Category: Taco Shops

Today ed (from Yuma) wants you to join Tina and him and some others for tacos. Kirk or Cathy will be your tour guide for the blog's next post.

Just like Chaucer's pilgrims headed toward Canterbury, true foodies all make a trip to that culinary Mecca of Yuma, Arizona.  Okay, stop laughing – just kidding.  But recently we were fortunate to have Rich Kaszeta, a professional bacon photographer (among other careers) and a food blogger from New Hampshire  (Offbeat Eats) visit our desert metropolis.

Even though he claimed to be in town for work, it seemed like his real — though secret — purpose was to eat as much Mexican food as he could in a week.  Micaela, her husband Brian, Tina, and I joined him for one evening of tacoing on 8th St (Calle Ocho).

Since we wanted to try places that the others had not visited before, we started at Asadero Los Compadres, which Tina and I had tracked down to its new location at the corner of 8th and 20th Ave: After we ordered the tacos, we were given a couple of squeeze bottles and a standard wheel of condiments: Certainly nothing very special here. The best, in my opinion was the pico de gallo (also sometimes called salsa la bandera): The yellow squeeze bottle contained guacamole sauce that was rather thin and not especially full of avocado flavor.  The red bottle contained a very fiery salsa.

The only Agua Fresca available was a homemade jamaica: It was decent, but for me, nothing to write home about — but you never know about somebody whose home is in New Hampshire.

We each ordered uno taco de cabeza: uno de asada: y uno de pastor: My favorite was the cabeza, which was rich, soft, and deeply flavored.

Of course that preference may be because I misjudged how spicy the red salsa was, so my other two tacos tasted mostly like fire.  Chewy and flavorful fire, indeed, but too saucy for me to discern much else. Kirk would have loved them.  The general concensus of the others was that the pastor was good, and Rich and Tina, in particular, said the Asada seemed tender, smoky, and fresh.  Perhaps that is a result of the outdoor grill on which the pieces of steak were cooked: After pausing to appreciate the sunset, which made even the parking lot of a service station seem kind of beautiful, we went off to the next place, Corona: (Thanks, Rich, for that photo)

To be honest, I had been a little disappointed in los Compadres, though that may have been partly my own overzealous squeezing. It had been good, but not outstanding, so I approached Corona with some trepidation; after all, I had not been that impressed with it on my last visit.

That just goes to show how little I know because all of us thought that Corona was, on this evening at least, the better of the two.  Here, the condiments are lined up on a counter, but unfortunately my picture doesn't show the grilled jalapenos and onions: I started with a chicken taco and an Asada taco: We all agreed that the chicken was outstanding, flavorful, tender, and moist.  The best chicken taco I've eaten in Yuma.  While the Asada had a nice smoky flavor, it seemed a little chewier than the Asada at the first taco truck. I can't say more.

Before we began eating, someone said "Micaela's tacos are so pretty, you need to take a picture of them."  So I did: And yes, those are beautiful tacos. And you can also see how much a person can alter/develop/influence the taste of his/her taco by choosing different combos of condiments.

As we were eating, every one was praising the pastor, so I had to have one of those as well. After decoration, it looked like this: Although the meat was a little greasy, the taste of the pastor was excellent — succulent, tender, smokey and fully flavored. In general, we thought it better than the pastor at los Compadres.

We also appreciated that a free bowl of beans came with each order:
While not the world's finest frijoles, they were still welcome. Of course, we could have added onion, cilantro, and roasted jalapeno etc to the little bowls, but none of us was thinking clearly that evening. 

In addition, we all loved the limonada (oops, not pictured), though Brian and Micaela reported that the horchata was a little grainy at the bottom.

While these two trucks may not be the very best in Yuma, Rich assured us that they were better than any in New Hampshire.  In any case, we all had a good time, and as Micaela said, "it's so nice to go out with people who don't think that it's weird to talk about food all night."  Yup, she's right about that!

Kirk has survived Mexico City and enjoyed Guatemala. Cathy is traveling all over San Diego looking for food. But ed (from Yuma) is focused on a different kind of moveable feasting.

One of the best parts about living in Yuma are the mobile dining options — no, not eating in your car, but eating at one of the numerous informal semi-portable carts, trucks, or movable kitchens that dot parking lots and empty fields around town.

To begin with, I want to share a couple of photos of a campechana at Tio Juan's on 8th St (previous post). Their version tends to be the funkiest and fishiest around, which I think is a good thing.  On my last visit, I found an unusual clam hiding in the clamato lime shrimp water:

This Mexican black clam combined a nice fresh flavor with a perfect texture, firm but not rubbery.  The shrimps in the cocktail were, as always, perfectly cooked and pristine in flavor:

 Often the seafood trucks, such as Tio Juan's and Juanita's, close around dinner time just as many of the meat carts are firing up their grills.  One evening, we got lucky arriving at this hot dog cart (On Ave 5E close to Hwy 95) just as it was opening:

Only a few of the dogs were ready to eat, and some had just been placed on the comal:

Tina and I both thought that this was one of the better perros we have ever eaten: 
The sausage was not overcooked or dried out, the chilied frijoles had a nice rich flavor, and the chopped green chile salsa packed a punch.

While there was no floor show this evening, there certainly was a beautiful sky show:

 Another one of the pleasures of dining al fresco.

On another evening we enjoyed doggy dining at Rossy's on 8th St almost to C. It was a different style dog:
Unlike many other places where the customer is responsible for adding condiments to taste, the helpful ladies at Rossy's are happy to load up the bacon wrapped wiener with their favorite ingredients.  The grill-charred onions were impressive, and the over-the-top toppings and warm steamed bun were the stars of this doggy delight.

Another place that Tina and I thoroughly enjoyed was El Pino, where the mobile kitchen sits outside an old house on 8th St, almost directly across from Pupuseria Cabanas:

 Just as some carts focus on hot dogs, this place has its specialties as well.  The taquitos (rolled tacos) here, filled with soft and flavorful mashed potatoes, are simply outstanding:

This is a dish difficult to prepare perfectly.  Too long in the deep fryer and the mashed potatoes become dry and overcooked; too short and the rolled shells lack the requisite crunch.  As Goldilocks said, this one was just right.  The crisp cabbage and the creamy mayo and sour cream contributed to the contrast of textures.  As plain as they look, these are the best potato tacos I've ever eaten.

Also outstanding was the horchata – thick, rich, and spicy with cinnamon:

In order to have a balanced meal, clearly we needed some vegetable, so we ordered coctele de elote, a corn cocktail:

 Yes, there are numerous chewy whole kernels of real maize (not the watery/sugary American style sweet corn) underneath the butter, grated cheese, and crema.  Really, trust me on this.

I eagerly looked forward to visiting Tacos El Jarocho at 24th and Pacific because
the proprietor used to operate a small restaurant (also called El Jarocho) that featured some of the most interesting, unique, and flavorful Mexican food in all of Yuma:

  
On this evening we had asada, carnitas, lengua, and cabeza tacos:
 Except for the rich cabeza, none of the meats was special, and the range of condiments and grilled vegetables was limited. I also missed the standard amenities, such as chairs and tables. Maybe my expectations were too high, but  this was a bit of a disappointment. Still, it'd be a good place to pick up a quick taco – or two.

In contrast, we were delighted by a visit to this nameless two truck Mexican establishment at the far end of what is going to be a taco cart food court on 8th St just beyond Avenue C :

Earlier in the year, Tina and I had tried Los Compadres in this lot, before that truck relocated. The lot is large with several cement pads and electrical hookups, so I expect this location will feature more food choices down the road.

I checked out the grill before we even sat down and was impressed by the asada and the cebollitas rojas:

We decided to start with an aguafresca as the restaurant had its fruit drinks out on display:

 We picked mango and loved it. Full of tropical flavor and dense with mango fruit, this hit the spot:

Then the complementary Mexican red, white, and green onions arrived:

These were wonderful. As I bit off the head, the moist bulb squeezed out of its skin and plopped into my mouth. It was tender, smoky, and sweet. Followed by the soft flavor and aromas of roasted green onion. Yep, better than good.

Next came the beans. A mixture of two varieties, these were a step above the usual:

Then the condiments, which were nothing special, though the salsa had a round almost sweet mild spiciness:

 They were followed by the tacos, which arrived in shiny packaging, glittering like the stars of the show:

The asada was very beefy with the lightest touch of seasoning:

The pastor, grilled of course, was tender and likewise mild in flavor:

The cabeza was enormously rich and densely meaty. The emphasis in the prep was again to highlight the flavor of the flesh:

Just to prove that we balance the carne with condiments, here's a typically decorated taco:

Our meal here was $18, and we felt we had gotten a good deal. All the flavors had been natural and fresh. Although little English is spoken, little Spanish is needed to receive friendly service and good food.

And that is about standard around here. I am always welcomed at these little places, and I usually enjoy the street food. I guess that's why I kinda hate the term "roach coach" because all these places seem clean, and most of the food is made with care and love.