BREMERTON, Wash. — Off State Highway 303 in East Bremerton there's a good place to fill up. Really fill up.
“It's kind of weird you think food inside of the gas station but we are legit,” laughed Maricela Surita. “You can get gas here and you can also get real Mexican food.”
Maricela Surita and her husband Austreberto Garcia own Taco Rico — where you can get a quesa birria taco for the price of a gallon of unleaded – as of this writing. No matter where gas prices go, the $3.50 taco is a tasty deal.
"Over here in Bremerton we're known for our quesa birria tacos and the bacon-wrapped burrito,” Maricela explained.
Austreberto does the cooking.
“He's from Mexico so he learned a lot from his mom and also up here, he's been a cook for many years so this is his passion, and opening up here is a little dream of ours," she said. "It's small but it's big to him and to me."
The quesa birria taco is beef stew meat in a corn tortilla smothered in melted cheese and fried until crispy. It’s accompanied by beef broth for dipping that's spiked with onion and cilantro.
And that bacon-wrapped burrito?
“It's a burrito, a big burrito and it's wrapped in bacon,” Maricela explained. It’s the ideal combo for a bacon-loving Mexican food fan.
They haven't been here long — but they're already a local institution.
“We started actually here in August so we're quite new but the people from Bremerton have really shown up especially in the time of COVID. We were scared opening up because of COVID but it's been great.”
We found Steve Kim picking up an order of tacos.
"They have one of the best birrias around Kitsap in my opinion. I've been coming here ever since they opened, they have huge community support here.”
That support is especially impressive when you see what surrounds Taco Rico. Three other chain taco places are within eyeshot of this tiny restaurant tucked into a Chevron.
But this gas station with gastronomy on the side is the best kind of place to fuel up — get some scratch-made Mexican fare — and support a local family’s business.
“People have been so kind to us and gave us a chance over here in Bremerton and it's been going good," Maricela said. "We’re very blessed and we’re very thankful."
Taco Rico is located at 6835 WA 303 in East Bremerton inside the Chevron. (360) 633-7644
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