Chester I.
Yelp
A friend wanted to meet me at Carlita's for tacos to thank me for a favor I did. I love tacos! So when I got done with work, I went over to meet them.
Parking? Yeah. There's that. Good luck. I can't offer anything other than if you're local, ride your bike and lock it up good. I finally found a place to park that wasn't too far.
Do you like to take the stairs instead of ride the elevator? Yeah. Me too. I got to the second floor and couldn't find any stairs going up higher. I had to take the elevator to the seventh floor. That's not Carlita's fault, but still. I mean... I'm going to eat and drink, so burning off a few calories climbing stairs seems pretty basic. I digress.
Because of the time it took to park, I got to just miss happy hour. That's OK. I tried my friend's margarita, a house margarita, and it was truly uninspired. Truly. I am glad they arrived during happy hour because even at happy hour prices, it was not a good cocktail. I had a long drive, so I wasn't going to have one anyway. But I do enjoy a good 'rita. This one - not so good.
On to the tacos because that's what it's all about. I got a Cochinita Pibil and a short rib taco. Both were quite good. Even the tortillas were acceptable. Ding! That's a good thing. My friend got a kale & spinach taco and a blackened salmon taco. The kale taco was good, but the fish taco was bad enough my friend sent it back and ordered something else. Bummer! But Carlita's made it right; they comped both of the original tacos and only charged her for the carne asada taco. So that's a good end to that part of the story.
The tacos weren't terribly expensive, but were a bit on the pricey side for what they were. This shouldn't be a surprise since they're a rooftop restaurant with a view. Prices are a bit better during happy hour. Four bucks for chips and salsa though seems steep. Cocktails are often expensive, so I can hardly ding 'em for that except their house margarita... sucked.
The ambiance was variable. It seemed like a place for 30-somethings to go be seen and have cocktails. There was one table of working class folks enjoying an after work taco and drink, but it was mostly younger folks in clothes designed more for being looked at than being comfortable in.
Will I go again? Maybe. Am I in a rush? Not really, but where else can a fellow go for a good taco in Eugene? Yeah, Tacovor, and their tacos are good but it's a travesty what they call a tortilla. Friends don't let friends eat uncooked tortillas. This is something that Carlita's got right, at least for the tortillas I had. They looked like they weren't made in-house, and that's a ding, but better a decent commercially made tortilla than a crappy house-made one.
Seriously. Where's the good tacos in Eugene?