Del Bob’s Burrito House, a locally owned, non-chain Tex-Mex spot located at 6550 Hwy. 3 in Benton, could teach a class on how restaurants can use social media to share their journey with customers. I’ve followed the Del Bob’s Facebook page for months, but hadn’t felt compelled to make the drive to Benton during my lunch break until owner Chris Green began trying to construct the largest crispy-shelled taco possible.
After I saw the following photo, I thought: I gotta go see what this place is all about. This guy seems like a hoot.
Chris Green of Del Bob’s Burrito House in Benton is currently working on creating the largest-possible made-from-scratch taco.
Photo: Del Bob’s Burrito House on Facebook.
Del Bob’s exceeded my expectations. Like the best mom-and-pop restaurants do, the place made up for what it lacks in fancy surroundings with a warm and welcoming staff, a creative menu and killer, homemade sauces.
I tried a deep-fried burrito with shredded chicken and cheese ($6.89), which was sort of like a jumbo chicken flauta. It was incredibly good with Del Bob’s creamy green onion sauce. I also had a burrito stack ($9.25), a house specialty that consists of several crisp tostadas supporting layers of flavorful ground beef, refried beans, pico de gallo, and more. I’d recommend that you top it with the restaurant’s jalapeño ranch. For dessert, I couldn’t resist an ice cream taco that Green had concocted the night before ($4.49). It was delicious, fun to eat, and attracted much attention from neighboring tables.
As I drove back to downtown Shreveport, I must have passed a dozen Tex-Mex chain restaurants, their parking lots packed. Meanwhile, I was one of about 10 customers to visit Del Bob’s – a local place owned and operated by a Marine veteran – during the lunch hour. The drive to support Del Bob’s took about 10 more minutes, round trip, than it would have if I’d opted to have lunch at a chain eatery. And I doubt that chain would have had ice cream tacos, free prizes for kids at the check-out, or devoted regulars just stopping in to see if the enormous taco had been constructed yet.
Speaking of the enormous taco: I didn’t meet Chris Green during my visit, but corresponded with him via Facebook about the giant taco. Keep an eye on their Facebook page, where followers of the restaurant will be the first to know when the giant taco makes its debut. It could easily become Shreveport-Bossier’s first real “food challenge.” As for me, I think next time I’ll get two of those fried burritos and as much jalapeño ranch as they’ll give me.
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