Pup 'N' Taco was one of those "crossover" fastfood joints that came up during the 1950s when fastfood mexican was an experiment. The chain offered hot dogs and tacos.
Wikipedia has some more history on Pup 'N' Taco.
I never liked the place, I seem to recall the french fries being very salty. And at the time, my dad was really into Taco Bell, back when they still had those faux adobe buildings, and the "Bell Beef" (I can't remember exact name) sandwich, which was basically a taco meat sloppy joe.
I remember a Pup 'N' Taco in Santa Ana on the corner of Harbor and Edinger. I think a Taco Bell sits there now.
Anyways, a couple of OCThen readers share their memories of Pup 'N' Taco...
JJohnson said...
One of my vivid childhood are the Pup 'n Taco food chain and Taco Tio food chains. I did a Google search and Wikipedia has some pretty cool links on Pup 'n Taco. You can even get buy retro Pup 'n Taco t-shirts there. Anybody else remember Pup 'n Taco these?
Lee said...
I remember the old Pup 'n Taco commercial jingle, "I'm Pup, he's Pup, I'm Taco!" The animated hot dog and taco would be singing and dancing around on TV. I actually applied for a job at Pup 'n Taco on Westminster Blvd, but instead took a job at the Mobil gas station on Westminster and Beach Blvd.
Orange County Memories is about the history of Orange County, CA as told from the people who lived and worked here.
I remember Pup'n'Taco. Great summer, 70's, sloppy fast food. I would get the dogs, the tacos and the slushies. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe sloppy joe at Taco Bell was the Bell Beefer.
as i remember it was called the bell burger
DeleteFunny, I remember a totally different name for the Taco Bell sandwich. Wasn't it the "Bun Taco"?
DeleteIt was actually called the Bellbeefer.
DeleteBell Beefer
DeleteI remember Pup n' Taco! I loved that place! JJohnson brought up a great memory! We were high school kids who had limited funds, but we could always afford Pup n' Taco lol.
ReplyDeleteHow about Taco Lita, on Garden Grove Blvd? That was my first fast Mexican food experience. Six tacos for a dollar! My Dad would bring home a bag of tacos, and we'd have an exotic feast.
ReplyDeleteI so remember Pup'n'Taco... When my twin sister, Kelly, and I were about 5 our older sister's, Kathe and Kim,took us there and bought us a tostada... Kelly ended up choking on a rock... I will never forget that.... I believe it was the one on Westminister Blvd....
ReplyDeleteThere was one on Harbor in Costa Mesa. We used to go there quite a bit for slushies and dogs/tacos. One of our family stories is that my older sister taught me to drink through a straw using a cherry slushie from Pup-n-Taco.
ReplyDeleteOff topic, but does anyone remember "The Mud Hole," a quasi amusement swimming park in OC that operated in the 1970s?
Pup N Taco was my first job. Funny Huh !! I am now in a certificate program for Clean Energy (Green Jobs).
ReplyDeleteI loved the Taco burgers at Pup N Taco!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I would eat 4 a week during college. Didn't they have a chili burger too that was awesome? It was chili, bun, pickles and mustard and really good.
DeleteI remember Pup' N Taco. I had a friend that worked at the one that used to be in Garden Grove. The fries were the best. They were formed out of some light potato-like substance and flash fried. Yum. Along with the slushees, PnT was a great place. That and Naugles I miss a lot.
ReplyDeleteThere used to be a Pup N Taco in Santa Ana at the corner of Flower and 17th Street in Santa Ana. I passed it every day on my way home from Willard Jr. High & later, Santa Ana High. I remember the fries were cheap (and thus, affordable!).
ReplyDeleteI worked at that Pup-N-Taco, as well as the one on Main street. They were owned by the Segovia brothers. We did not make hamburgers with taco meat - the burgers were frozen patties that we kept in meat brine. The pastrami was very good, as were the tacos and various styles of hot dogs - all $0.19 each.
DeleteBack in the 70's we called it Puke and Ptomaine.
ReplyDeleteGood ol' Pup N Taco. We called it Poop N Taco. I still live on Flower St in Santa Ana and there was one right on the corner 1/2 block from my house. It was Flower and 17th. The tacos were the bomb. But I was always scared of some of the people hanging around there.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this website: http://www.pupntaco.com/
(You can buy the shirts)
I don,t know if I should brag about this but I worked at the Pup'N'Taco in Fullerton around 1980.The food was actually of good quality by fast food standards.The chili dogs smoked Weinerschnitzels offerings, and the tacos and burritos stomped Taco Bells.I'd eat there today before I'd go to Carls and eat a dried up jerky-burger,if they were still around!!!!
ReplyDeletePup N Taco near the FV high school was the one I got my taco burgers at.
ReplyDeleteI remember the burger you speak of..it's the "Taco Bell beef Burger". As you said, was taco filling on a bun with shredded lettuce. I know most ppl I talk to say Pup n Taco was junk, like comparing a McDonal'ds [lain burger to an In-and-Out burger....but I loved their chili dogs and tacos.
ReplyDeleteIt was called "Taco on a bun". I'm not sure if I really miss wearing the paper hat, but I do miss the food ! We made everything on site. I remember making the chili from scratch and it was pretty tasty. Remember the ad- " Pup N Taco, Pup or Taco, 99 cents buys 4!!" Quite a deal for a stoned high school kid on a moped without much dough.(That was before I scored the job there.) One place that had us beat was Naugles, but they disappeared about the same time. Remember their Macho Nachos made with Ortega chilis and real cheddar (not that cheez goo they use nowadays)? Anyway that was another time and place. Without this competition places like McDonalds and Taco Bell thrive with no quality control whatsoever! Why does McDonalds not serve fresh cooked burgers anymore? Now they just pull the meat patty out of a drawer. Same with my daughters McNuggets (those things used to be pretty good).Were they cooked yesterday!!??
ReplyDeletewow i reamber the one o lincon and walker its been a long time
ReplyDeleteI worked at the taco bell in Buena Park in the 60's
ReplyDeletethey only had about 5 things on the menu. Taco,red or green burrito,cup of beans,Toastado, and the famous BELL BURGER witch consisted of a scoop of seasoned beef. The price at that time was 19 cents each for any item.
i worked at the one in westminster (1980?). great food, i thought, even though i ate it all the time. ive heard from so many people that they thought the chili dogs were the best around. and the grape slushies. still a great place, it's a Tommy's now .. .. .. i often wonder what Bill, the owner, is doing now.
ReplyDeleteThere was a Pup 'N' Taco on 17th street near Tustin Ave., near to where Knowlwood is now. It was just a few steps away from Pipe Organ Pizza also, but that's a different thread.. Good times.
ReplyDeleteYou're all wrong about the Taco Bell burger, it was called The "Bell Beefer"
ReplyDeleteMy friend worked at the Pup n Taco in Garden Grove on Brookhurst and Hazard in the 70's. Was better than most too. We also loved the food at Tacos de Carlos
ReplyDeleteThere was on on the corner of lampson and harbor blvd in garden grove
ReplyDeleteI worked for Pup N' Taco(Westminster & Goldenwest) about 1975. Had a great time! We always worked when there was work to be done, but when it was slow there was a lot of goofing off! We would have ice fights inside the shop on second shift as there was an ice machine by the front drive-up window and one in the back of the shop. All kinds of crazy things went on there and some of them I choose not to disclose. I will drop a few names of employees I worked with tho - Barbara W, Bill W, Bob H (who LOVED Led Zepplin), Larry (manager), Randy who drove an MGB, Rich F and Jim W. They were all pretty good people and a lot of fun. Good memories of working there and pretty good food. I would always make myself a custom tostada with lots of meat and cheese on it, yum! Oh yeah...the owner of Pup N' Taco lived close by and used to drive through unannounced and buy a meal to check out the quality. Must not have been too bad as I never heard any negative feedback.
ReplyDeleteI worked at the one in GG @ Katella and Magnolia in late 76/early 77 while I was a junior at Rancho Alamitos high school. Used to get quite a parade of weirdos and drunks through the drive-thru at night. The fries were actually a paste that was pushed through crinkle-cut-shaped wires and dropped into the fryer. Chili cheese dogs with onions were my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI liked the grape slushes they had, and i liked the burritos too.
ReplyDeleteWe grew up on the Pup 'n Taco on the Corner of South Street and Norwalk Blvd. Right on the border of Artesia and Cerritos back in the day. I think there is a Taco Bell there now. It was great. I always got the hot dog, fries and grape slushee. Yum!
ReplyDeleteheck i still have my old work badge. i worked at the pnt at harbor and edinger 1974 and 75 if i remember minimum wage $1.35 per hour.
ReplyDeleteBRING IT BACK!!
ReplyDeleteI think one jingle they had went like this.... " At Puppy's Pup N Taco we hope that we please you, Pup N Taco, Pup or Taco 29 cents drive-thru." I remember the one at Brookhurst and Garden Grove blvd. in Garden Grove. Which became a Der Wienerschnitzel.
DeleteBack in the 70's, myself and several other Fullerton High "heads" used to waste away the afternoons (and sometimes mornings and evenings) at a dude named Gary's apartment, which was on top of that old brick liquor store a couple of doors down from PupNTaco. One day Gary said "go see PupNTaco Bob and get us some food, he owes me money." I met Bob and we became friends, then he got me a job there. I actually saw Gary a couple of years ago collecting junk metal from an auto shop I worked at in south county. My jaw dropped!! As for Bob, we are still friends, although he has a much more prestigious position in the golf industry. In fact he came by last night! We bartered,hung out, and then I tried to show him this blog, but I was too liquored up to navigate. The site had changed. How could it have been so difficult!!!??? What, no more Fullerton under communities section?
ReplyDeleteOh the memories of Pup n Taco are good ones.. Loved the slushies and the Texas Tomatoe Burger was my favorite.Thiswas the one in Fountain Valley just down from the high school. Next to Joes liquor store in the mid 70's.
ReplyDeleteAh yes. Joe's Liquor Store. Near beer, choco stix and Jolly Joes.
DeleteI worked at the Pup n' Taco in Anaheim on Ball Rd and Knott Ave as my first job in 1976 making $2.50 an hour;I thought I was the rich kid on the block... lol.
ReplyDeleteHad a great time in OC when I was young growing up in Stanton.
Mark Owens
My mom would take my siblings and I to the Pup N Taco in Santa Ana, on 17th and Flower St., in the 70's. They had the best mustard dogs and the best french fries and slushies. Later in the 80's, My boyfriend (now my husband) and I would eat there about once a week during our lunch break from work. Not soon after, it was closed for good! We sure miss this place!!!
ReplyDeleteThe PupNTaco I can remember was on the corner of Talber and Bushard. I can remember when everyone would go there during lunch time from school (FVHS) Today on that corner is Taco Bell. Wow that was a long time ago for me.
ReplyDeleteEarlier this year I lost my sister to illness and my family went to her house to gather up belongings etc. I found myself not wanting to take much until I came across her employee badge from pupntaco on goldenwest and westminster from the 70s.
ReplyDeleteThis single item is my cherished keepsake to remind me of her when I get down. She was so much fun. maybe some of you knew her...Julie Smith
I am sorry for you loss. I am sure Julie was a wonderful person.
DeleteThere was a Pup n Taco across the street from Fountain Valley High School -- we had an open campus back in the 70s so lots of kids would just walk over there for lunch -- a taco and a slushie. They also sold strips there -- just corn tortillas cut into strips and fried, then dumped in a paper basket. You could squirt on your own red taco sauce and the first bites would be so hot it would burn your mouth, cruchy, salty and crispy - then the next layer would absorb that spicy red sauce and be soft like an enchilada. OMG, these were the best!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the Cherry or Grape Slush's they served? Super sweet and a an instant brain freeze. Those were the good old days.
ReplyDelete