Photos by Emily Nichols and Amelia Goe
Location and Hours:5202 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85013
Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. – midnight
Sunday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Star Rating (0 – 4): ★★★½
Recommended: The Standard taco, Baja Fish Taco, Mo’s Definitely
It seems like everyone who comes to Phoenix feels obligated to ask the locals: “Where should I go for great Mexican food in the area?” Joyride Taco House is the new answer.
Although Arizona is practically overflowing with great Mexican joints, few of them offer the whole dining package. Some restaurants have authentic dishes, but are an ambiance disaster. Others have gorgeous designs but a mediocre menu. Joyride pairs vibrancy and trendiness with deliciousness.
Joyride is located on Central Avenue north of Camelback Road and is the newest addition to the trendy and talked-about Medlock neighborhood. Alongside its neighbors Postino, Federal Pizza, Windsor and Churn, Joyride offers an atmosphere that can’t be beat. It’s lively, stylish and makes you feel “in” just by entering the establishment; that’s at least how both Amelia and I felt.
Inside, the booth seating is spacious and imaginative, flecked with fluorescent turquoise against dark wooden tables. The central focus point of the building is the booze-filled bar, which Joyride boasts about proudly with its happy hour deals and intriguing cocktail menu.
Since we opted to sit on the sunny patio, we started off our meal with a refreshing Almond Horchata agua fresca, which to our surprise came topped with crunchy pecan pieces and a sprinkle of brown sugar. It tasted like the leftover milk from a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, but on flavor-enhancing steroids.
As for food, Joyride offers fresh, creative and true-to-Mexico flavors. Their menu is simple, but certainly doesn’t make for easy decisions. As we sifted through the menu, we waited patiently for chips and salsa to arrive since we had been promised them by our hostess. Although it was disappointing, this was the only slow service we had during our lunch.
After we sought a word of advice from our waitress (always a great tactic for a new restaurant), we decided to load up on a whole slew of Mexican greatness. Amelia got her meat fix with the Cochinita Pibil, or slow-roasted pork, torta ($8) and a taco they call The Standard ($3.50).
The taco featured slow-roasted chicken, avocado and tangy Mexican slaw. It wasn’t anything standard. In fact, it was quite abnormally finger-licking good. The torta came decorated with a tangy pineapple cabbage, creamy avocado slice, onion and tomatillo salsa.
I delighted myself with two tacos and a half-salad lunch special ($9.25). My Baja Fish Taco was fresh and well-crafted. It took my taste buds directly to the warm beach in Rocky Point, Mexico. It was oozing with a mouth-watering house lime aioli they call White Magic and the tortilla was on the upper-tier of corn tortillas I’ve ever eaten. The other taco, Braised Beef, was equally as delicious, though much more simplistic in design.
My side salad was a kale (the hippest of veggies) salad that was confusing, but yummy. It had refried pinto beans, cherry tomatoes, crispy peas, corn, jicama, avocado, queso fresco and a “Quince” fruit vinaigrette. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was all for it.
Despite our temptations to cut ourselves off after tacos, tortas and tortilla chips galore, we decided to listen to our hearts and order “Mo’s Definitely” for dessert. Let us just say that we most definitely will be coming back, simply because this exists.
After spooning a house-made vanilla pudding, spiced caramel sauce, fresh sliced bananas, salted pecans and cochinito cookie crust into our mouths at slightly-unnatural speeds, we were in sweet ecstasy. The vanilla beans in the pudding were phenomenal and the salty nuts and caramel contrasted the sweet banana flavor.
However, even the most ooey-gooey banana pudding couldn’t mute the strange song selection Joyride was playing. They had an eclectic mix of bad Radiohead covers to upbeat Foster the People that simply didn’t suit the scene. Luckily, they were taking suggestions for improvements, and I was able to let them know that the music wasn’t nearly half as rockin’ as their succulent tacos and persuasive desserts.
Contact the reporter at ejnicho1@asu.edu
