Del Taco

Location

1649 Research Park Dr., next to KFC and behind the Chevron, just South of I-80 and Richards

Hours

24 hour drive-thru

Phone

530-757-6976

Web site

http://www.deltaco.com

For a late-night quick snack, there are three possibilities in Davis: In-N-Out, Jack in the Box and, of course, Del Taco. Del Taco is a chain that originated in Barstow, Calif., a city mostly notable for being on the way to Las Vegas. Del Taco and Jack in the Box are the only true 24 hour drive-thrus in Davis, although it seems that the food at Del Taco isn't quite as good at night as during the day. This is perhaps due to the employees having to deal with so many high and drunk people, or the employees being high and drunk.

They also have a special Taco Nite on Tuesdays from 3-11p.m. where you can get 3 tacos for $1.09. Del Taco features a hot sauce called Del Scorcho:

Some comments on Del Scorcho:

...NOT. Some folks may call this "hot", but I think those familiar with Mexican food would only call this mild. YMMV. -SteveDavison

As someone who is a collector of hot sauces and a Southern California native, I have to say that Del Scorcho is an interesting hybrid of sauces. It is not the kind that burns the crap out of your mouth. But it does have both a pique and an intriguing flavor. It is not "beyond hot" in an absolute sense, but it is when compared to other fast food sauces. There are many other hot sauces I prefer, but I think Del Taco's is good enough to deserve this tribute page. And just as a side note, Mexican Food specifically—in its most authentic sense—is not particularly renowned for extremely hot sauces. Texmex and Cajun seem to take the idea of hot sauce to the "next level," but I personally like my hot sauce to have some perceptable flavor and not lead to the shortening of lifespans." -jr

Compare it to another packeted hot sauce in town: Border Sauce.

Comments:

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jr: The best things on the menu are chicken soft tacos, spicy jack chicken quesadilla. The healthiest thing on the menu is a bean and cheese burrito (which comes in two sizes, the larger of which is 99 cents). If you accumulate enough Del Scorcho salsa packets, you can pour it into a bucket and use it for budget chips and salsa.

I went there to try their "Tuesday Taco Nite 3/99 cent tacos" (normally $.59 each) (Tuesdays 3-11PM). They consist of (in order) a hard corn taco shell, seasoned ground beef with mystery filler (cereal or such), shredded iceberg lettuce, and grated yellow cheese. Despite their small size they were certainly tasty and surprisingly filling. I believe this to be due to the high fat (saturated) content of the meat. I then tried one of their bean burritos (since jr recommended it). It was probably the smallest burrito I've ever seen, beating even Taco Bell. Considering that the origin of the word "burrito" implied a meal the size of a small burro (donkey), this is ironic. It was tasty though. —SteveDavison

In my experience, the 1/2 pound bean and cheese burrito is the best value (at 99 cents). I have tried the spicy jack quesadilla multiple times and the tortilla consistently tastes like matzah, i.e. way crispy. Bizarre. -GregSmith

When I went there, I got the macho burrito, and it was bad. The meat was on one side and the vegetables were on the other. I tried to draw a text art diagram, but it doesn't work here. Anyway, I'm not going there again. -NickSchmalenberger

Hmmm, it seems I went here again. This time I had 3 steak tacos (1 carne asada, 2 carbon) and a churro, and it was all really excellent. I don't know if the burritos have gotten better though. The tuesday night thing is great too. —NickSchmalenberger

In my opinion, this is one of the slowest drive-thrus in Davis. Not because the line is long, mind you. I've waited in line for up to 30 minutes here before. —The El

Even though it was acquired by Pepsi (which also owns Taco Bell), Del Taco has always been a Southern California and Central Valley fast food chain. Until the last few years, the Davis and Modesto Del Tacos were the closest ones to the Bay Area (especially since the San Jose store closed 8 years ago). But since that time, they've begun a few inroads, namely one in Pittsburg and San Leandro. Last year, they finally opened a small one on Market and 7th in SF. -Steve Stilson (stilsons@comcast.net)

When Pepsi bought Del Taco, there was an attempt to merge the menus of Taco Bell and Del Taco, resulting in Taco Bell's first quesadilla offering. But, just like the attempt to bring down Taco Bell's menu prices, the menu merge attempt failed. This is a good thing, since Del Taco's burritos are still better, I believe. Del Taco also has more drink selections.

Is that what happened? I remember when Taco Bell tried to offer fries. Everyone was asking if they were trying to be Del Taco. -RogerClark

I am almost positive Pepsi does not own Del Taco. PepsiCo also does not own Taco Bell, although it used to. Del Taco merged with Naugles (which mostly disappeared) in 1988. And Taco Bell is now owned by "Yum! Brands, Inc," which PepsiCo sold (some of?) its restaurant holdings to. Interestingly, the Del Taco founder was a co-venturer with the Taco Bell founder with his first restaurant experiment, according to the book, Fast Food Nation. -JaimeRaba

• Yum! also has Pizza Hut, KFC and a few other chains under its belt. —TarZxf
  

2006-01-04 09:16:18   My experience with this place is very uneven — sometimes the food tastes fairly fresh, and other times, it's pretty bad. I am still trying to figure out what the allure of their fries is — they're horrible. —AlexPomeranz

2006-08-25 00:58:54   great quikie! And great price. Not for health nuts, but they have really good bean and cheese burros! The salsa is outta this world! It tastes home made! —GehLei

2007-05-11 19:19:04   I love cheap tacos. And there is never anyone else at this place. Del Scorcho is great too. —William.Peacock

2007-11-29 16:46:03   Cheap imitation of Taco Bell...with the added gimmick of fries. Weak. —SuperGiblet

2007-12-17 19:17:37   I worked at this dump for one month. One month was all I could take. My co-workers were mostly ok, but the boss is kind of a bitch. I will neither go there nor work there ever again. I won't even comment on the quality of their food preparation. Let's just say that they've been cited by the county for moldy soft drink spigots in the past. AVOID! —thelonepiper555

2008-07-21 22:22:44   The strawberry milkshakes here are awesome. Only Redrum might be better. —NickSchmalenberger

2008-07-23 22:21:54   The thing that really keeps me coming back is the fries. Perfectly crisp and salty more often than other places... —SunjeetBaadkar

2009-04-14 00:44:11   i really like this place. the chicken is the best and the service is fast enough. i love charlie! he's way too into the job but hes fun. (hes the cute guy with brown hair ;D) —CindyBaby

2009-07-13 22:16:04   The picture below makes the building look creepy, but dont be scared. I like it. —patrick82