New Mayan kitchen adds twist to basic tacos

Mia Bonfiglio, Reporter

Mexican food is one of my favorites, so when I heard about a new taco place, I was very intrigued. However, the last thing that came to mind was eating grasshoppers.

The new Mayan kitchen Taco Bout It, located at 8819 Ogden Ave in Brookfield, offers a unique selection of adventurous tacos. The restaurant itself is quite small, consisting of a kitchen, a bar with a few stools, and multiple picnic tables for outdoor seating. The best part about the kitchen is that you can see straight into where the chef is cooking, which gives the resturant an authentic vibe to the restaurant.

Instead of basic beef and chicken options, their menu is very distinct. There were so many different options for $4. At first glance, the grasshoppers looked very unappetizing, but the mango sauce on top evened out the appeal. The grasshoppers were crunchy and salty, but I would probably not go back soley for the grasshoppers. However, the stuffed pepper and steak tacos, both served on blue-corn tortillas, blew me away. The stuffed pepper tacos cost $4 each and were made with mild peppers stuffed with goat cheese, topped with a tomato sauce, and slaw.

The cheese stuffed peppers were oozing and gave a strong sweet flavor; however, the slaw was a bit overpowering. The steak tacos cost $3.50 each and were cooked to perfection with beans, rice and slaw. The toppings together were a tasty match and the grilled steak was flavorful.

Another extremely unique taco I tried was the eggplant and cactus taco with slaw, also for $4. This unlikely duo was pleasantly surprising and was definitely one of my favorites on the menu. Lastly I ordered mango salsa, but it did not come with any chips. Although it could be added to spice up any of the plainer items on the menu, I would have liked to have chips offered with the salsa.

The menu also offers a variety of burritos, burrito bowls, cemita sandwiches, quesadillas and other taco options. Everything on the menu is under $10 each. The only complaint I have is that the seating was very limited and awkward since every chair at the countertop was looking out on the street. Other than that, I thought the spin on classic tacos was a fun way to reinvent a menu, and would definitely go back for more.