Super Taco (Laguna West, Elk Grove)

The Location: Super Taco 4720 Laguna Blvd, Elk Grove

The Taco: 2 Taco Combo Dinner Plate (1 crispy chicken, 1 crispy carnitas)

The Price: $7.75

The Verdict: We've seen the "Coming Soon" sign for months and finally Super Taco in Laguna West has opened up. Once inside we come to find out they have two other locations in/near Elk Grove already.

When you first enter there is a counter to order at but we went for the full sit down dining experience. The paint on the lovely decorated chairs was so fresh you could still smell it. We were started off with an amazing array of salsas served with a piping hot basket of chips. The salsas included one house (chunky red with cilantro), one green (very thin and drippy), one red (spicy and thin) and the last was interesting. It was habanero peppers, onion and lime juice. If you like spice, you will like this combo!

My tacos were standard issue corn tortilla shells stuffed with the juicy meat I ordered, topped with lettuce and tomato. They come with cheese but I left the cheese off. The carnitas meat was perfectly shredded with a nice meat flavor but it definitely needed some salsas on top. It was also missing that pan fried crisp to it, but that didn't take away from the lovely flavor. The chicken was shredded with a nice marinade. I added salsa to this one as well. The side servings of rice and beans were plentiful. (Note: I always skip on the beans and order double rice because that's how I roll.)

Overall it was a pleasant dining experience with great food and excellent salsas minus the exceptionally long checkout time. We were done and we couldn't flag down our waiter for the check. I think the 3 waiters were overwhelmed on opening weekend. The place was surprisingly busy for its first Saturday!

The Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Los Primos Mexican Food

The Location: Los Primos on Sheldon Rd

The Taco: Two taco combo (chicken)

The Price: $7.19 (including rice & beans)

The Verdict: Los Primos is located next to a gas station on Sheldon Road. Well, not so much next to the gas station as attached to the side of it. You enter through the gas station convenience store to get to the restaurant (they also have a drive-through). Not being ones to let the lack of a formal setting stop us in our hunt for the perfect taco, we ventured in with the family.

The restaurant is small, with seating for perhaps a dozen people, but the menu is relatively large with everything from soups to tortas and plenty of burrito and taco choices. I went for the chicken taco combo plate that includes rice, beans and two crunchy tacos. The tacos came loaded with lettuce, cheese and meat but unfortunately not a whole lot of flavor. Even after dousing them in one of the several available salsas they just didn't pack much more than a bland taste.

While there was nothing wrong with them per se, and certainly the threat of the gas-station taco could have been far worse, there was nothing special to remember. At another more traditional restaurant these would have been more disappointing, but given my somewhat lowered expectations of the locale I am letting them off with a 3-star rating.


The Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)

Baja Burrito

The Location: Baja Burrito, Elk Grove

The Taco: Carne Asada soft taco

The Price: $1.79 each

The Verdict: A simple taco for a simple price. This taco features choice of meat, with onion/cilantro mix and guacamole. While there was plenty of carne and it was tasty enough it didn't truly wow me. Just a little extra seasoning or flavor to the meat would have gone a long way. Liberal application of one of the several fresh salsa choices (all excellent) did the trick for me. The onion and cilantro mix was well proportioned but the guacamole almost went unnoticed underneath. For the price though, I don't exactly expect half an avocado on there so this is about as expected. During happy hours when the price drops by $0.50 these would be an even better value for money. Overall, a good quick bite at a good price that just misses the mark of being excellent.

The Rating: ★★★ ½ (out of 5)

Los Arcos Cocina Mexicana

The Location: Los Arcos Cocina Mexicana, Elk Grove, CA

The Taco: Carne Asada Taco Plate

The Price: About $8

The Verdict: As per usual I give points for size – there was a generous portion of carne in each of these tacos. Other than that, they were tasty but not spectacular. After I dumped two different salsas and some hot sauce on top there was a good flavor, but the meat itself could have done with a bit of a flavor upgrade so that I didn't have to add to it. Despite the ride home in a takeout container the food stayed nice and hot and was none the worse for the journey. Overall, I'd get these again for a quick lunch bite if I was in the area, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way.

The Rating: ★★★ ½ (out of 5)

Todo Un Poco

The Location: Todo Un Poco in Elk Grove

The Taco: 3 Tacos with Rice and Beans

The Price: $10.95

The Verdict: I can't believe we've lived in Elk Grove for three years and this was our first trip to this little gem! This restaurant offers a variety of food choices including soups, sandwiches, Italian fare, as well as Mexican foods. Don't be fooled by the variety thinking they don't know what they're doing in that little cocina, because they do!

I ordered 3 hard shell carnitas tacos with no cheese and no beans. The tacos were crunchy and full of exquisitely cooked shredded, but chunky pork, topped with fresh shredded cabbage and two types of salsa. The green salsa was sweet and the red salsa was spicy, a perfect combination. In addition to the side of rice, I was surprised to find a miniature spinach salad topped with yellow corn and red salsa on my plate as well. The combination worked rather well. I had a few bites of the rice and enjoyed it, but I was there to eat tacos and by the end of the third taco I simply didn't have room for the rice.

Bonus tip, Todo Un Poco had a coupon in the 2009 Entertainment book so we received $10 off our order with the buy one get one free coupon.

The Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Chipotle Mexican Grill

The Location: Chipotle, Elk Grove, CA

The Taco: Barbacoa soft taco

The Price: About $6.50 for three.

The Verdict: Unless you've been living under a rock you have no doubt come across the Chipotle chain. They offer assembly-line tacos and burritos in a faux modern brushed metal dining room. I typically categorize Chipotle as "Mexican-style" more than it is traditional Mexican, as the choices are clearly catered to the big-appetites and americanized tastes of the US consumer. On the other hand, there is something to be said for the assembly-line method: you can customize your meal exactly the way you like. Chipotle has even tapped into that theme with its most recent round of advertising. I ordered my tacos with hot salsa, corn salsa, cheese, lettuce and barbacoa meat.

The tacos managed to hold their shape pretty well despite the to go order. The hot salsa has a good kick to it which made them plenty spicy and each of the ingredients were well proportioned. The meat itself was tasty, but I found it a little salty. It may be just the combination of spices they use or maybe I got a bad batch, but it overwhelmed the other flavors in my opinion. Otherwise these were pretty typical chain-store fare, nothing spectacular but certainly edible and freshly prepared.


The Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)

Lyla's Mexican Grill

The Location: Lyla's Mexican Grill, Elk Grove, CA

The Taco: Crunchy Carnitas

The Price: About $8

The Verdict: Today I ordered the 2 Carnita's combo plate. Typically this taco is served on soft corn tortillas with sides of rice and beans. I ordered my carnitas with crunchy shells, no cheese, no beans and Lyla's was happy to accommodate! The meat was very well shredded, easy to bite as big or as little as I desired with little to no mess. The pork had great flavor, however most of the seasoning seemed to come from the green salsa and cliantro they put on top of the meat. The salsa they use has a lime flavor to it and it's fabulous. My order was prompt, hot and perfectly crunchy! They served us chips while we waited for our entrees and there was a fresh salsa bar with great salsa's to choose from.

Being the bargain hunter I am, the last time we were there we used the buy one get one free coupon from the 2009 Entertainment book. I went online for an additional printable Entertainment book coupon of 20% off the total order for today's visit. Even though I'm out of coupons, I will be back to Lyla's!

The Rating: ★★★ ½ (out of 5)

Gordito Burrito

The Location: Gordito Burrito, Elk Grove, CA

The Taco: Carnitas (modified) Hard Shell 3-Taco Combo

The Price: About $8, but I really don't know because Paul picked them up for me.

The Verdict: I really really really wanted to write a glowing review for these tacos. I love the Gordito Fajita Burrito but this is the first time I have branched out from my standard order at this small mexican restaurant. This is a taco blog after all, so I must order tacos!

I really enjoy carnitas. I love the pork meat and all it's wonderful flavor. Traditionally carnitas seem to be served on soft corn tortillas, which are one of my least favorite wraps of tacos! So I always have to special order a carnitas plate with a crunchy shell... and no cheese, did I forget to mention I hate cheese? My toppings of choice are simple, lettuce and pico de gallo.

The shells were great, although a tad soggy on the bottom where the meat was lying. That is to be expected as we got take out and whenever you transport a crunchy taco for 20 minutes before eating it, it's bound to get soggy. The main reason for the deduction in stars on this plate is the meat. The chunks of pork were large and somewhat dry and rough around the edges. So once you get a bite of the pork you have to stuff the whole bit into your mouth because the meat is not soft enough for your bite to cut through it. The pork definitely needed to be shredded more, or cut into smaller pieces. It wouldn't hurt to have it more moist either.

The Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)

Gordito Burrito

The Location: Gordito Burrito, Elk Grove

The Taco: Shredded Beef Hard Shell 3-Taco Combo

The Price: $7.95

The Verdict: I went in with a hunger for a couple of soft-shell tacos. Unfortunately Gordito doesn't offer a combo plate that includes soft tacos, only crunchy. So I opted for the 3-taco shredded beef plate. The meat was flavorful but was cut into pretty big hunks that weren't really shredded; other than the meat the flavor was pretty mild — a quick splash of hot sauce was definitely called for. As for the shells, the "crunchy" tacos ended up being pretty soggy making the crunchy vs. soft debate somewhat moot by the time I got to number three. That said, the portion in each taco was generous and the sides of rice and beans were well proportioned and enjoyable. All in all, these were perfectly adequate tacos that could probably do with being just a bit less drippy.

My Rating: ★★★ ½ (out of 5)