*** Tacos Yaqui has closed
During a recent lunch with FOY Candice, she mentioned a Taco shop in San Ysidro named after a very well known Taco Shop in Rosarito Beach called Tacos El Yaqui. Curious, I inquired as to the location, and was told San Ysidro. After coming home and doing a bit of research, I found that Tacos Yaqui specialized in Sonoran style Carne Asada.
So on a recent weekend morning, I made my way down the I-5, and took the second to the last exit before the border, at Via de San Ysidro. A couple of blocks later, I spied Tacos Yaqui…….
As I entered the restaurant, I noticed how busy they were….even at 9am in the morning, there was a steady flow of customers, all Hispanic, ordering at the counter. The picture menu had 8 basic tacos, and by the hand written sign behind the cashier, I noticed that Tortas, Mulitas, and Breakfast Norteno were also available.
No one seemed to speak English, but ordering was no problem. I took a two taco combo for $5.99, and a Diet Coke. I was given a number, and in a few minutes some very hot chips made its way to my table. I grabbed some salsa from the little bar, and crunched away at the thick tortilla chips.
There are few things that stimulate your appetite than the smell of animal flesh charring on the grill; and this little restaurant had it going on all cylinders.
By the time my tacos hit the table, I was ready to chew my arm off. Determining a "must eat" taco didn't take the use of much brain power. I had to try the Sonoran style Carne Asada, in this case it's called a "Taco Perrones". Perhaps a FOY (Friend of Yoso) like Masa Assassin can tell me the history of the name….because ummmm, "Perro" means "dog".
If you're like me, and used to TJ style carne asada tacos, you'll be surprised…. and it's a pretty pleasant surprise at that. First off, the tortilla is flour, though very thin and griddled. Cheese has been melted on the bottom of the taco, making a nice stringy-mildly milky bed for the carne asada. In this case, soft and tender grilled flank steak, which was mildly flavored, letting the beefy flavor of the cut take the lead. The beans threw me off, but for some reason did really well in this taco adding a nice earthy flavor. Along with the pico de gallo and guacamole, this was a pretty damn good taco. The word balance comes to mind. I had gotten a few various salsas, but ended up not using them. Instead, I just enjoyed my taco.
My second taco was something called the "Monster":
This one came with doubled flour tortillas prepared much in the manner as the other taco. It was chocked full of nice, plump shrimp, prepared in a mild tomato based sauce. As good as the shrimp were, it was the stuff on the bottom that made this taco…… it was chiccharon, pork that had been deep fried to a crisp. Very nice…..
Overall this was nice meal, the tacos were good sized, not the small TJ style versions. It was quite a hefty meal. I'll definitely be back! Maybe I'll see you there….. I'll be the one inhaling the fumes from the grilling meat!
Tacos Yaqui
111 W Olive Dr
San Ysidro, CA 92173
Thanks for the tip Candice!