Fernando P.
Google
TLDR: Food was good, avoid the chicken.
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Food Ordered: Taco Stand Style Burrito (Pastor), 1 Taco of Carne Asada, 1 Taco of Pollo.
Food Review: Both tacos came with a respectable amount of filling, with onions and cilantro. On the side came red salsa. The carne asada taco was on point, delicious, flavorful, and an all around good taco. The tortilla could have used a little more crisp to it, but I won’t count that against it. The salsa only added more flavor to it. Unfortunately the same can’t be said about the pollo taco. Although it came with the same toppings, this taco was a huge swing and a miss. The chicken was ground into small bits, super dry and unflavored. No salsa was saving this taco. I ended up not finishing this taco. When you imagine taco stand or taqueria tacos de pollo, you imagine grilled chicken/pollo asado. Pollo full of flavor, texture, and juice, not something that taste like it came out of a can, thrown into a microwave, and left out only to be reheated right before serving. While not trying to be too tough on them, the chicken is a huge, avoid at all costs situation. The saving grace for this is the fact that I order the carne asada taco (as mentioned before) and a burrito with pastor). Onto the burrito itself, it was delicious, full of flavor, good amount of proportions, just the right amount of crisp on the tortilla, and with the lime and salsa, it was great! It also came with a side of chips, which were way too greasy. The red salsa was good, a bit more heat would take it up a level, but overall very flavorful. The green salsa was okay, nothing to write home about. I also got a bottled horchata (which when asked was told was made in house). The drink was good, not too sweet, not too watery.
Service: The service was friendly, there were 3 people in the building, 2 of which said hi and then resumed their own conversation. One kid came from the back and took my order, he wasn’t overly friendly, but not rude, just seemed not as social.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere was interesting, when walking in, it almost appears as if it was closed/closing. There were colorful banners hanging from overhead, chalkboards with the restaurant name, and another chalk board saying “Happy Cinco de Mayo” (it’s late June). The tables were somewhat dirty and it seemed cluttered, I was the only customer. The menu boards are on the far side of the building, no real direction where to order (one of the screen was not working missing a quarter of the menu). There was music, but it was far away in the kitchen. Overall the atmosphere was meh, I would not eat here in person, but togo it works.
Overall, the food, minus the chicken, was great. The service and atmosphere need some work, it’s hard to give this a 4/5 stars because I really feel like it’s closer to a 3.5/5, but I think for the area it’s better than most.
A bit more context… I am traveling for work, come from California where everyone and their moms mom makes mexican food and sells it. Having traveled to other states, even those close to the border, it’s really hard to find authentic flavorful mexican food. This place, while lacking some details, could be one of my favorite mexican food spots outside of California (and Mexico). That’s saying a lot. I hope if I visit detroit in the future they’re able to make the small fixes and continue to expand.
Thank you.
