Poolhouse Group
Audio By Carbonatix
It was over a Sunday game of beer pong that Aaron Pool, proprietor of Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup, invented the Poolboy Taco. The unusual taco is now the namesake of Pool’s new restaurant, opening May 18 at the former Gadzooks location in Arcadia.
The taco, which proved a hit at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, features, of all things, sweet-and-spicy cornbread.
“Don’t think of it like cornbread,” Pool says. “It’s more like a custard, and it gives you the sweetness, [a] tamale flavor.”
The taco is built on a 50/50 corn and flour tortilla made with homemade masa and topped with tomatillo chicken, jalapeño ranch, honey-vinaigrette slaw and cotija cheese.
“It’s not like one thing is what makes it,” Pool says. “It’s a weird umami situation that comes on because it’s got the sweet, tangy, creamy, salty [and] crunchy. Everything works together.”
Poolhouse Group
The restaurant’s physical space, with “pastel neons, terrazzo flooring, brass accents and sculptural banquettes,” is aesthetically inspired by the midcentury photography of Slim Aarons, who captured the leisurely lifestyle of the ultra-wealthy of his time.
Simultaneously, the spot tries to embody some of the spirit of the early days of McDonald’s and Burger King, combining “quality quick service” with accessible affordability and atmospheric whimsy, Pool says.
“I’m kind of a history nerd with a lot of stuff, and the 1950s, to me, is so fascinating,” Pool says. “A lot of places since then have become really stale or cold, or they lost a lot of their charm that they were founded on. So, I thought… why can’t we recreate that [and] bring back the warmth?”
Along with the Poolboy Taco, customers can order the Aspen, topped with Wagyu ground beef, smashed potato, egg and cheddar; the Molly, made with Angus short rib, habanero, guacamole and cotija; the Ina, with Angus short rib, guacamole, cilantro and onion; and the vegetarian Palm Lane, topped with portobello mushroom and smashed potato. All of the options can come in the 50/50 tortilla or a crispy yellow corn shell, and they can all be combined with the signature cornbread.
Poolhouse Group
For non-taco lovers, there are Big Boy Enchiladas with chicken, short rib, Christmas sauce, pico, slaw and cotija; Uncle Rico’s Nachos with queso, pico, slaw, pickled onion and jalapeño ranch; the Poolboy Bowl with rice, beans, chicken and cornbread; and the Poolboy Burrito with tomatillo chicken and cornbread.
To finish the meal, there are the desserts, curated by Aaron’s mother, “Mama Linda” of Mama Linda’s Bakeshop, such as housemade carrot cake, pumpkin cookies and chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches.
To drink, customers can opt for tallboy beers, ranch-water cocktails, grapefruit margaritas and slushie margaritas, which come in a souvenir cup.
“My hope is that people love it, because it is literally like my personality being shown in a restaurant,” Pool says. “It’s been my baby for a long time. I truly just want it to be a place people love, that they’re proud is in their neighborhood.”
Poolboy Taco
Opens May 18
4031 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix