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    Restaurant Review: Phatt Taco

    Downtown’s Phatt Taco comes enriched with a good bit of philosophy.

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    It uses organic, fancy, baby greens; it’s got a juice bar. Phatt Taco’s cooler is stocked with non-HFC (that’s High Fructose Corn Syrup) soda pops.

    All the philosophical stuff doesn’t really hit you in the face when you walk through the door. But it’s nice to know that the items on the menu follow some sort of health-promoting ideology. It sure beats Taco Bell.

    Like lots of fast-casual joints, guests order at the counter and can supervise the making of their orders. Tacos themselves aren’t really the headlining acts at Phatt Taco. While it’s possible to order a soft taco, the stars of the show are tostadas with different meaty fillings. An order of chicken, beef or pork yields a gorgeous pile of food.

    phatt-taco-03

    The order of tostadas are built on a foundation of crunchy, colorful shells. On top of those, you can put beans and a starchy rice. Then comes the meat of your choice. The Barbacoa ($7.50) offers a pile of pulled beef, infused with a mild mix of traditional south-of-the boarder flavor.

    There is also a Carnitas ($7.50) version. It’s the pork offering with very pleasant citrus accents.

    Those Barbacoa and Carnitas tostadas aren’t done yet. Alongside the meat comes a big scoop of salad. It’s a fancy, super lush salad with an organic mix of baby chard, baby kale and baby spinach with apple slices. Then, there’s a little cheese sprinkled on top. The crowning glory is a drizzle of sauce from one of several bottles at the counter: the silky smooth greenish avocado one is a big winner.

    Beyond the tostadas, there are a few other entree choices. You can get Chicken Tamales ($6.50). They’re super starchy things, with just a little bit of chicken inside and lots of sturdy, filling cornmeal casing. They do come with more of that fancy salad.

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    For something more substantial than the tamales, do Chicken Soup in a Pot ($6) instead. As the menu suggests, it is served in a shiny little pot with a long handle. The brew boasts rustic-ly huge, jagged chunks of potatoes and carrots. They stew around in a mild broth with some of the house rice and a big pile of shredded chicken. It feels both healthy and comforting.

    Whatever the ideology is behind the Phatt team, it does not preclude dessert: that’s a good ideology. It’s hard to resist the pretty fruit cups at the counter -they’re filled with with fresh sliced fruit (grapes, apples, berries) dancing around with pieces of cake.

    There are also giant Chocolate Chip Cookies ($2). Sold in two-packs, they seem totally unadulterated by weird healthy ingredients. There’s something to be said for a philosophy that embraces chocolate chips. As a bonus, the cookies are baked in-house.

    There were some vegan cookie options too, for those who want to go whole-hog (heh heh) on the healthy theme. And while the Carnitas tostadas might not be right for that crowd, vegetable and fruit juice smoothies are offered at Phatt Taco too.

    You can find Phatt Taco at 50 N. High Street downtown. It’s open limited hours right now: Mondays through Saturdays from 11am until 3pm.

    For more information, visit www.facebook.com/PhattTaco.

    Photos provided by Phatt Taco.

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    Miriam Bowers Abbott
    Miriam Bowers Abbotthttps://columbusunderground.com
    Miriam Bowers Abbott is a freelancer contributor to Columbus Underground who reviews restaurants, writes food-centric featurettes and occasionally pens other community journalism pieces.
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