BC Café may have a caveman as its mascot, but the mouth-watering tacos are far from extinct. It’s no secret that college students love tacos, but time and time again, students settle for mediocre tacos. Stop compromising and head over to BC Café.
Before it was a restaurant, BC Café was a food truck named BC Tacos. After a few wildly successful years, BC Tacos owner Brett Chiavari decided to expand his taco empire to a physical location, and the rest is ancient history. Located in a shopping center on the west side of University Drive past Griffin Road, BC Café is a little difficult to find if you haven’t been there before. Once you’ve been there, though, you’ll definitely find your way back.
In typical food truck fashion, everything is ordered á la carte, but in the Café, your food is brought to your table by one of the attentive and welcoming employees. There’s ample seating, a TV and comfy couches — all to make you feel more at home. Like most restaurants these days, there’s free Wi-Fi; just make sure to ask an employee for the network’s password. All this adds up to a unique place to grab lunch and study for a few hours. If you’re looking for a quiet place to study, go after lunchtime when there are less people. The décor is simple and is complete with a wall-sized painting of the BC Tacos’ caveman. Don’t let his appearance fool you, though, he’s actually quite nice.
Of course, my favorite menu item is the tacos. Two that I highly recommend are The T-Rex, a chicken taco, and The Hunter, a steak taco. The seasonings they use make for great tacos, probably the best thing since the invention of wheel. You can really tell their food is made from quality ingredients, absolutely none of that mystery meat that comes to mind when you think about “taco meat.” If you’re a little more adventurous, you can try some of the more unique items on the menu, like The Gatherer, a fried avocado taco, or The Encino Man, a buffalo mahi taco. All tacos are $4 each with a choice of hard or soft taco shell, so you can mix and match to your heart’s — or wallet’s — desire.
Although they got their start with tacos, BC Café has since evolved and now makes other types of food as well. When I visited, one of their specials was a ropa vieja quesadilla. They combined the tomato-y Cuban dish, ropa vieja, and mozzarella cheese to make this amazing culinary creation. It may seem like an odd combination, but at only $10, it’s certainly an entrée worth trying. They also have salads, sliders and burgers. The sliders are great to mix and match, and I recommend the Pulled Prehistoric Pork slider at $3. The barbeque flavor isn’t overpowering and is just enough to give you that great taste. If you’re still hungry, they also have macaroons, cupcakes, coffee and other desserts that are all made in-house. In other words, you won’t leave hungry.
If you didn’t already have enough options to choose from, you can also get breakfast tacos — yes, I said breakfast tacos. This is a fun spin on your typical breakfast fare like pancakes and omelets. Just like the other tacos, there are plenty of flavorful options to choose from, and prices vary from $2.50 to $3.50 per taco.
Depending on what you get, you’ll likely spend between $10 and $12 per person. This may be a little more expensive than you’re used to paying for tacos, but keep in mind that everything at BC Café is made in-house and with quality ingredients. You get what you pay for here. If you like a good deal, you should try Taco Tuesdays at BC Café, where you can get two tacos of your choice with tortilla chips and a fountain soda, all for $9.
Keep in mind that BC Café’s hours of operation vary. From Monday through Thursday they’re open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday they’re open until 10 p.m. They’re closed on Sundays, though. So, make sure to check their hours before you head over; after all, you don’t want to be sad and taco-less. Don’t be too sad, though, because you can always have the same tacos — and more — from the BC Tacos food truck. Just go to their website, bctacos.com, to find the truck’s location.
I would definitely give BC Café a prehistoric-club-banging recommendation. Whether you’re looking for tacos, sliders, breakfast, dessert or even a latté, BC Café has everything you need to satisfy your inner caveman.
