Taqueria Chihuahua ~ Santa Monica

So far I've gained back all 10 lbs. that I lost while at the Mayan Riviera.  WTF?!  What have I been doing??  Drinking, eating and eating and drinking some more.  I swear, my job is EATING and DRINKING.  I'm good at it.  Someone hire me.  Attached you will find my resume.  Thank you for your interest.

Seriously though, I went a week and a half between posts and what's the reason?  I've been on a little pizza hunt, as of late.  As if tacos weren't enough, now pizza has piqued my interest, and my second chin is responding.  For any of you that are actually following this blog, watch out for my new pizza blog,  "Piece of That Pie."  It's a work in progress...

Anyways...onto the tacos!

TAQUERIA CHIHUAHUA

So today is the second time I experienced this taqueria.  The first time I was so impressed that I had to try it out one more time.  Big difference between this time and the first?  

This...

*Taco Dorado - Pollo

This my friends, is what brought me back to this place.  The taco dorado (crunchy taco) here was excellent.  The tortilla was fried proper with the pollo inside.  The texture of the tortilla was perfectly crunchy, not hard, and not heavy, yet was strong enough to withhold my grip and the several bites I took without cracking and breaking, which can be very annoying.  The chicken was very tender and juicy, not at all dry, with a sweetness from tomatos and a pepperyness that added a nice little bite at the end.  This right here is a crunchy taco I can stand behind. Can't say the same with Tito's...ahhh Tito's I still have to do a review on your weak ass.  One day you will get yours...one day.

Anyways, that was last week.  Today I opted to go with the usual suspects.

*Carnitas y Carne Asada.

First off, the size of these tacos are a bit bigger than your standard taco truck tacos.  Also, when you order they ask you if you want them with everything, meaning they themselves control how much onion, cilantro and salso goes onto your tacos.  Which isn't so bad because they have a decent salsa bar with two salsa roja's (hot and very hot), a pico de gallo, radishs and pickled carrots.  They actually did a good job on topping my tacos how I like.  That's a plus in my book.  

The carnitas taco was of the roasted type, which isn't my style.  The pork was so dry that the flavors weren't shining through.  Hence, I extra doused it with their smokey spicy salsa roja, which was great.  

The carne asada here is the real deal.  A very tender and juicy meat that's remiscent of grilling.  There were even a couple charred and crispy edges in the mix, which I love because of that extra flavor.  The pepperyness of the meat, added with their great salsa roja, married so well.  I love this taco.

What an underrated player Taqueria Chihuahua is in the westside taco game.  If you're in Santa Monica, I highly recommend this place over Tacos Por Favor, if carne asada is your thing.  Their menu, besides the tacos, consist of many of your usual favorites, but something I did notice was they had mulitas.  Maybe next time I can compare Chihuahua's with the USC favorite, La Taquiza.

Tacos ~ 1.59

Taco Dorado ~ 2.49, I think. :)

Taqueria Chihuahua ~ 12034 Venice Blvd.  Santa Monica, CA  90066

La Taquiza ~ Los Angeles

La Taquiza is a place that makes me happy for starting this blog.  I probably would have never eaten here, let alone heard of this place, if it were not for this new hobby/obsession.  

So....it is my pleasure to introduce you to La Taquiza.

La Taquiza

The specialty of this place are their mulita's...  sorta like a cousin of the taco.  Think quesadilla but with the small tortilla's and any choice of meat.  But I didn't come here for these.  Next time though...they looked great, and everbody raves about em.

Oh, and before I go on, let me tell you another little secret. Their tortilla's are HOMEMADE.  Mmm mmm mmm.  So fresh, so good.

*al Pastor y Asada

Their asada has a very unique taste.  I have never come across this flavor before in my taco life.  I think they might have used a soy sauce or teriyaki as a base for their marinade.  It was good though, but different.  They cut the asada in thin strips so its not chunky like most other spots, and also has very tender texture with no charred or crispy edges to be found.  The taco's come with only one tortilla...it being homemade, they're able to stand up to its contents with no problems. 

After eating one of their pastor taco's, I was so amazed at how good they were that I ordered two more.  

SO.FUCKING.GOOD.  By far the best pastor I've tasted, thus far.  This is what this blogs all about people.  Finding the best of the best.  Coming across this taco was like finding the holy grail for me.  SO.FUCKING.GOOD.

They cook the pastor on a spit, right in front by the grill.  The flavor was the perfect balance of sweet, savory and spicy.  The slow cooking on the spit creates a juicy, tender texture because the juice slowly falls down the meat, basting itself with gravity.  The contrast between the tender juicy meats with the crispy charred edges was, quite simply, perfect.  I topped the taco's with onion's and cilantro, and added their salsa verde.  I didn't think it could get better, but adding the mild, cooling verde with the pastor turned my taco into something else.  Something really good.  

OK, enough of this crazy talk, time to move on to my sisters meal.

*Fish and Shrimp taco's

I didn't get a taste of the fish, but from what she told me, it tasted good.  3/5.  It seemed to have a higher proportion of batter than fish.  Not that good of a sign in my book.  The taco's come topped with cabbage, guacamole and sour cream.  

I was able to get a couple bites out of the shrimp taco.  It was good.  I'm not a big fan of shrimp so I'm not even gonna front that I know what I'm talking about.  But, it did taste good, and you know what,  that's all that matters.  

And now the conclusion...

I don't know where to start.  Home made tortilla's, al pastor on a spit, taco's came with no toppings, awesome salsa bar, friendly service....jeez, I think I might have found it.  The reason I was able to visit this place (La Taquiza is in downtown LA) was because I was catching a train to Visalia.  I'm currently here in Visalia now, and am heading back to LA this sunday.   Guess where I'm going when I get back?  

Pro's

-Homemade tortilla's

-Salsa bar

-Pastor on a spit

-Friendly service

-Big menu

Con's

-My sister noticed a lady sweeping the floor by the salsa bar...I'm not much of a germaphobe, but that can't be good having dust being swept up by food that people eat.

Taco's ~ 1.60

Fish and Shrimp Taco's ~ 2.65

La Taquiza ~ 3009 S. Figueroa St.  Los Angeles, CA  90007