Jacksonville's Hole in the Wall Restaurants, Part VI

Taco salad. One with bacon and one without. Image Courtesy of Cleo's Sandwich Shop


Image Courtesy of Cleo's Sandwich Shop


Image Courtesy of Cleo's Sandwich Shop


Image Courtesy of Cleo's Sandwich Shop


Image Courtesy of Cleo's Sandwich Shop

Cleo's Sandwich Shop

Home of the best "Taco Salad in Town."

I was warned that I would be walking into a southern iteration of Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi"...Taco Salad Nazi?... and that I should only order a taco salad and banana pudding. The line was out of the door when I arrived. These sweet southern belles weren't as rude as I hoped. I purposely tested their propensity for snide remarks and asked, "Do you have any iced coffee?" They dutifully replied with what I like to call "government face," an expressionless, soul-sucking stare. One of them replied something like, "What do you think this is, a four-star hotel on a resort beach?"

I guess they don't know that iced coffee is sooo boogie. "Let them drink iced coffee!"

Definitely worth trying. The taco salads, they like to say, are "Americanized" to calm the nerves of some of their more hesitant customers, I suppose. They come in two sizes and they're loaded with lettuce, tomatoes, beef, whole pinto beans, and probably a bunch of other stuff that I didn't notice. There is also an option to add bacon, which I didn't know about at the time. Then it's all covered with their homemade ranch dressing. There is enough food in the large for two meals. It will get soggy, but who cares?  

I was there with a friend who wouldn't dare try the taco salad even though he was told, "Honey, it's been Americanized." He ordered some sort of sausage dog. It looked good. I'm looking forward to trying some of their other menu options.

The tables inside fill up quickly but they have two, maybe three, screened in gazebos for outdoor seating.

Address:
1438 Eastport Rd
Jacksonville, FL 32218
Phone number (904) 757-7264

Yelp Profile
Urban Spoon Profile