A new fast-casual Mexican restaurant has opened in downtown Fullerton. Tazon is a modern taqueria concept that is probably inspired by the success of vibrant, like-minded predecessors such as Pour Vida and Urbana (both in Anaheim) or maybe even Mercado Roma or Comedor de los Milagros in Mexico City. And part of what makes this new spot so cool (and the latter comparison so apt) is the large tree-covered patio and communal indoor/outdoor vibe it shares with the coffee shop next door.
The menu focuses mostly on rice bowls and tacos. I’m already on record as not being a huge fan of rice bowls. In most instances rice bowls are lazy. Rice bowls are what you do with leftovers, in your own house, when no one’s watching. It’s not what real chefs do with food that they’ve been prepping and cooking all day.
But sometimes rice bowls do make sense. There can be strange comfort in a bowl of disparate ingredients mingled together with abandon. Mole Poblano, for example, is already a jumble of a dozen different flavors, so why not go ahead and pour it over a bowl of rice with chicken and beans? It’s actually very good, even if the chicken breast is pre-cooked.
The braised beef short rib is also very good. The shredded chicken tinga, too. More or less the same toppings that appear on the bowls are also available as tacos. The tacos are of that style from Mexico City in which the tortillas are layered with a thin sheet of cheese that’s been cooked on the griddle until blackened and lacy around the edges and takes on that distinctive nuttiness unique to cheese that has been, essentially, fried in its own fat.
Octopus tastes very good in this sort of taco, the fried tentacle layered atop a bed of creamy purple slaw and griddled Oaxacan cheese. Achiote-marinated pork belly is cooked vaguely in the style of cochinita pibil and topped with pickled red onions and neutered habanero chilies. Squash blossoms and hibiscus flowers are sautéed with herbaceous epazote.
My exploration of the menu is still in the early stages, and I have yet to arrive early enough in the day to sample the chilaquiles or huevos rancheros (served as bowls), which they stop serving at 11 a.m. Everything I’ve sampled so far, I like.
I would like this place even better if they weren’t contributing so much trash to landfills by serving everything in disposable plates and bowls. Fortunately they use real glasses for the beer, wine and margaritas.
This place will probably become as popular for its frozen margaritas and craft beer as for its food. For now, the margaritas — at least 10 flavors every day — are made with agave wine, not tequila. However that’s set to change in the coming weeks. Tazon has applied for a full liquor license, which the bartender tells me they’re expecting to receive any day now, at which point they’ll be stocking a wide selection of tequilas and mezcals. That big patio in the summertime, plus a stiff frozen margarita… it’s going to be awfully appealing.
Tazón
Where: 500 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton
When: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
Phone: 657-248-7330
Online: eattazon.com
