Rock Paper Taco set up shop in front of Tin Roof Brewing Co. on March 15, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. The glossy new food trailer—operating six days a week outside the brewery—serves a mix of tacos from classics (like carne asada) to creative (like roasted cauliflower or country fried steak), all named after Baton Rouge streets.
Josh Duke, co-owner of Olive or Twist, knew he wanted to bring a taco concept to Baton Rouge. He’d been thinking about it since he first ate at Torchy’s Tacos in Austin with his now-fiance, Karli Smith, two years ago. He even looked into franchising Torchy’s. “They told us no on franchising, so we just kind of gave up on the idea,” he says.
Then, while eating at Torchy’s in Dallas the next year, Duke and Smith talked about opening their own taco restaurant, throwing out names. Smith thought up Rock Paper Taco. It was a winner. But Rock Paper Taco would be more than a good name—and more than another taqueria.
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“The goal always was to have a mix of classic and more traditional Louisiana dishes, or just traditional, popular dishes that people like to eat, and try to make them into tacos,” Duke says.
The couple decided to postpone opening a new business until after getting married. In September, however, Duke’s friend Jacob Talley, CEO of Tin Roof, approached him about bringing the taco concept to the brewery. Duke and Smith decided that a food trailer would be small enough to manage in the months leading up to their wedding.
“I thought it would be a way to introduce the concept to Baton Rouge on a smaller scale, to try to perfect some tacos and some salsa and work on marketing and building a brand,” Duke says.
Duke and Smith developed the menu with input from the staff at Olive or Twist. Though Baton Rougeans scanning the menu on the side of the food trailer should recognize names like Staring, Airline and Perkins, the fillings and flavors of these tacos are something new.
Roasted buffalo cauliflower, shredded cabbage, avocado lime crema, charred jalapenos and cilantro make up the Airline taco. Staring features fried chicken, maple butter and Steen’s syrup, replacing the waffle for a taco shell. One of the most popular tacos, Perkins Palm combines country fried steak, mashed red potatoes, white gravy and parsley.
“The Baton Rouge food scene is always evolving and changing,” Duke says. “We’re trying to bring some tacos that are a little weird and out of the box. It’s a mix of classic tacos and ridiculously Americanized tacos.”
Some of the more traditional taco fillings include pork carnitas, beef barbacoa and carne asada. The taqueria rotates its menu each week to feature 14 of the 60 tacos on its lineup.
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As Rock Paper Taco takes off, Duke says he’ll start looking for a brick-and-mortar location in 2019. In the meantime, diners have plenty of tacos to choose from.
Rock Paper Taco‘s hours outside Tin Roof are Tuesday-Friday, 4-10 p.m., Saturday from noon-10 p.m. and Sunday from noon-8 p.m. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram for the latest info.
