After some back and forth and unsettled scheduling the last couple of weeks, we finally got back to our normal day and time to hit one of the small local hole in the walls suggested by Chris. To me, this is the what the tour is about: finding the little out of the way places that we otherwise would never stumble into. And this place definitely fits the description. The only reason I even knew where to find it was because I had eaten there with Chris a few months ago (although I didn't have tacos at the time.) Even then, I about drove by it in broad daylight.
Los Pinos is located in a small building at 1225 W Douglas, just west of Douglas and Seneca. First, let me warn you NOT to judge a book by it's cover. This place is about the size of a Hobbit's kitchen and it looks like the owner might be living behind the property in a make shift camper trailer that has a window air conditioner glued into the side of it. Still, I could make out the faint smell of tastiness inside, and these types of joints sometimes present pleasant surprises. One thing for sure, if you come during the busy times, you'd better get there early if you're wanting a seat. There's only 3 or 4 tables there and a handful of old uncomfortable chairs. This is definitely not a place to go with more than 3 people at a time. That being said, they seemed to be doing a very steady carryout business while we were there.
Chris already had a table when Travis and I pulled up, and it's a good thing as the place filled up pretty quickly. We received quick service and some chips and salsa - both mild and hot. Both of the salsas were pretty tasty, but some of the chips were stale. Our waitress took our order pretty quickly and I asked for 4 street tacos - pork, beef, al pastor, and Barbacoa. After a short wait, our tacos arrived and looked pretty good. Standard "street dress" - onion and cilantro, with some grilled onions and lime on the side. She also handed us two additional salsas in bottles. One was a mild tomatillo salsa that had an almost sweet taste to it. All of us enjoyed this salsa on our tacos. There was also a spicy avocado sauce which I was the only one to try and I like that one as well. Provided a nice contrast in flavors, especially on the beef and pork tacos. Those two tacos were pretty decent tacos - plenty of meat, but not overly seasoned. Decent tacos, but I think I've had better ones at Molinos or Tacos Raymundo. Next up was the Al Pastor and I really liked this one a lot. It was seasoned in a red pepper and chili sauce that had a nice flavor to it but it didn't over power. But the winner of this day was definitely the Barbacoa taco. The meat was tasty and served in a nice (but not too messy) amount of it's own fatty juices. It was like having awesome roast beef in a taco. Probably the best Barbacoa taco I've had, going on 14 weeks into this tour. After eating the first one, we were all so surprised we ordered more Barbacoa tacos just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Needless to say, it was a deliciously tasty surprise.
Overall, I enjoyed finding this little joint this week. Not much on ambience, but pretty decent tacos with a game winner in the Barbacoa. Let me know if you go, I'm already looking forward to my next trip back. My overall ratings on the 5 Taco Scale are below.
Food Quality - 4.0 Tacos
Price - $-$$
Value - 3.5 Tacos
Cleanliness - 2.5 Tacos
Service - 4.0 Tacos
Overall Experience - 4.0 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 4.5 Tacos
No comments:
Post a Comment