review #2: in search of the perfect taco

saturday night, no plans. my buddies grant and daniel and i invent find-the-perfect-taco night. and off we go in search. (*thanks to daniel for being our photographer)

stop 1: diego's taco shop. while pleasantly surprised to find the game playing and the place twice as big as before (they took over the tattoo parlor next door), we were slightly underimpressed with the tacos. the meat was a little charred, and heavy on the onion. not bad, but not the perfect taco. overall score: 3.0

stop 2: taqueria el vaquero. better meat, cheaper price. their fixin's were better as well--green sauce, red sauce, cilantro, onions, cabbage, limes...and they have a big screen. overall score: 4.3

stop 3: el taco riendo! while the diner-turned-indian-restaurant-turned-taqueria perhaps did not have the most authentic atmosphere (not to mention the neck-strain in reading the menu), the meat here was the best we've had yet. juicy, and very flavorful (not just salty either). the tacos left our fingers greasy, but our mouths happy. the one downside: the tacos are approximately 22% smaller than the previous two places'. overall score: 4.6

stop 4: el gallo giro: this place gives you chips! the meat was savory (though grant's large chunk of fat was a little scary--see picture), and of all the tacos of the evening, these came the most quickly and the hottest--so hot, in fact, that i had to blow on mine (see picture). grant vouches for the authenticity of their horchata. while definitely better than both diego's and vaquero, the rooster doesn't quite outstrip el taco riendo. overall score: 4.45

after a night full of carne asada, i have a slightly overstuffed belly + one scarf, two blue dangly earrings, and a pair of skinny jeans, all of which smell like tacos.