Definitely a very unassuming place - not big on decor (or room) so my expectations weren't high. Then again, sometimes hole-in-the-wall places are the best (and this might be in the dictionary under hole-in-the-wall).
Chris was there a few minutes before Shon and I and already had a table (thankfully). Chips were on the table and he was halfway through a bottle of Coke. I ordered water and began to experience the chips. Honestly the first couple of chips I had were a bit stale. They had either sat out or something because they weren't great. The next basket of chips we had was definitely better - but still some inconsistencies. Overall I enjoyed the chips and their hot sauce definitely has a kick to it (but not too much unless you're a weenie like Chris).
I ordered 4 tacos ($1.90/ea btw) - Barbacoa, pork, beef, and Al Pastor. I like my tacos exactly as the restaurant prepares them - which is with cilantro, cabbage, and grilled onion & limes on the side. They also brought a bottle of tomatilla sauce and avacado & jalapeno sauce to use on the tacos.
Our order was delivered fairly quickly (especially compared to some places we've been recently like Slow-Joe's). I would estimate we had them within 10 minutes or less of placing the order - but I wasn't watching the clock.
The tacos definitely appear a little small but are obviously traditional street tacos with 2 tortillas and enough toppings to fall out when you're eating them. Everything looked yummy and I squeezed some lime juice over my selection of tacos.
Barbacoa went first - YUM! Very nice flavor and the meat was seasoned very well. Definitely off to a good start! Meat was tender and the flavor of the toppings paired very well with this taco.
The al pastor was next - double YUM! The meat was very juicy and tender and the flavor was excellent. This is easily my favorite here and probably the best al pastor taco I've had to date. Plenty of meat and toppings and I could already tell I may have to have another one...
The beef and pork tacos were next. I'm going to lump them together because although they were good, there wasn't anything that set them apart from each other or really any other tacos we've had. Good flavor, good seasoning (esp with the tomatilla sauce). By the way, these aren't ground or shredded - it's more like a finely diced meat if that makes sense (check the pic). Still a good taco - so don't feel like I'm bashing them because I'm not. But the other two were head and shoulders better than these two.
The other two were so good, all 3 of us ordered another pair just to make sure we gave them a fair shake. Yep, round two of barbacoa and al pastor was just as good, just as flavorful, just as juicy. These two are my favorites and I absolutely recommend coming to Los Pinos for these 2!
Overall, I spent about $14 with tax - so not a spectacular value, but honestly these were tasty and I came away with 6 tacos instead of just 4. So I consciously made a choice to go over $10 for my lunch today and I was happy with my decision.
Come here! It's good!
Out of 5 tacos, here's where I rate them!
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