An Honestly Good Taco, Honest Tom’s, Philadelphia

We all have one of those friends that seems to know about everything we want to know about before we know about it. Well, such a friend recently turned me on to a great little find right in my own West Philadelphia back yard. (And he’s not even from my area!)

The sultans of sustenance that run this here blog and I have lamented many a time over the lack of really stand out street food in our city. Sure there are some quality carts here and there, but most of them sell cheesesteaks and pretzels all day, and as you can imagine we are a little over those things. This new find though, gives me hope yet.

Tucked off the beaten path up on 33rd and Arch Street, in the middle of Drexel-land sits a fairly unassuming food truck, that as I’m typing this, I hope I can get back to tomorrow. The street-side food establishment known as Honest Tom’s does something I wish more would. That is, doing one thing and doing it right. That thing would be Tacos. One breakfast taco in the morning, and one at lunch. That’s it, and it’s good.

Honest Tom's taco truck

I’m a bit picky about my tacos, and breakfast tacos especially can be a dodgy affair. They can be a real haven for half-assed American taco impostors. So of course, I came into this slightly skeptical. As I rolled up to the window, I was pleased to see that they were only serving a single taco style, and that it was just as complicated as it needs to be which is really not very complicated at all. Egg, cheese, potatoes, pico de gallo, and guacamole, that’s it. I placed my order and hung back to make way for others to place theirs.

Honest Tom's menu

In about 5 minutes my food was ready, and I was pleased to see that it was piled pretty high, making it a good value for $2.50. Everything looked very fresh. The tortilla had been heated on the grill and the eggs, potatoes, and fixins all looked to be of great quality. When I asked for hot sauce, I was impressed again that they had Valentina, which is one of my favorites, and most certainly made a fine contribution to the experience.

The taco in question

My friend’s tip paid off. The breakfast taco is very good indeed. One of the qualms I have with American “Mexican” food in general is that a lot of it lacks in subtlety. Yes Mexican food can be spicy, but not everything needs to be spiced to death. That’s one of the places where I think this taco succeeds. Nothing is screaming for attention. The ingredients are simple, prepared so that their natural flavors come out, and combined with a good sense of balance, so that no one ingredient was overpowering. The guacamole and pico de gallo were also very well prepared and contributed pleasantly to the overall flavor. Very good indeed.

I think my only preferential criticism would be the use of cheddar cheese. It stood up well enough against the other flavors, but I tend to think queso blanco would have been better. All in all though, that’s a small thing and it’s certainly not going to keep me from returning to this fine food truck.

One other note about this truck that should certainly attract some, is the quality coffee they serve. Honest Tom’s serves Stumptown and only Stumptown. Not only that, it is French pressed fresh, and from the looks of it, done so per order for just $1.50.

If you happen to find yourself hungry and in the Drexel area, you have your mission.

Tags: breakfast, breakfast tacos, mexican, philadelphia, tacos, west philly