The taco says ‘quack’

One of many in the string of establishments that has convinced Ashevillians that it’s now cool to hang out in a parking lot down by the train tracks, White Duck Taco is anything but easy to find and everything but conventional. 

Perched on a hill adjacent to Asheville, N.C.’s, Jeff Bowen Bridge, which stretches high above the French Broad River, the restaurant shares its seemingly precarious place with a small gallery, the doors of which open onto an open air patio. A dozen or more large, wooden picnic tables are choice real estate here, as in the warmer months, taco lovers jockey for prime position and the elbow room required to keep one’s taco at the proper perpendicular angle. Seating inside is limited.

There are no run-of-the-mill tacos at White Duck—no beef and cheese in a crunchy shell. Instead there’s the West Coast inspired crispy fried fish with crunchy cabbage, jerk chicken and Thai peanut chicken, tofu so tasty it’s got mass appeal and the Carolina barbecue version of carnitas that’s served with coleslaw, each wrapped in two soft corn tortillas. Side items are unnecessary, but if one requires more than a cross-cultural trio of tacos (three make a solid meal), choose among chips with salsa or queso, green chile black beans, or the Mexican Chocolate Pot du Crème with Pistachio Nut Crunch. 

The only downside to White Duck Taco is that the restaurant is closed on Sundays and opens just before the lunch hour Monday through Saturday, which means that there’s often a line to order that goes out the door. Service is snappy however, and diners seem to know it’s less than friendly to linger at a table after eating when fellow taco fans are looking for a seat. 

Oh, and the name White Duck Taco? It comes from a nickname the chef earned when she’d get excited and talk too much to her kitchen staff —“La Pata Blanca.”

Find White Duck Taco in the River Arts District at 1 Roberts Street in Asheville, N.C. whiteducktacoshop.com