Monday, January 11, 2010

Ay Jalisco

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The Location: Ay Jalisco, Jefferson Blvd

The Taco: One each of carnitas, carne asada and al pastor (not pictured)

The Price: $1.89/each

The Verdict: Ay Jalisco has been tempting us from its location just off the freeway in West Sacramento for years, and we've been meaning to stop by to check it out. After reader AJ wrote in to recommend it, we knew it had to get bumped to the top of the list. I tried one each of the carne asada, carnitas and al pastor tacos. Each one was topped with a traditional onion and cilantro mix with a little salsa thrown in for good measure.

The carnitas tasted fine but was nothing special.  It seemed to essentially be shredded pork without that extra bit of chewy caramelized texture that good carnitas should have.  The carne asada was tasty with a good marinated flavor that wasn't overwhelming.  Of the three my favorite was the al pastor.  Typically al pastor is served thinly sliced, similar to a gyro, but in this case it came chopped into small cubes.  The flavor of the marinade (which is really the key to al pastor) came through nicely, with a good spice that wasn't too strong.

Overall, I rate this as a respectable three and a half stars.

The Rating: ★★★ ½ (out of 5)

Taqueria Ay Jali on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

  1. Yup, everything there is kind of average (average is still good though for a taqueria)except the al pastor which I think is amazing. It's all I get there now.

    -AJ

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  2. I will get the name next time I go by, but in Woodland, on the east end of Main Street, next to a canvas shop (I think), almost under highway 113, on the south side of the street, look for a white van with lots of customers. Everything is great and they include a grilled onion for free.

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