tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption

CHAIN -- The Taco Maker
Owner -- Privately Held
Primary Operating Region -- Utah, scattered US, Puerto Rico
Number of Locations -- Over 130, 89 of which are in Puerto Rico

I discovered Ogden, Utah on my way to Portland in 1992.  The sun was setting on the Wasatch front.  I caught it at the perfect time and was blown away.  So I started spending time there.  Ogden's Christmas Village at the municipal park has become a holiday tradition for me.  The only time I've missed it since was the year they effectively didn't have it because they were building the amphitheater.  A tragic year indeed.

The Taco Maker chain is based here.  Gil Craig started the company in 1968 and hasn't stopped since.  The chain has largely grown through franchising.  The Taco Maker locations are often co-branded with TTM's other concepts, which include Jake's Over-The-Top, a 50's-style burger chain, and Mayan Jamma Juice.

When it comes to seasoning, The Taco Maker is pretty plain.  You've heard the saying "tastes just like chicken"?  Well The Taco Maker's chicken...doesn't.  In fact, it doesn't taste like anything at all.  It's how I imagine tofu tasting.  It's a placebo. Then there's the taco meat.

The odd thing about The Taco Maker is that each location I’ve been to has its own taste when it comes to the taco meat.  The Taco Maker in Lincoln, NE (an oddball outlet in a building called "Great Scott's Food Court"), has a very plain tasting taco meat that tends to be juicy.  Very good in hard corn shell tacos, bland in soft shells or burritos.  But eat the tacos fast or the shells get soggy.  Do NOT eat them while driving.  The Park City, UT Taco Maker has a taco meat that tastes something like Taco Time.  The South Ogden, UT Taco Maker has a dry, smoky tasting taco meat.  The ZCMI Center Food Court outlet hardly puts any meat in the taco to begin with.

Go figure.

Most of the ingredients appear to be prepped on-site.  The chips even appear to be made at the restaurant (and are a highlight.)  Still, that doesn't mean that microwaves aren't ultimately used when assembling your order...and they are, for melting cheese on certain items if nothing else.

I can't say that The Taco Maker has anything that stands out as truly special...something that gives me a craving to the point I have to jump in my car and drive to the nearest one (three hours away).  But at the same time, you could do far worse.

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