Author Spotlight
Gracie Takacs
I’ll admit I don’t get out of my comfort zone when going to new places — I prefer to stick with Chipotle instead of venturing out to new Mexican restaurants, but after hearing about Taco Hangover, a small quiet restaurant in Shawnee, I hopped in my car and headed to W 63rd St and Shawnee Mission Parkway.
Walking in, I noticed that the restaurant looked cramped with only two tables shoved in a corner. But the clean, simple aesthetic and bright neon signs throughout the interior made up for the lack in size.
The menu is versatile and packed with tons of options — more than just the traditional burritos and tacos. It has 13 different types of tacos and four hangovers — an added entree which, compared to the others, was packed with more ingredients, with added spices and cheese. The menu was surprisingly extensive considering the size of the building, it was as good in length and had many versatile options.
After much back and forth, I chose the classic fried chicken taco — with breaded chicken, lettuce, cheese and tomato. The “fried” in the name might be a little of an exaggeration for this taco as the coating on the chicken was average and could honestly be swapped out for a chicken nugget and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. But nonetheless, it was covered with different toppings which sometimes overpowered the chewy chicken pieces.
It wasn’t my favorite taco, leaving my taste buds slightly unsatisfied from the mound of lettuce combined with chicken. You’re better off going to Chipotle to satisfy your taco needs.
Next I tried the carnitas tacos — which was underwhelming. Made with carnitas, onions and cilantro, it was a boring taco with more charred than pull-apart carnitas and the small diced onions. I did appreciate the consistent ratio of toppings to carnitas, but there was nothing great about the non-juicy meat and the two singular toppings that made up this taco. Though the cilantro added a nice touch to the onions and dry carnitas, the taco could’ve used a sauce to add moisture to the dry fillings.
While the tacos were underwhelming, the hangover items left me wanting more, with noticeably more ingredients and effort put into them. I’d drive back for things like the hangover nachos, burritos and fries — each lived up to the restaurant’s name.
Fries are definitely not a goto at a Mexican place, but they are a must have at Taco Hangover.— Packed with lime juice, onions, spices and a big mountain of cheese. There was something in every bite coming with this huge bowl, with the endless amount of toppings and dressing that came with it along when eating the fries, you get a nice citrusy cheese flavor. I was thoroughly pleased after the mediocre dry tacos.
The hangover nachos packed in many ingredients, with queso and oaxaca cheese, sour cream, refried beans, cilantros, green onions, pico de gallo green chili pork and pickled jalapenos giving this dish a nice kick. This was often the case for many of the items on the hangover list which was expected with the increased prices for the hangovers. For only $10, this is definitely worth the money with how this dish compares to the others with the added juicy pork and extensive leftovers.
My favorite was the hangover burrito. I’m always hesitant to get a burrito, as I don’t like when it falls apart, but this was not the case. Pineapples and pepper made the burrito shine compared to the predictable tacos. As you tasted the burrito sauce in every bite, it definitely stood out from the other that I was used to having here.
The final hangover item I tried was the rice. This plate is a nod to a more modern Mexican style rice with fajitas, chicken and queso on top. I specifically enjoyed the added taco shells on the side. Plus the large portion makes it ideal for sharing.
My total came out to $43. My plates were generous enough to leave three nights of leftovers for my family — just enough to avoid another trip to Shawnee for a few weeks before I start craving another hangover burrito.
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