In addition to Tex-Mex, East Coast Taco offers fine brisket

December 20, 2016 11:00 pm • Last Updated: December 21, 2016 10:03 am

By Rick Koster
Day Arts/Features writer

The Tex-Mex/Southwestern restaurant scene has certainly improved since we moved to Connecticut almost two decades ago. At that time, my wife Eileen and I felt we had a better shot at finding Jimmy Hoffa than a reasonable burrito.

Over the years, several Mexican-esque restaurants — including Ortega's, Milagro Café and its Manana Café sibling, SolToro Tequila Grill, two Mi Casa locations — have managed to bring some authenticity to the area. Another spot we occasionally visit is East Coast Taco in Niantic, both in the Tex-Mex context as well as in some of the creative tangents they explore.

If you don't know the place, East Coast Taco is a small, two-room spot located on Main Street between the original Book Barn and one of the 207 Book Barn satellites. With a tin ceiling, tropical paint scheme and Day of the Dead-style décor, ECT reminds me of the family-owned taquerias you'd find throughout Texas or SoCal. It's a pretty simple set up. You order at the counter from the chalk board menu and, if you're dining in, seat yourself at one of the small mismatched tables or booths, and wait for the friendly counter folks to bring your food in foil-wrapped disposable containers.

You can start off with something from the chips and dip or nachos offerings or even wings. We heartily suggest the chips & queso ($4.50). The triangulated and sturdy chips are toasty warm and freckled with seasoning, and to immerse them in a thick white-cheese sauce, nuanced by diced jalapeno and cumin for a tangy edge, is a fine experience.

There are none of the combo entrees you might associate with the Tex-Mex experience. Instead, taquitos, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, gorditas and enchiladas are all available in a la carte fashion (though you can order two tacos in a platter with rice and beans). The fillings are multitudinous and include seasoned ground beef, grilled or jerk chicken or grilled steak, grilled vegetables, beef or veggie chili, fish and pork.

On the specials board during a recent visit were both catfish tacos and fried avocado tacos ($3.95 each). Eileen tried the latter and fell in love. A pillowy flour tortilla was overstuffed with thick chunks of avocado deep fried in a thin, crispy batter and, with crunchy jalapeno cole slaw and chipotle mayo, the mélange of spices, tastes and textures is truly memorable.

I was less pleased with the catfish. There's a pretty distinct taste to catfish, and the fingerling in my taco was bland, overwhelmed by mayo and a black bean salsa, and a room-temp corn tortilla wrap didn't help.

My entrée more than made up for this, however. Take note! A small portion of the menu decidedly NOT to be overlooked are the BBQ pulled pork or beef brisket plates ($8.50). Decent pulled pork has become fairly easy to find in our area, and the East Coast Taco version is very good. But, as beef brisket is still a delicate commodity in southeastern Connecticut, I tried that.

A vast triumph! You get a huge mound of lean, flavorful and fork-flaking brisket — which seems to have been baked in the fashion of my sainted Mother-in-Law's astounding recipe rather than in a pit (but I could be wrong). In any case, this wonderful beef sits atop a cake of slightly sweet, moist cornbread that contains flecks of jalapeno. A forkful of both is damned wonderful, and the accompanying sides of rice and beans, augmented by a few dashes of hot sauce, provide even more spark. One of my favorite dishes in the region.

Eileen went with a veggie chili quesadilla ($7.50). A staunch adherent to the core belief that nothing bad can happen with the basic ingredients of a quesadilla — flour tortillas and cheese — she was additionally delighted by a hearty, rich chili that doesn't rely, as many vegetable chilis do, on onions and peppers. Period.

We also recently stopped by ECT at noon because their gorditas, essentially open-faced sandwiches with toasted, thick flour tortillas instead of bread, are a perfect lunchtime idea. E was excited by an unusual version featuring slices of portabella mushroom ($7.25). The slices of nicely grilled 'shrooms are topped with queso fresco, lettuce, tomato, onion and roasted red peppers — and a vinaigrette provides snap.

I tried the Hawaiian, which is another interesting variation with shreds of toothsome pulled pork in concert with crisp bacon strips, lettuce, tomato, red onion and beautifully grilled slices of pineapple. It's a fairly ambitious recipe with a lot of material competing for attention. I liked it but, next time, might ask to hold the lettuce, tomato and onion to focus on the heavyweight flavor components.

East Coast Taco holds its own with their attempts at Tex-Mex, but creative twists like the fried avocado taco and the beef brisket/cornbread really shine.