Try It: Vinyl Taco

Ah, the days of Borrowed Bucks Roadhouse. The line dancing, the not-so-line dancing (a.k.a. the “bump and grind”). The drink specials. The birthday t-shirt.

Oh the days of yore. I, myself, left my dignity on the dance floor at one point or five. 

Now, the former Bucks is Vinyl Taco, which I was equally as geeked about, as I’ve eaten there (and probably lost my dignity there as well after some margaritas) in Fargo.

The franchise is also in Grand Forks, and now the restaurant and new weekend and nightlife offering, Vinyl Social Club, are both open in Sioux Falls and are serving authentic Mexican street food with the taglines “tuned in music” and “turned on tacos.”

When it comes to branding and a solid theme, Vinyl Taco is on top of it. Murals of musicians are in the entryway, and the company only plays vinyl records on turntables behind the bar. It’s legit.

The entire 605 team went, which included account manager Taylor Hanson, editorial assistant Kyle Determan, multimedia designer Yany Avelar, director of sales and marketing John Snyder, and myself. We were seated in a corner booth and geeked out as we were handed menus that were each created with its own record album cover. Conversation starters: 10 points right there.

Our server greeted us and brought us bottles of water from a (sexy) cooler with red lights that was near the bar. Chilled bottled water and he gave us two bottles: 10 points right there.

We asked for sodas and ordered a pitcher of margaritas for us to share (with adorable basil), and our server informed us they had Coke in a bottle: 10 points right there.

I’m already way off the point system, but I’m bad at math. Back off me.

We started with several appetizers, like the popular Chicken Chicharrones. The seasoned fried chicken skins were served with habanero BBQ and jalapeño ranch sauces. These eliminated the awkwardness of only ripping off chicken skin and just embraced everyone’s (or some people’s) desire to only eat the skin. It was crispy, but was so much better with the BBQ. It had a kick and was a whole different ballgame with it.

We also ordered the Tortilla Poppers. These were fried flour tortillas filled with cream cheese, fresh jalapeño and bacon, and were served with orange salsa and jalapeño ranch. This is where Taylor tried the ranch and never looked back. We’ll get to that later.

The poppers were super fresh, and the tortillas were warm and soft… like so soft I couldn’t shut up about it.

“I like that it’s not a big chunk of pepper inside of the popper. The ingredients are chopped up and mixed where it’s easy to eat,” noted Taylor.

Yany had been taking photos and took a break to finally try one. She automatically exclaimed, “Yum!” It was in reaction to the orange salsa and jalapeño ranch.

GAMES ON GAMES ON GAMES

The Vinyl Social Club is another section of the business
where you can “eat, drink, dance, and play.” Enjoy a four-lane
Duckpin bowling alley, shuffleboard, skee-ball, vintage
video games, beer pong, MarioKart, and more (including a
wall of lava lamps made for Instagram moments).

We also had the Queso Con Chorizo. The white cheddar was melted with green chiles, fireroasted jalapeño, house-made chorizo, and chips. The queso was good, and you could tell the chips came right from being made in-house. As 90 percent of 605‘s staff consisted of females, we all noted how cute the presentation of the chips was in the container that resembled what you buy fresh vegetables or fruits in at the store or farmers market.

And then… They brought chips before we asked for more: 1 million points right there. You know when you have to keep asking and you feel stupid (or maybe you don’t because you have self-control and
stop after one or three baskets)? This eliminated that.

Because they’re known for tacos, we ordered a traditional taco (Carne Asada), and two specialty tacos (Crispy Chicken & Mango and Crispy Fish), but not before trying the Smothered Burrito Supreme.

This had a fresh flour tortilla filled with seasoned rice, black beans, onions, and the choice of meat, and was topped with cheese. We chose the seasoned ground beef. Patrons also have the choice of red roasted tomato sauce, green chile sauce, or queso.

I love me some green chile sauce, so we ordered that, and Taylor asked for a side of queso. It was a solid burrito and was great to share, but I was excited to try what they’re named for.

We started with the Crispy Chicken & Mango Taco. This had crispy-crusted chicken, fresh spinach, shredded cheese, fresh diced mango, and house-made sweet onion vinaigrette.

“They’re killing it with the chicken,” said Yany with her first couple of bites.

Meanwhile, this is about the time Taylor realized she had an addiction to the jalapeño ranch.

She also enjoyed it without, but went right in for more ranch after her first taste.

Next was the Crispy Fish. This was crispy-crusted whitefish, and had red slaw, sriracha tartar, fried capers, and serrano-avocado salsa. John loves a fish taco and was obsessed.

“This is super creamy and tangy,” he said.

Last, but not least, was the Carne Asada with marinated steak, onions, radish, cilantro, serrano-avocado salsa, and queso fresco.

“There is a lot of flavor up in this bish,” I said as I took a nibble. It was packed with powerful (and delicious) ingredients.

After all of that, we decided we needed dessert, so we ordered the Churro Waffles . The mini churro waffles had an almond glaze, cinnamon sugar, ice cream, and a choice of caramel or chocolate sauce. We went with chocolate. I blinked and had eaten half of it by myself.

“This is like breakfast,” said Taylor.

I noted, “I wish this was my breakfast.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT VINYLTACOSIOUXFALLS.COM.

BOTTOM LINE

This is such a cool atmosphere in the restaurant portion alone, and the Vinyl Social Club is beyond. I can’t wait to be able to not be pregnant and enjoy a cocktail from a mixologist and listen to vinyls with friends for happy hour. Also, with over 15 tacos, I also can’t wait to try more (and I’m sure Taylor is excited for more ranch).

3609 S. WESTERN AVE., SIOUX FALLS // (605) 271-2262

APPETIZERS

› GUACAMOLE AND CHIPS
Smashed avocados, pico, fresh lime topped with radish and served with fresh chips.

› TRADITIONAL QUESO
White cheddar with green chiles, fire-roasted jalapeño and fresh chips.

SOUP & SALAD

› CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Chicken with sweet peppers in a spicy tomato broth topped with blanco crema, crispy tortilla strips and queso fresco.

› CORN OFF THE COB SALAD
Romaine, sweet corn, black beans, red peppers, pico, smoked chicken, bleu cheese-honey mustard vinaigrette with crispy tortilla strips and queso fresco.

SPECIALTY BOWLS

› FAJITA FIESTA BOWL
Chicken or steak . Seasoned rice, black beans, creamed corn, topped with marinated beef or fajita chicken, red and yellow peppers, onions, shredded cheese, blanco crema, and tortilla strips.

› CHICKEN CITRUS BOWL
Seasoned rice, black beans, red roasted tomato salsa, creamed corn, topped with citrus-marinated chicken, queso fresco, orange salsa, cilantro, and tobacco onions.

TRADITIONAL TACOS

› BARBACOA
Chile shredded beef, chipotle slaw, fresh red peppers, cilantro, and orange salsa.

› CHICKEN TINGA
Spicy, marinated smoked chicken with pico, cilantro, queso fresco, and blanco crema.

SPECIALTY TACOS

› BUFFALO CHICKEN
Crispy chicken in buffalo sauce, pico, lettuce, queso fresco and jalapeño ranch.

› CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN
Lime-marinated chicken, pico, cilantro, queso fresco and jalapeño ranch.