Tacos for Life

STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO PHOTOS BY SARAH MAYO

In the fall of 2021, West 22 Tacos added some more tacos to the Murfreesboro culinary landscape, opening in the new Medical Center Parkway building that also houses Mayweather Boxing, Cajun Steamer and Hangout Nutrition.

The eatery, which makes its corn tortillas fresh daily, offers the standard tacos: asada, carnitas, fried or grilled fish, pastor, chicken and shrimp, along with some creative, colorful combinations.

salads, elotes (roasted corn) and guacamole.

“This place is awesome! The best tacos, street corn, guac and chips,” Abby Salmon Rapier said.

The Dish

RESTAURANT

These include a Korean BBQ taco, with shaved beef, dynamite sauce, sesame-scallions, shaved carrots and BBQ sauce; a Nashville hot chicken taco (which is really not very hot at all, especially by “Nashville hot” standards but is fairly generous with the meat), with pickles, jicama (Mexican turnip) slaw and roasted garlic mayo; Coco’s Taco, on a special flat, crunchy tortilla with adobo marinated beef, cilantro, onions, shaved cabbage, radishes and charred tomatillo salsa; and (probably this writer’s favorite sampled so far) a pork belly taco, with chipotle honey and creamy slaw topped with crispy chicharron (bits of crispy pork rinds).

West 22 Tacos LOCATION

However, West 22 has earned somewhat mixed reviews among local taco eaters. The special combinations are indeed colorful, innovative and attractive, but most are not exactly bursting with the flavor to match the expectation. And these tacos go for $4.75 plus tax apiece, so for three tacos and a drink, you are looking at almost $20 before tip.

2108 Medical Center Pkwy. PHONE

615-962-8126

HOURS

Mon.–Thurs.: 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Fri.–Sat.: 10 a.m.–9 p.m.

PRICES

Fish, steak, hot chicken, pork belly, carnitas or pastor taco: $4.75;

Surf & turf burrito: $13; Southwest chicken salad: $11; Cinnamon roll churros: $6;

Carnitas nachos: $11

ONLINE west22tacos.com

Some customers say the expense is worth it.

Nathan Ferreira said the price per taco “reflects quality and quantity.”

“West 22 doesn’t just make delicious food, they make clever food. The menu is creative and thoughtful. Their use, particularly of textures, is impressive,” the West 22 customer said.

Another fan, Lisa, said she was not disappointed with any of the “incredible” tacos she and her husband tried and that they highly recommended the ceviche, adding that the street corn was an “absolute must-order every time.”

Others weren’t quite as impressed.

The chipotle honey had a nice blend of sweet, sour and spice and the chicharron added some good texture and zing to the pork belly taco.

West 22 offers a Surf & Turf Burrito with both shrimp and steak, as well as fajitas,

“There were hits and misses,” Mandy Johnson said, saying the cauliflower mushroom taco was “boring” and that she didn’t care for the hard, tough tortilla as the base of the (otherwise flavorful) Coco’s Taco.

“The hot chicken taco was decidedly not hot chicken-flavored,” she added.

Alicia Glover agreed that the items at West 22 “needed more spice.”

Taylor Dowling pointed out that “you can get authentic tacos in several locations throughout Middle Tennessee without spending $5 a taco.”

However, Meghann Hidenfelter found that the West 22 “tacos are big and worth every penny!”

The eatery serves cheesy birria tacos, a dish that has become popular in Murfreesboro over the past few years. These shredded beef and cheese tacos, flavored with onion, cilantro and tomatillo sauce, come with a small cup of consommé (broth) for dipping.

West 22 also offers an item called a pizzadilla, which appears to be a giant birria taco cut into strips.

Many say they “love the birria tacos” and find them amazing; again, these are fairly generous with the meat, but do not exactly offer a flavor explosion. It’s mainly some juicy (greasy?) pot roast on a tortilla.

And more than one customer has said they found the outside of the pizzadillia or birria tacos overly charred.

“Consommé should be rich and full of flavor and spices,” another diner, Ann Milord, said.

The rice at West 22 has a good lime and cilantro flavor to it. It was one of the tastier items. And the mango shrimp ceviche sounds like it would be worth a try.

West 22 has bottles of Jarritos, like any respectable taco shop should.

And it has even developed a creation drawing from a little Mexican/Asian fusion: birria ramen, a large bowl of traditional ramen noodles served with a boiled egg in it, but with the broth and shredded beef of birria.

West 22 also serves a chorizo made from walnuts, an interesting vegan item.

If a party has trouble deciding on which tacos to try, the West 22 Macho Taco Platter contains one of each (11 tacos, I believe), served with guacamole and chips for $50. Go with a group and sample them all.

The interior of West 22 is fairly small, but the restaurant does sport a nice open patio area outside, with some lights strung up. Some games of corn hole reportedly break out here when the weather is pleasant.

And the West 22 staff has gotten lots of positive comments from diners.

“I will travel the 40 minutes to come back,” Matthew Noel reported. “Fresh ingredients, handmade corn tortillas and recipes which are delicious without a ton of salt. And the staff was genuinely friendly!”

El Patron Taqueria, Soda Shop by Tasty Table, Dunkin’, Taste of Thai, Barrett Firearms, In-N-Out, Saint Thomas Westlawn

BY DELORES ELLIOTT

DUNKIN’ recently celebrated the opening of its newest Next Generation restaurant at 5619 Franklin Rd. The new restaurant design features a drive-thru, a front-facing bakery, new espresso machines and a new tap system to provide consistently cold drinks including iced coffee, tea, cold brew and nitro-infused cold brew.

EL PATRON TAQUERIA recently opened at 1112 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in the old Pizza Hut building just in front of Bargain Hunt. Some of the menu options include nacho con fajitas, birria tacos, margaritas, piña coladas, fresh avocado dip, fried whole tilapia and more. For more information, call 615-624-8225.

IN-N-OUT BURGER plans to open its first Tennessee location in Franklin in 2026.

Governor Bill Lee, TNECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter and In-N-Out Burger offi cials recently announced the company’s plans to invest $125.5 million to establish the eastern territory offi ce in Franklin, which represents its fi rst expansion east of Texas. The project is expected to begin just off I-65 in Franklin around the end of 2024, and be complete by 2026. The building will be 100,000 square feet, and will provide at least 277 new jobs in Williamson County.

“I’m proud to welcome In-N-Out Burger, an iconic American brand, to the Volunteer State. Tennessee’s unmatched business climate, skilled workforce and central location make our state the ideal place for this family-run company to establish its fi rst eastern United States hub. We thank In-N-Out for creating new jobs for Tennesseans,” Lee said.

In addition to the eastern territory office, In-N-Out plans to open restaurants in the region, beginning with locations in and around Nashville. In-N-Out currently has 385 locations across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Utah.

“I have no doubt that my grandparents, dad and uncle would be proud of this