Peter S.
Yelp
Oh, it pains me to give a 2 star review because I love this place so much! First, let's talk about the good.
People: A+
The people here are awesome. Very friendly, very helpful, wonderful people at the cashier and waiting tables. They are all A+.
Ambience: A
The ambience is "hole in the wall" which you'll find everywhere in big cities, but which are depressingly lacking in middle America. It's so nice to see a hole in the wall and not another cookie cutter mall place.
Corn Tortillas: A+
The homemade corn tortillas are A+. Not just A+, but some of the best tortillas I've ever had. The only tortillas that rival these are the tortillas we used to have for breakfast in Guatemala where you sit a few feet from the justa where they're being made. Seriously. The best.
Now for the bad.
Guacamole: C
The guacamole was awful. Barely any seasoning. Blended smooth, so no texture. No tomatoes or onions. It was bland, too smooth, and watery. It was clearly made from those big watery avocados. I've had guacamole like this in Mexico; it may be authentic, but that doesn't make it good. Give me turista guacamole any day of the week -- Haas avocados, chunky texture, diced tomatoes and onions. Lime juice. This guacamole was none of that.
Tortilla Chips: C
The tortilla chips were store bought. No surprises there; it's exceedingly rare to get homemade tortilla chips, but since they make their own tortillas I was hoping for homemade chips.
Platillo Carnitas: C+
Carnitas should be the crowned king of any taqueria. The carnitas here were very "meh". Carnitas is all about the fats (why else do we eat pork) and the crunchy crusty bits that get charred during the cooking. The carnitas here had no fat. I don't know if they cut it off before cooking, or if they thought we wanted extra-lean carnitas, but they were very lean and dry. And bland. Not much seasoning. They could've used some onion, salt, and cumin. Lastly, no charred bits. The charred bits of carnitas are like gifts from God. You put them in your mouth and go MMMMMMmmmmmmmm, especially when there's fat on them. Sadly, no charred bits.
But what really is a head scratcher is... WHERE'S THE CHEESE? There's no cheese here! WTF! Most of us go to Mexican restaurants because it's the perfect amalgam of carbs, cheese, fatty meats, and salsas. There was no cheese! Arrghhghghghgg.
Quesadilla Pollo: C
The cheese on this quesadilla tasted like processed American cheese slices. Blech! They really need to use a better, more tasty cheese.
Gordita: C
Pretty much everything I wrote above also applies to the gordita.