Taco bar, am I forgetting anything, how much to get?

[Prairie~Phlox]

We're doing a taco/nacho bar for dd's open house.  Mainly just nacho chips, We're expecting there to be at least 100 people, possibly more, hoping fb will help me get a better count.  We'll also have fresh fruit & cupcakes.

 

How much of everything should I plan and am I forgetting anything? Should I take anything off?  I want to make sure I have rice, beans & corn all separate, I personally can't even have corn & chips, nor taco shells, so I want other options and there are others that have dietary restrictions as well.  (quite a few gf, that's why I'm leaning towards no soft tortiilla shells).

 

Taco Bar

Taco Meat

Chicken meat

Nacho cheese

Shredded cheese

Rice

Beans

Corn

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Salsa

Sour cream

Chips

Black olives

Onions

Jalapenos

guacamole

Soft shells yes or no??

[Tap]

Most of the young kids I know would choose a soft tortilla over chips or a crunchy shell.  They are much easier to eat and have less sharp edges to hurt the mouth.

 

I would at least have a pack or two of soft flour shells.  They are cheap, so it wouldn't add much to the cost if they don't get eaten.

 

 

[zoobie]

You could do soft corn tortillas for a soft option. That sounds like a fun party food idea. :)

[UnionJack]

Cilantro!  We all love cilantro on tacos.

[SparklyUnicorn]

You forgot to tell me what time you are serving food.  I don't want to miss this.

 

:laugh:

 

I think you should have soft and crunchy.  And what about taco sauce? 

[Caroline]

Sounds delicious! I might add sliced limes. I agree with adding soft tortillas. It sounds lovely.

[Farrar]

If you want to simplify, I find that corn doesn't usually get taken much. Also olives, though that's a toss up, I guess.

 

You could also ditch several of the individual ingredients and have a few different salsas with different ingredients. Like, I wouldn't do cilantro, as suggested above, I'd just put it in a salsa option.

[catz]

I love doing taco bars for big groups.  Easy and yummy!  Sounds great to me.  I think soft tortillas are a good plan B and if you're buying corn chips/shells double check the ones you buy to make sure they're GF so GF peeps will have an option.  Limes and cilantro would also be great!

 

I could not stomach putting out ketchup with a taco bar.  LOL.

[shawthorne44]

get flour tortillas, and get the small ones.   It is much easier to eat the small ones without making a mess.  One hint, is to put extra cheese in the end that will be eaten last, and folding up that end, holding it folded with your pinkie while eating.   The cheese has nothing to do with neatness, but making sure the end is worth eating.  

[cjzimmer1]

I think cilantro would make a great addition too.  Also perhaps ranch dressings or s chipotle lime dressing and some bowls for those who prefer a salad to a taco.  Maybe my friends and kids are weird but I know quite a few people who would chose a taco salad over an actual taco.

[Prairie~Phlox]

So I shouldn't worry about cross-contamination with flour tortillas and the meat? I know my family loves olives, so I willkeep those on there. Beggars can't be choosers as far as the taco sauce, I never buy it.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Prairie~Phlox

[SparklyUnicorn]

So I shouldn't worry about cross-contamination with flour tortillas and the meat? I know my family loves olives, so I willkeep those on there. Beggars can't be choosers as far as the taco sauce, I never buy it.

 

Hm.  If you need GF then yeah I probably would be concerned about that. 

 

Only way around that maybe is to just have separate bowls of stuff for the GF person(s).

[SparklyUnicorn]

cilantro is yucky....I forbid you to serve it

 

:lol:

 

 

[Ellie]

I don't serve "shells;" I serve tortillas. :-)

 

Corn tortillas are for tacos; flour tortillas are for burritos. I would probably make it a burrito bar and just keep the flour tortillas warm (they're more pliable when they are warm). Unless you can buy fresh tortillas somewhere local, you probably want to stay away from corn tortillas.

 

OTOH, if you're concerned about gluten stuff, then you'd want corn tortillas (corn doesn't have gluten), fresh or not. We lightly toast ours so they are pliable and warm (they still won't wrap as much as flour tortillas, and they're not as big).

[Farrar]

Only you can say if the tortillas would contaminate things for your family. You can easily find soft corn tortillas if it's a concern though in my experience those aren't as popular as flour.

[Prairie~Phlox]

I personally don't think corn tortillas work well for tacos, I'll just keep some meat aside for the true celiac & not worry about the rest.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Prairie~Phlox

[FriedClams]

cilantro is yucky....I forbid you to serve it

 

:lol:

You can eat tacos at my house. We loathe cilantro.

[Ellie]

I personally don't think corn tortillas work well for tacos, I'll just keep some meat aside for the true celiac & not worry about the rest.

 

LOL. People in Mexico have been eating tacos made with corn tortillas for eons. :laugh:

[SparklyUnicorn]

LOL. People in Mexico have been eating tacos made with corn tortillas for eons. :laugh:

 

I think the corn ones are so much tastier than the plain flour ones!

[hornblower]

In addition to keeping the gf stuff separate, if you have vegetarians or vegans coming, try to separate out the meats and the dairy so they won't spill into the beans/rice/veg.

Either have things on opposite ends of the table or put in lots of buffer dishes between :) 

[Amira]

I do agree that most of the (corn) tortillas you see in the US aren't very good for tacos. They are too stiff, even if they've been rewarmed, and they're too big.

[Ellie]

I do agree that most of the (corn) tortillas you see in the US aren't very good for tacos. They are too stiff, even if they've been rewarmed, and they're too big.

 

We soft-fry ours in oil before serving. They're pretty soft. :-) We like the king-sized tortillas that Mission makes, although we haven't found them here in the Austin area. Possibly we are stuffing to much yummy things in them, though. :D

[Junie]

I would stick to corn tortillas, even though the flour ones taste so much better.  I am allergic to wheat, and if I were to go to a taco bar that included flour tortillas, I would not feel safe eating anything.  I would wait until I got home.  :(

 

I do think that you should have corn tortillas, especially if there are a lot of teenagers.  Dd11 just got braces and was told to stay away from crunchy foods like taco shells.

[Arch at Home]

We do burrito/taco bowl buffets with guacamole/salsa and chips ala Chipotle with rice in lieu of soft tortillas. That keeps everything thing gf and people don't realize it.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Arch at Home

[mom2samlibby]

We only eat soft tacos at our house.  I'd do a couple of different kinds of salsa.  I like peach or pineapple and the black bean salsa.  I also like to add sliced avocados to my tacos.

 

 

[ksr5377]

I would recommend having lots and lots of lettuce.  Whenever we do a taco bar there are always quite a few people who end up making taco salads instead, so the lettuce goes quickly.