Welcome to The Taco Shop Review. I'm currently reviewing taco shops in south Orange County, CA. Surfing and eating Mexican food are important activities, so it's important to review taco shops. The greasier, the grungier, the better.
For about 5 years I've wanted to make deep fried shredded beef tacos at home, just like they serve at Albertaco's in Mission Viejo, CA (the best taco shop in Southern California).
This past Christmas I received a Presto Cool Daddy Deep Fryer from my wife. She got it on Amazon.
Since I didn't want to make my own shredded meat, and since I love the barbacoa at El Campeon in San Juan Capistrano, CA, I decided to buy the barbacoa and corn tortillas. I also bought 1.25 gallon jug of Kirkland Canola oil from Costco, even though I only used 8 cups.
All in all, the Presto Cool Daddy worked great. It heated up quickly, kept its heat during cooking, and was a pleasure to use. It stays clean due to the lid. The tacos came out great.
I posted two videos to YouTube, a long, verbose version (11 minutes) and a short version (3 minutes).
Review El Campeon, at it's core, is a carniciera (a market that sells meat. In other words, a meat market). El Campeon also has an attached market. It's in a small shopping center/strip mall where most of the stores cater to the local Hispanic neighbors. The parking is kind of crowded, as the stores in the strip mall are popular. The food for the taqueria is presented in a long series of hot contianers behind glass. I'd say it's like a buffet, but that implies crappy food and unsavory conditions. Also, it's not a buffet, since customers don't dig into the food. You can sit at some tables, or at barstools along the storefront window. Be prepared for a line out the front door. Mainly Spanish is spoken, so try to present your order in Spanish. Get in line to the left of the hot plate line, give your order when asked, pay, then stand toward the window waiting for your receipt number to be called. They work fast, so be courteous and know what you want in advance. Don't ask a bunch of questions and stall the entire line (unless there is no line).
The taco experience... El Campeon packs a lot of carne in the corn tortillas. They don't skimp. The don't load it with a bunch of vegetables with the intent of hiding a lack of meat. The didn't appear to offer shredded beef, nor hard taco shells. The tacos don't contain cheese. I'd call the tacos minimalist, where they focus on the meat. The meat has great flavor, likely due to some marinade process. The rice and beans were good, as well. Though I personally tend to lean toward hard shell tacos (deep fried kind, not preformed taco bell crap) packed with shredded beef, El Campeon delivers a great experience and solid, meat-packed tacos with great flavor.
Side note: El Campeon is very much like competitor El Molino de Oro, which is in the shopping center on the opposite corner of Del Obispo and Camino Capistrano. The setup is much the same (hot food line and attached market). El Campeon seems a bit more focused on their meat-related operations. Will post review of El Molino de Oro soon.
Below is embedded youtube video. See above for direct link.
First off, this is not a review of a real taco shop, as UNA MAS is NOT a real taco shop per the standards of the Taco Shop Review (see the intro post). Every once in a while, I'm forced to eat at a place other than a real taco shop. That being said, I always report my experience regardless.
I was near San Jose airport in California, with about 1 hour before my flight. I was hungry. There's not much in the area besides tech companies and chain fast food. Anyway, due to time, I went ahead and tried a placed called UNA MAS! Mexican Grill. Yeah, this is a franchise, and I could tell by the stupid name. But, this option *appeared* to suck the least of all my food options.
The place has a salsa bar. It also had the typical chain feel to it. Lots of lame pre-printed UNAMAS marketing media hanging on the walls and on the tables. Lots of mass-produced art that's supposed to make you feel like you're in Mexico (which it fails to do). Too much decor for a real taco shop. They also leverage the cliche, overused "TexMex" theme throughout. Nothing Mexican about this place.
I ordered 2 tacos (what they call "taqueria taco"), rice, and beans. At face value, the price wasn't too bad at $5.39. Each taco was comrpised of 2 corn tortillas with carne-asada style meat. There wasn't a bunch of crap on the tacos, which is a good thing.
I added their hottest salsa, which was not bad, but, as expected, not hot. Sadly, the rice was cold. The beans were boiled pinto beans (not refried), warm, and actually pretty good. The major let down was the meat. It must have been cooked about 6 hours earlier, or the day before. Envision beef jerkey with no flavor. Or, maybe think of it as cardboard. Yeah, that's more like it. This pseudo meat product is expected of a chain store, which likely tries to squeeze out every penny of profit by following "scientifically determined" processes established by the franchisor or corporate headquarter. Well, cooking meat 6 hours in advance in bulk may save them money, but it also helps them lose customers. Like me. I'm certain I'll have NO MAS! of UNA MAS!
I don't know why you'd want to visit their web site, but here it is: www.unamas.com
Review Albertaco's is special to me. Albertaco's has been my favorite taco shop in south OC for about 6 years now. I have favorites in other cities and counties, but while I've lived in south OC, I've been coming to Albertaco's at least 1 or 2 times per month, yet I live a good 10 minutes further south on the 405 fwy. It's an honor to review Albertaco's Mexican Food. My favorite food at Albertaco's has always been the carne asada burrito. The guys do an awesome marinade, the burrito is jam-packed, and the price is good. But, here at the Taco Shop Review, I only review one specific combo at all reviewed shops: 2 tacos, rice, and beans. Although I have a great affinity for Albertaco's, I hereby vow to keep my future reviews fair, ubiased, and impartial.
I always like the Albertaco's beef taco for two main reasons: it's real shredded beef, and I think the whole taco is cooked in a deep fryer. The shredded beef is important because today, almost all places only offer carne asada tacos (when it comes to beef), and I'm kind of tired of that. The deep frying is key to the overall flavor of the taco. I think they make the tacos a bit ahead of time by placing the shredded beef in corn tortillas. Then, when you order a taco, they grab the taco with tongs (you'll see the depression marks if you watch the video), and dunk in the fryer for quick bit of time. Then, after they pull it out, they load it with cheese, lettuce, and whatever else.
The deep frying aspect results in some heavy grease. But, I don't eat this stuff for health, I eat for pleasure, and the Albertaco taco always pleases me.
As for the establishment itself, it's kind of a case of diamond-in-the-rough, but in reverse. I say this because Mission Viejo is kind of a nice, middle-to-upper-middle class city. The city has stores like Nordstrom's, Sak's, Land Rover, etc. Yet, Albertaco's is not your high-end eatery. I sometimes wonder why there is a hardcore taco shop here (Albertaco's), and not a lame place like Chipotle? I'm thankful that Albertaco's is where it is. No need for more chain-based crap-slinging pseudo taco shops. Albertaco's is the EPITOME of a true taco shop. It's the real thing, from the food they serve to the physical store characteristics. Sparse interior, white linoleum floor, red and yellow formica everywhere, and fiberglass booths. The kitchen is about 8'x8'. They take no pains to make you feel like you're in a Mexican restaurant with cliche Mexican decorations. Keep it as is.
There is rarely a time when there are no customers. Also, the clientèle runs the gamut from well-heeled Mission Mall shoppers to straight-off-the-job-site contractors going to or coming from the nearby Home Depot (I fit in this category, though I'm not a contractor). Sunday mornings are kind of interesting, when it seems like families just out of church line up for breakfast. At any given mealtime, whether it be desayuno, almuerzo, o cena, expect a bit of a wait.
One thing I never noticed before this review was that Albertaco's must have a location (or more) in Colorado. You'll notice that the styrofoam food container says "California and Colorado" on it. Well, I've been to Colorado once in my life (Denver, it was really nice). Guess I'll have to go again.
So, that's it for this review. Take time to watch my video review of Albertaco's. When you're in Mission Viejo, make sure you stop by Albertaco's.
Below is embedded youtube video. See above for direct link.
I've been meaning to weigh in on this topic for some time, but I've been eating tacos and sitting on the pot.
As you'll notice in the spreadsheet, I keep track of food weights (in ounces). I keep a weight of the overall meal (2 tacos, rice, beans, and whatever else they throw on it, like lettuce and cheese). I also keep track of the weight of one taco.
For the overall meal, I weigh the meal with the styro box or plate (gross weight). Then, when I finish the meal, I weigh the cleaned off styro box or plate to get the tare weight. I then subtract the tare weight from the gross weight to get the net weight of the food.
For the taco, I simply place one entire taco on the scale. I don't clean the taco off in any way, so there is a chance its weight is inflated if there are beans or rice stuck to the taco shell. I weigh the taco with all filling (meat, cheese, vegetables, etc.) that are placed in the taco by the taco shop cooks.
I use a postage scale that was free from Stamps.com. I can't determine the manufacturer, but is does say "Model 500dw Max Weight 5lbs". I'll post an image of it sometime.
The more you eat, the more you toot, so let's eat beans for every meal.
This is a special interest story for all of us Mexican food eaters.
This kid rocks. Kicked off the bus for unleashing foul gas bombs (farts, gut bombs), and laughing about it. He should be the poster child of all things cool.
He Who Smelt It, Must Have Farted On The Bus Wednesday, March 18, 2009 7:48:10 PM
Student Johnathon Locke Jr., says he wasn't the one who passed gas on the bus.
POLK COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A Polk County student is banned from riding the bus for three days after he apparently passed gas while on the bus.
Bill Duncan Opportunity School eighth grader Johnathon Locke, Jr. says he wasn't even the one who, well, farted.
"And it wasn't even me," Locke said. "It was a kid in front of me."
It appears that Locke's assumed guilt is based on the old rule, "he who smelt it, dealt it."
"Everybody like then smelled a fart, so then I started laughing," Locke said. "And then the bus driver thought that I did it, and then she wrote me up for it."
The school district doesn't have a specific policy on passing gas on a school bus. But it does have a rule against disruptive behavior.
An official school bus misbehavior form reads, "Johnathon passes gas on the bus to make the other children laugh, and it is so stink that you can't breathe after he does it."
Locke, Jr.'s father admits his son hasn't been perfect in school, but figures this is taking school bus rules a little too far.
"It was something more than I could comprehend over something so silly," said Johnathon Locke, Sr.
Officials at the school didn't respond to Bay News 9's call about this story.
Information from Central Florida News 13's Bright House Networks affiliate Bay News 9 was used in this report.
