthentic?
Spitfire Tacos, a San Diego-based brand with three locations, will open its fourth in Idaho. (Imagine that.) The California concept is being launched at 231 E. State St. in (what were the odds?) Eagle.
Spitfire is where Doug’s Burger Den served locals for 27 years until it closed in January of 2020 B.C. — Before California. (OK, I’ll stop! That’s a decade too late, anyway.) Maybe you’ve driven past and noticed the construction, along with a “Spitfire Tacos + Tequila” banner. Yep, this restaurant will have a full bar, its website promises.
Spitfire says it serves “authentically made inauthentic tacos.”
So what does that mean? Well, potentially tasty food, actually. Check out the online menu for its other restaurants. The taco-crafting philosophy reminds me a smidge of an out-of-state Tex-Mex chain that’s one of my guilty pleasures: Torchy’s Tacos.
As as the curmudgeonly internet will tell you, Torchy’s has gone downhill over the years as it’s expanded from Texas. Whatever. I love me a Torchy’s Trailer Park taco packed with fried chicken and served “trashy” with gooey queso. At least whenever I visit my brother in Austin. (Come to Boise, Torchy’s!)
There’s no guarantee that Spitfire will be my closer-to-home Torchy’s. (And no breakfast tacos? Boooo!) But here are a couple of similarities: 1) You’ll pay five or six bucks per taco at Spitfire, judging from the menu at its California stores; 2) Some of the tacos feel gimmicky — er, “inauthentic” — and sound pretty delicious.
Take Spitfire’s Korean BBQ Pork Belly. You can buy that taco for $4.95. Or, as is the case with all of Spitfire’s tacos, as a burrito or bowl (for just under three times the taco price). The Korean BBQ comes with pork belly, sriracha aioli, Korean barbecue sauce, Asian pickle salad and honey sesame sticks, wrapped inside a flour tortilla.
There’s a reason for Spitfire’s name. The restaurant vertically spit-roasts much of its meat, including that pork belly. It describes itself as a “‘North of the Border’ spit-style taco shop.”
Other options include Banh Mi, Pollo Asado, Peri Peri Chicken, Carnitas, Al Pastor, Carne Asada Street, Reef n’ Beef, Steak N’ Cheesy Chipotle, Black Truffle Carne Asada, Alta California Shrimp, Borracho Buffalo Shrimp, Dixie Crispy Chicken (if only it came “trashy”!) and the Porto-Besto Veggie Taco You’ve Ever Had.
The Spitfire building’s design looks fun for downtown Eagle. An architectural rendering shows second-story outdoor patio seating. Just make sure the safety railing is strong, Spitfire. You’re serving tequila to Idahoans up there!
Spitfire’s website says that it plans to open this winter. In other words, customers might want to dine indoors initially.
Either way? Bring on that West Coast inauthenticity!
A few natives might be wary, but you know Eagle’s gonna love it.