Both unfortunately closed last year. I now live at the coast and always had a bottle of this dressing in my fridge to put on salads or homemade nachos. Loved that hot red sauce. I checked local stores: discontinued, and limited to stock on hand. I have to admit that I’m a little overwhelmed by the response to this post – it means a lot. Renée is writer, music maker, artist, and storyteller. So, I looked again for a copy cat recipe and found yours!!! You’re very welcome! His family couldn’t decide who would succeed the business so that’s why it abruptly closed in 2017. I have a terrible time not tweaking a recipe when I make it for the first time, too! You don’t have to use it, but if omitted, your dressing will be a little thinner. I am making this dressing today and am going to try it with Tabasco as that matches the dressing ingredient list exactly! You are so welcome, Kelly! Taco John's was my favorite mex fast food joints for years. The waitress graciously gave me one. I loved your story about how you went about re-inventing the recipe and threatened your family not to touch the last bit in the bottle! I think I love you! Thank you so much! Omg this is spot on and SO good! Your comment made my day! Not at all authentic, salty and fatty but oh so many memories, my kids ordered their first “Shirley Temple” there and absolutely loved their beans! Thanks so much for the feedback, Denise! Thank you!!! I have been in a dressing/salad induced state ever since. lol. To everyone asking about the OTH enchilada sauce, I tried for years to find a recipe, and finally stumbled on something really darn close – Old El Paso enchilada sauce (canned). It really is even better after a day in the fridge! Thank you for doing The Lord’s work! I had been going there since they opened (1960), visiting all locations, including Vancouver and the one on Stark that wasn’t called Taco House (same food though). I was working on an dry enchilada seasoning, and when I tasted it, it took me right back.. ENCHILADA SEASONING: * 1 tsp onion powder * 1 tsp garlic powder * 1 tsp salt * 1 tbsp dried cumin powder * 1 tbsp paprika * 1 tbsp dried oregano * 1/4 tsp black pepper * 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste). Culinary website archive already contains 1 156 353 recipes and it … As for the hot sauce, I use original. On The Border salsa was another good one and their chips light and airy…. Our last family dinner at the Original Taco House. Any one have any guesses on what was added to make it a Pic sauce? My niece found it st a Winco in Vancouver. Thank you for recreating this dressing! Do you know if this can be frozen. Source: my aunt was a waitress at the Powell location from the late 70s until her death in ’92. My heart was broken when they closed! This is a go-to meal starter for me, when I've forgotten to plan for dinner, I will serve this as one of those meals above. My family history with OTH mirrors yours. The taco meat was 5 lb of 80% fat ground chuck, 1 cup of the seasoning, and about 4 oz of Campbell’s Consume, fried in a big aluminum pot. I’ve actually been trying to contact Jeff Waddle to discuss just that, Joe. I haven't had any TJ's food for a few years, and I miss it. You are so welcome! It only involves three ingredients: fish, olive oil and salsa.Submitted by: STRONGINTHECITY, This is a great great substitute for beef tacos! You have saved me from all future sadness. I too grew up eating there. OMG!!!! We were devastated when we heard they closed and I instantly got online looking for a recipe, but to no avail! I never ate at Taco House, but the dressing sounds great, especially hearing about how tempted your family was to eat it! I may have to dig through old family connections to check (had family friends that worked there from 2 generations older than mine). He’s been on a hunt for a similar chip(with the delish seasoning) and salsa(his absolute favorite–if you make a copycat recipe, we’re so in! Also, the mild salsa was the El Pato right out of the can. I anyways felt there was some sort of French dressing component. Me: “Not. So much of our childhoods is dying out and it’s sad. I can’t wait until tomorrow to try it after the flavors have all blended together! I loved the El Picador too! I crave this dressing!! Thank you so much! I hadn’t even thought about freezing it. Dry beans add fiber, take out the fat, and lower the cost! LOL. I’m just happy that I got it right and can preserve a little of Portland’s history for future generations. After she passed away, I ordered it myself! Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart…stomach…. OTH dressing is a must for picadors at home, so I’m eager to try this (just got it today). Cheese can be frozen. Prepare taco meat using 1 pound of ground beef. The Taco seasoning, if I remember correctly, was McCormick’s Taco Seasoning. I doubled the recipe and used a 14.5oz can of tomatoes and one yellow can of ElPato sauce. Blessings…. Add one yellow can of ElPato sauce to ground beef for the meat. I immediately tried to find the recipe once we cleared out all the grocery stores in our area for the dressing. Just kidding, but seriously… we also grew up on this place, and that dressing is like none other. About 99.9% perfect. Thank you so much!!! Fish Taco, wheat tortilla, fish, special sauce. Plan on making a larger batch this time so I can freeze a few jars full. Culinary website archive already contains 1 156 353 recipes and it … My shopping list is being filled out now! We used 4 gallons of the Waddle’s french dressing and the big can of Old El Pato (32 oz)! I worked out great!! Thanks so much, Nathaniel! Take care and stay well, Casey! Spent many wonderful afternoons and evenings in those romantic settings! I made a double batch and it is REALLY spot on. It’s spot-on, but I had no access to the actual OTH recipe. The Good Hearted Woman is a subsidiary of Harmony Cat LLC. I used to tell my family to cremate me when I die and spread my ashes on their parking lot just in case you can take it with you? No more amazing house-made Fiesta Dressing. I too wanted to thank you for the effort. Thank you so much for the info on the enchilada sauce, Cheryl! LOOOOOVE IT! First I’ve heard of anything beyond their “salad dressing”, cheese, and seasoned meat on chips then baked in an oven. I’d been hoping someone would simply continue the grocery sales of their products, the only one I’d searched for and bought was the salad dressing for picadors. I had to resist the urge to tweak it and make my own version of perfect. Thank you again! Learn how your comment data is processed. Thank you for passing that info on, Travis. I don’t have all these exact ingredients on hand but will use what I have today, since it’s Taco Tuesday & I have been CRAVING an OTH Tostada with Melted Cheese!!! Add the cheese and pepper and pulse to break up the cheese a bit more. (I make ours with seasoned ground chicken.). After that, it was just a lot of mixing, tasting, adjusting, tasting, mixing, adjusting, tasting… and repeat. I don't know the ratios but that's all that it contains. Two days ago, my husband gave it another go and look what popped up….YOUR recipe! International Food Writers & Travel Writers Assoc. This sounds delicious. Thank you! !Submitted by: 96HOCKEYMOM, Tacos are one of my favorite all time things and this recipe satisfies my craving.Submitted by: RAWEBER1117, I use this for taco salad and taco pie.Submitted by: FIONNUALLA, Pretty much the easiest taco filling ever. My dad has been devastated about the closing of OTH! Thank you! I’d be curious to hear if you get confirmation of anything modified here, but when I’d talked to servers in the past they’d confirmed my suspicion of just the dressing being the added flavor.