Jay E.
Yelp
Quick back story: I made friends with this lovely couple, Enrique and Marcy, both of whom love Mexican cuisine the way I love the ladies. So, yeah, pretty much con mucho gusto. So when they said "Jelonny, we need to hit El Mariachi" I was down, even though in the back of my mind I wondered if Enrique was using Mexican slang for some immigration hustle.
Turns out El Mariachi is an authentic hotbed of Mexican culture. Music, foosball, buckets of beer (I'm a HUGE fan of their beer buckets). Booths you can eat in, a bar you can drink at. A Mexican grocery store across the street, and a Mexican bakery springing from the side of the grocery like Athena from Zeus' head. At least I think that's how the myth goes. I don't recall certain details as well after a decade of casual drinking. Collateral damage, I guess. I wouldn't trade a single delicious drop of sweet liquor to be able to remember Greek mythology. So there.
Here's the extent of my knowledge of Mexican culture: when I was in 3rd grade in Oregon our very pale, sickly looking teacher painted a mustache over her lip, threw on an Aztec print poncho, and did some two-steppin around a sombrero in front of the class. She called it "The Mexican Hat Dance." It was for Cinco de Mayo. Our school wasn't too diverse. There was this one Indian kid in my class who was the only little brown guy in school, so the principal pretended he was Mexican for the day, and Dinesh got a free Coca Cola and a bag of Fritos in this awkward ceremony at lunch time. Dinesh got nervous from all the attention and peed himself. Eleanor Higgins pointed at him and blurted out "¡pantalones de pipí!" and everyone - even the teachers - laughed until Dinesh started crying with shame. Moral of the story: it's hard being Mexican in America. But I digress.
Enrique, being the authentico member of La Raza he is, advised my taco ordering. Tacos are definitely the way to go at this place. THE MEAT WAS PERFECT! So soft, it was like eating delicious crushed velvet. Marcy is a gringa, but she grew up in small town Texas (she organized litter campaigns for the state government - such a pure heart!) so she knows the deal. She ordered some of the enchiladas, and they were terrific. Everything was beyond affordable, everything was tasty.
Bottom line, amigos: this is an authentic, affordable, tasty Mexican experience.
Quatro estrellas para los tacos mejor! ¿Me oyes? Claro.