Taco Asylum!

Today I finally went to Taco Asylum in Costa Mesa and was it ever worth the wait! They also own the Haven Gastropub in Orange.

They offer a fine selection of been on tap or in cans. There is also a broad selection of sodas as well. I decided on the hemp ale which is like a Newcastle but not as sweet.

For my taco selection, I went with the flight, which is the best place to start if you are a first timer like I am! right off the bat you can tell the ingredients are fresh and above your regular taco place. The 8 tacos that are offered at octopus, pork belly, short rib, lamb, duck, wild mushroom, corazon, and curried paneer.

While all the tacos are delicious, my favorites were the pork belly, short rib, wild mushroom and the octopus. The pork belly and short rib are definitely Asian inspired with wonderful pickled vegetables and pull apart melt in your mouth meat. I consider the meat to be like kalua pork. These two I would order time and time again! The wild mushroom took me by surprise as I am not a mushroom fan but they tasted smoky and had a meat-like texture! Now the biggest surprise was the octopus. Now octopus tends to be rubbery if not prepared properly and this was tender and moist.

The taco that is not offered in the flight is the ghost chili pork taco! Wow, the ghost chili knocked me on my rear! This bad boy was HOT! My mouth was on fire and I actually could not eat the whole thing! I'm glad that I stopped and didn't try to finish it off! But it had a great flavor but just too HOT for me!

All in all a great place for amazing tacos and great beer! The prices are a bit high but after experiencing the truly unique tacos filled with fresh ingredients I will be back!