Fuzzy’s Taco Shop//Adding More to Downtown

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop//Adding More to Downtown

For someone who loves food, I can’t help but get excited about all of the new eateries that have opened in Tuscaloosa in the past year. Whether it’s Midtown Village, the Shoppes at Legacy Park, or downtown Tuscaloosa, the restaurant gods seem to have perfectly sprinkled new businesses all across the area. For the downtown area, the addition of a fast casual scene seems to make sense among all the variety of places down University Boulevard and Greensboro Avenue.

Enter Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. I first became familiar with Fuzzy’s after a memorable trip to a conference in Athens, Georgia. A bad wreck left me carless while I wandered around the outskirts of campus looking for something delicious after a long afternoon. Fuzzy’s provided a refuge with nachos and a massive margarita so once I heard that Fuzzy’s was coming to T-town, I was more than pumped. The hubby and I decided to have a low key Saint Patrick’s Day dinner by visiting Fuzzy’s Taco Shop downtown. Despite the craziness of Saint Patty’s day, the lack of students for Spring Break provided a hopefulness that we’d have an efficient dining experience.

We entered Fuzzy’s and were immediately welcomed by the staff donning festive Saint Patty’s Day gear. The few diners we saw seated had huge green colored margaritas on the rocks. Since it had been a while since my first Fuzzy’s experience in Athens and this was my hubby’s first trip, we took our time looking through the menu. Though I’d had nachos during my first visit, the hubs and I both decided on taco plates to see if Fuzzy’s was truly a taco shop to rave about. I opted on a shredded chicken taco, as well as a spicy pork taco, both on soft corn tortillas. My sides included a cilantro-lime rice and refried beans while the hubs got mix-mex rice and borracho beans.

We patiently waited on our taco plates as we enjoyed our order of chips and guacamole. At first I was concerned about the amount of dark seasoning on the tortilla chips, but found it to have a nice flavor with Fuzzy’s guacamole. It wasn’t too long before our nice little buzzer indicated it was “go time” on our taco plates. Noticing the feta on my tacos, I couldn’t wait to get a bite in. I loved the flavors, though I didn’t particularly taste the garlic sauce that was mentioned to be in both tacos. After taking my first bite of taco, I was immediately distracted by my husband’s facial expression as he took a bite of his mix-mex rice. With a face that said, “taste this,” I quickly took a sample bite and was disappointed at the texture and cold temperature of the rice indicating that it possibly didn’t cook all the way. Looking at my cilantro-lime rice, I had high hopes from past experiences of Chipotle’s cilantro lime rice that my plate would deliver. Sadly, my rice was also cold and gritty in texture. However, my refried beans and the hubby’s borracho beans were actually the appropriate temperature and quite tasty.

All in all, I would go back to Fuzzy’s. I didn’t get a margarita during our Saint Patty’s Day excursion, but it will definitely happen during my next visit. The quality of the tacos were great, despite some of the disappointing moments with the rice. I’m looking forward to having a redeeming visit to Fuzzy’s in the future exploring the rest of the menu.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is located as 2321 University Boulevard in downtown Tuscaloosa and opens daily at 10 a.m. Tweet us @ThePlanetWeekly and let us know where you are eating!

Sheena Gregg, MS, RDN,LD is a registered dietitian and local “Filipino foodie.” Follow her on Twitter @TheThriftyRD