Mexico: Taconazo
Easter weekend really put a crimp in our Tijuana taco tour. First we walked to Mercado Hidalgo. It was closed. Then we checked out two taco spots on our list. Both were closed as well. Just as we were about to give up and head to the Costco food court (which was definitely open), my coworkers spotted this beacon of hope across the street:
Later, we found out that Taconazo is a popular taco joint with multiple locations in the city. At that time, however, we were too hungry to care. All we saw was the beautiful al pastor on the spit and the sea of satisfied faces:
My sister and I agreed that we should start off slow and leave stomach space for more tacos later. I ordered three tacos in very broken Spanish and when the waitress turned to my sister, my sister told her we were going to share.
The waitress misunderstood. She apparently thought my sister said "same" rather than "share." So instead of the two of us sharing three tacos, we ended up with three tacos EACH. Holy moly.
We each had the taco vampiros with tripas (50 pesos or slightly under $3):
We'd never heard of tacos vampiros before. What makes it different from a regular old taco is the grilled to crispy perfection tortilla and the addition of melted cheese. So good. And don't get me started on the tripas. The intestines were crunchy and flavorful and just a dream to eat.
We didn't expect the fantasma to come as a full on platter. We got ours with cabeza (60 pesos or slightly over $3):
The meat was served with crunchy tortilla halves on a bed of fried cheese along with grilled onions and beans. That plate was a meal in itself. I wish it came with more tortillas though. There was definitely enough meat there to make at least three loaded tacos. Toward the end, the cheese got a bit too heavy for me and I focused on finishing up all the tender, tender cabeza.
The unexpected favorite for me was the adobada taco (24 pesos or slightly over $1):
Adobada is a marinated pork similar to al pastor. I'd never had a taco like that before. The meat was super flavorful and the white sauce made the otherwise greasy taco almost light and refreshing. If I wasn't so full already, I would have wanted a second one.
Something we'd ordered was spicy in a stealthy way. I didn't feel it at all until about halfway through. There was no way I was stopping though. To help me through the rest, I asked for a horchata (24 pesos or slightly over $1). I didn't expect it to come in a bottle:
My coworkers wanted beer. Turns out Taconazo doesn't offer any alcohol, but if you hand over some cash, a busboy will run to a nearby store and bring it back for you along with the change.
Thank goodness for Taconazo. For a second there, we thought we might actually starve in Tijuana. To the contrary, we kicked off our taco tour weekend the most amazing way possible.
Taconazo
Calle Hermenegildo Galeana, Zona Urbana Rio Tijuana
22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
+52 664 685 9350
Later, we found out that Taconazo is a popular taco joint with multiple locations in the city. At that time, however, we were too hungry to care. All we saw was the beautiful al pastor on the spit and the sea of satisfied faces:
My sister and I agreed that we should start off slow and leave stomach space for more tacos later. I ordered three tacos in very broken Spanish and when the waitress turned to my sister, my sister told her we were going to share.
The waitress misunderstood. She apparently thought my sister said "same" rather than "share." So instead of the two of us sharing three tacos, we ended up with three tacos EACH. Holy moly.
We each had the taco vampiros with tripas (50 pesos or slightly under $3):
We'd never heard of tacos vampiros before. What makes it different from a regular old taco is the grilled to crispy perfection tortilla and the addition of melted cheese. So good. And don't get me started on the tripas. The intestines were crunchy and flavorful and just a dream to eat.
We didn't expect the fantasma to come as a full on platter. We got ours with cabeza (60 pesos or slightly over $3):
The meat was served with crunchy tortilla halves on a bed of fried cheese along with grilled onions and beans. That plate was a meal in itself. I wish it came with more tortillas though. There was definitely enough meat there to make at least three loaded tacos. Toward the end, the cheese got a bit too heavy for me and I focused on finishing up all the tender, tender cabeza.
The unexpected favorite for me was the adobada taco (24 pesos or slightly over $1):
Adobada is a marinated pork similar to al pastor. I'd never had a taco like that before. The meat was super flavorful and the white sauce made the otherwise greasy taco almost light and refreshing. If I wasn't so full already, I would have wanted a second one.
Something we'd ordered was spicy in a stealthy way. I didn't feel it at all until about halfway through. There was no way I was stopping though. To help me through the rest, I asked for a horchata (24 pesos or slightly over $1). I didn't expect it to come in a bottle:
My coworkers wanted beer. Turns out Taconazo doesn't offer any alcohol, but if you hand over some cash, a busboy will run to a nearby store and bring it back for you along with the change.
Thank goodness for Taconazo. For a second there, we thought we might actually starve in Tijuana. To the contrary, we kicked off our taco tour weekend the most amazing way possible.
Taconazo
Calle Hermenegildo Galeana, Zona Urbana Rio Tijuana
22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
+52 664 685 9350
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