Sunday, March 15, 2015

The Breckenridge Tap House @ Oscar's – An elevated taco experience

Don't you love when you have this gut feeling about a place and it pays off better than you even expected?

Taking a day off after three straight days of amazing Colorado skiing, we decided to lazily meander Breckenridge's busy Main Street. It’s a street packed to the gills with various coffee houses, boutiques, pubs and restaurants. A day can easily slip by in the dizzying array of tantalizing scents, sights and sounds. We were drawn to Oscar’s of Breckenridge – Tacos, Tequila, Whiskey – and their Tap House with its rustic, cool decor, and decided on a quick (if a bit early!) beer. With 34 beers on tap, you're sure to find something interesting to try. We went for local brews, and while enjoying them glanced over the menu and were intrigued. We weren’t hungry, so we continued weaving our way thru the town. All the while we kept thinking about Oscar's menu. We knew they had a great happy hour, so it was inevitable we would go back and conclude our day there. Their menu states “An elevated taco experience…” and is right on. It is amazing to have so much precise flavor complexity in every single taco bite.

We started with the Chips and Guac. So good and fresh. Served with a roasted red pepper sauce on the side. We had several of their creative ala carte taco offerings: Blackened Mahi Mahi, Slow Braised Carnitas, and Chef's Choice Seasonal Sautéed Veg tacos. Every single ingredient had its place and stood out, while being the perfect complement to every other ingredient.

Our server, Ashaley Lynn Reynaga also deserves a huge round of applause for being both knowledgeable of the entire pub/restaurant, and for being so accommodating with our usual barrage of menu, ingredient and restaurant questions. She really made the experience.

Oscar's was that unexpected surprise on our trip – of being drawn somewhere and ending up with a truly memorable experience. We love when that happens. Don’t you?