Taco Place & Steak House

Closed down

As someone who seeks out all things capsaicin oriented, I was quite intrigued when I saw this on Taco Place & Steak House's website:

Challenge #2 - Taco Inferno Challenge (Please eat at your own risk!)

Can you handle the heat? If so, try our Taco Inferno Challenge. Here's how it works:

* Finish 1 taco and you only pay half.
* Finish 2 tacos and you don't pay anything.
* If you are tough enough to eat 3 tacos, you don't pay anything and we buy your next meal!

Being as though I'm one who has never backed down from a heat-based challenge, I thought I might have found a free lunch from now until the demise of TP/SH.

You know that maxim about free lunches?  Turns out they're not so far off.

I stopped by at about midnight tonight (that's MY lunch time...if you wanna judge, start a yelp page on my behalf).  I asked about the Inferno Challenge and was informed that they no longer honor the offer that is still currently posted on their website.

Stee-rike One.

I decided to order a "taco inferno" anyway, along with an al pastor.  Upon hearing my order, the gentlemen in charge of the restaurant (who were the only two people in the seating area), got up to take care of my order.

They were gracious enough to give me a sample of the "inferno" salsa, apparently mixed with their standard salsa, to see if I could "handle it."  It had a mild to moderate amount of heat, but to be honest, this was the first time I met a salsa/hot sauce that I couldn't handle.  Unfortunately, it had NOTHING to do with the level of heat.  The salsa had enough salt in it to torture an army of slugs.

Foul Ball (gotta give 'em credit for making contact with the honest attempt).

When I finally received my "taco inferno," the salsa was identical to their sample.  It is now about an hour later, and I can still feel that my blood pressure level is through the roof, a sensation which I can honestly say that I've never felt before.

The al pastor tasted as though it had been roasting on the spit for about 8 hours.  Then again, it was midnight, and there was nobody in the restaurant, so I should have known better than to order it in the first place.

Foul tip...into the catcher's mitt.  Yer Out, TP/SH.

I'll give them 2 stars for having the cojones to experiment with a habanero salsa in the first place.  That said, I came for the flavor, the sting, and the glorious buzz of the habanero, not the shame and disappointment of feeling as though I completed my first day on the job as "rejected margarita glass licker."

Update - Ok I'm not sure if there are new owners again? But now they take credit/debit card, so it's not just cash only. Prices were raised a little too, but the food is still just as good!