I love tacos. Who doesn’t love tacos? And now I can officially say I’m a Carson City resident. While I’ve lived in Carson City for the most part for the past 17 years, I’ve never had the privilege of eating a Penguin taco, which was once a Carson City institution. Until now.
The Penguin, a popular Carson City hangout, closed before I moved here, but thanks to many good folks, the Westside Pour House has brought back the famous Penguin taco during Taco Tuesdays. Yesterday was the first Taco Tuesday so I eagerly awaited my chance to taste the Penguin taco for the first time.
Not that I’m a taco connoisseur, but I’ve had my fair share of tacos over my lifetime. Let’s put it this way. If Las Vegas had placed a taco tax to fund its new stadium for the Raiders, I probably would’ve been able to fund the new stadium single-handedly. The same could be said for cheeseburgers.
But back to tacos. I’ve obviously had my share of tacos in Carson City and there’s plenty of tasty tacos to choose from. As far as the Penguin tacos, I had one on Tuesday and forgive me for sounding like a Millennial, but it “Was The Bomb.” All I can say is, it fit my personal taste for what a taco should taste like and it didn’t taste like an ordinary taco.
There’s nothing fancy about the Penguin taco, but there really shouldn’t be anything fancy about a taco. The Penguin taco reminded me of the taco made by one of my best friends, Freddy Quijas, who owns Juicy Burger in Porterville, Calif. Like the Penguin taco, Freddy always keeps his tacos simple and when I ate them they were always delicious.
And I’m definitely suited for the Penguin taco.
— Charles Whisnand
