Tacos from a dessert shop?

Today we went to Tropicana Paleteris at 21st and Amidon. This appears to be the Mexican food version of Braum’s. 

Upon arriving, I developed a headache. Not an actual headache but my head definitely hurt. This was caused by the decor inside the restaurant. The tiles are dozens of colors, the walls lime green and purple. It looks like a total train wreck and just hurts to look at. But can their tacos overcome the decor?

Their menu is comprised of dozens of dessert items in addition to tortas, tacos and more. There are 3 street tacos on the menu, carne asada, chicken tinga and conchinita pibil. They also have Tacos Dorados which are fried tacos with cabbage, carrots and sour cream on them. 

I ordered one of each taco and Shon ordered the Tacos Dorados to share as there are 4 tacos on that plate. 

I started with the carne asada taco. There was quite a bit of meat but it was over cooked. There was almost a crunch to some of it. It was flavorful but I think they just cooked it a tad too long. This is likely a delicious taco when cooked right, which didn’t happen the day we went. 

The chicken tinga taco caught my attention the second our tacos arrive due to the bright orange color. After the first bite, I am definitely confused. The flavor, and there is plenty of that, is interesting. There is a strange buffalo mixed with taco taste coming from the extremely tender meat. Initially, I wasn’t a fan but the more I think about that taco, the more I think I should go eat a few more of them. 

Next was the conchinita pibil. I don’t know what that means but it is some sort of pork. The first thing that comes to mind about it is the interesting flavor. The meat is extremely tender and there is tons of meat on the taco. The taste is difficult to explain.  It almost tasted like carnitas mixed with an unseasoned wild hog roast. I know that is oddly specific combo but that’s what it tasted like. 

The Tacos Dorado was amazing. They fry the shell and it was light and crispy. Then they smother it in sour cream, cabbage and carrots, which I picked off because that is nasty and has no place on a taco. There was chicken in the one I ate that was super tender. 

In short, I will likely be back for the Tacos Dorado and chicken tinga. That and the amazing desserts. You should probably stop by as well, just to see what I am talking about with the decor.