When I stayed at the Hollywood Beach Suites & Hotel near Fort Lauderdale, one of the biggest perks for me was the incredible taco place on the premises. I absolutely love tacos, so, honestly, they had me intrigued just by being named Taco Beach Shack.
Getting my drink on at 11 am
My room came with 2 cards that granted me a free drink with the purchase of any combo at the Taco Beach Shack. I arrived in Miami around 5am, so my internal clock was a little off and by 11 am I was ready to claim my free drink. Usually, those sorts of deals only entitle you to a soda, but when we asked the waitress (with a bit of hope in our voices) if we could have a vodka pineapple instead, she was more than happy to oblige.
Taco madness
My boyfriend and I each ordered our own combo, having no idea how huge they would be. We each were given three overstuffed tacos (beef for him, chicken for me), grilled corn, rice, and black beans. The waitress also brought us some rocking hot salsa that I drowned my tacos in. I had every intention of absolutely destroying my plate, but in the end I was only able to finish the tacos, part of the rice and beans, and a few meek bites of the corn. I hated wasting such awesome food, but I simply couldn’t eat anymore. We agreed that next time we could just get 1 combo and maybe some nachos on the side.
Keeping it simple with a plate of nachos bigger than my head
As planned, on our next visit, we ordered 1 taco combo and a plate of chicken nachos, thinking we were keeping it simple. Well, the plate of nachos arrived and we immediately realized this was almost the same amount of food as the 2 taco combos. We ordered ourselves a pitcher of white wine sangria to wash it all down and got to work. This time around, we went for the grilled fish tacos. They were absolutely divine. As a Midwestern girl who grew up nowhere near the ocean and next to the incredibly dirty Mississippi, I rarely get to enjoy fish. I was pretty sure it was awesome, but due to my lack of experience,
I looked at my Puerto Rican boyfriend for approval. He devoured those tacos like a champ and assured me the fish was, in fact, quite tasty. I only ate one of the tacos, as I was thoroughly engrossed in the nachos that were smothered in generous portions of sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and of course cheese – such glorious cheese! With all the chicken, jalapeños, and black beans to deal with, I could barely support all the flavors on a single chip. We managed to finish everything this time around, save for a few forkfuls of rice and beans. The price tag, including the pitcher of sangria, was only $44 bucks, and we were so satisfied that we skipped dinner that night.
So much more than tacos
I am partial to tacos and nachos, but the Taco Beach Shack actually has a lot to offer. Their menu items are available to anyone (not just guests) and can be explored while chilling out in the outdoor seating (complete with a couple of ping pong tables and plenty of lounge chairs) or at the counter if you want to order to go. The complete menu is displayed on three surfboards hanging on the wall.
If you are ever in the area and look for a cheap, filling, and delicious meal, I highly recommend the Taco Beach Shack.