By Lexi Masarweh | Staff Writer
From food trucks to niche restaurants, Waco has a diverse lineup of establishments.
Taquisa Waco features authentic Mexican food. It has multiple food trucks in operation, but its main location is at 1425 La Salle Ave. at the Route 77 Food Park & Bar.
According to Route 77 Food Park’s website, Taquisa Waco makes the best authentic street tacos in town, and its tortillas are hand-dipped in secret spices and grilled fresh right in front of you.
While Taquisa Waco has been in operation for six years, its food trucks have only been around for two years. It caters for parties, weddings, baby showers and more.
As an entire family business, Lillianna Gallegos is the owner, with her niece, Ana Amador, working beside her and translating for her. Gallegos’ son works in Austin and also comes up to work one of the food trucks for her.
“She’s more connected with her family,” Amador said.
Gallegos said a lot of Baylor students frequent her main location. Amador said the business has expanded, now ranging from Temple to the Dallas area.
Over on the other side of I-35, Bangkok Royal also offers authentic cuisine, located at 215 S. University Parks Drive. It advertises itself as a contemporary Thai restaurant that provides curries, noodles and fried rice dishes with vegetarian options.
Jacob Kane, a Bangkok Royal employee, said he has been actively working there for only a year, but has been employed there for five years. He also said he has been eating at the restaurant for 20 years.
Kane said that compared to other Thai restaurants he has dined at — such as those in Houston, California and Alaska — Bangkok Royal is very good but has less of an emphasis on seafood.
Kane said the owners, Supranklux and Vichai Anantasomboon, are very nice and have owned the business for between 20 and 22 years.
“My understanding is the owner, Vichai, he was born in China, but he lived in Thailand, and that’s where he met Su, and she’s from Bangkok,” Kane said. “They’ve lived there for a long time and then moved to Las Vegas with their son, Pom.”
Kane said the family has been living in the United States for about 30 years and that they moved to Waco after living in Las Vegas.
“We get a lot more professors than students, I would say,” Kane said. “From my experience, we do get a lot of students — but not as many as you might think for being right here, downtown.”
These are only a few authentic food places in Waco. Try and explore the diverse restaurants in Waco and see what you think.
