According to various sources and our good friends at Reddit, longtime Portland mainstay The Original Taco House (at 3550 SE Powell and 3255 NE 82nd) has shuttered their two locations seemingly forever. The reason? According to the sign below posted to their door, there was simply no “Waddle” left. From Reddit:
And here’s what Mercury contributor Heather Arndt Anderson wrote about the place two years ago:
Merc staffer Shelby King recently accompanied me on a jaunt to the Original Taco House, and I’m happy to report that this place has gone unchanged since it opened nearly 50 years ago. It looks like a Disneyland version of the Alamo. The jalapeño poppers and taco salad were as expected: appropriately fried and salty, with gooey/cheesy parts in all the right places, and accompanied by a zippy dressing that tastes like ranch with some Lawry’s taco seasoning stirred in. One surprise hit was the coconut shrimp—deep-fried to a golden brown crisp with just the right amount of coconut flavor, a tangy mango salsa, and more of that delightful Mexi-ranch. The house special, though, is the El Bravo—a giant glass bowl of tropical liquors with handfuls of fruit thrown in for “health” and a few of those completely phallic foot-long jumbo straws for slurping. The waitress kept calling us “honey” and cracking wise about how badly she needed a drink. It was 11 am.
Fare thee well, sweet Original Taco House. Your jaunty sign and top-notch customer service will be missed.
Was this the same family as owned Waddle’s in Jantzen Beach? The one that displayed “White Trade Only” signs way back when?
Maybe you should find out before trying to start rumors.
That Waddle’s restaurant displayed such a sign is no rumor. I was simply asking if it was the same family.
I’m going to miss the Overlook Cafe much more. Especially since I bet it wont be taken over by some better restaurant, who’d leave the decor and change the menu.
But I’m guessing it’ll be unaffordable apartments up top and uninteresting retail on the bottom, such is destiny.