Lalo's Restaurant

The Location: Lalo's Restaurant 5063 24th Street Sacramento, CA

The Taco: Chicken, Al Pastor, and Carnitas

The Price: $1.25 per taco

The Verdict: You know you are in for an authentic Mexican experience when all the signage outside the restaurant is in Spanish.  We walked into this gem at noon on a Saturday. The place was packed! It's a small venue, in a seemingly undesirable part of town, with about 15 tables, most of which seat 6 comfortably. I was pleasantly relieved to find out our server not only speaks Spanish, but perfect English too.

The first thing to arrive at the table is a gigantic bowl of diced onion and cilantro with plenty of lime wedges. Next come two sides of salsa, a green and a yellow-red. The yellow-red salsa turned out to be my favorite.  Neither salsas were over the top spicy, but the yellow-red had a bit more kick.

I ordered 4 tacos; 2 chicken, 1 al pastor, and 1 carnitas. I also added a side of rice, just incase the tacos weren't enough.  I was amused that the rice arrived with peas and carrots too. It was standard Mexican rice that you'll find at most taquerias. All the tacos arrived with onions, cilantro and a dab red salsa on top. Everything in this restaurant is clearly freshly prepared.

The chicken tacos were small marinated grilled chunks of chicken. I didn't find them to be exceptionally very flavorful. The al pastor had a nice red sauce, possibly adobo, though I don't consider myself an al pastor aficionado. It was very good. However, la crème de la crème are the carnitas! I could have eaten four of just these carnitas tacos. If only I had known! Topped with the extra salsas and fresh squeezed lime juice, it was near perfection. No overly fatty bits of pork and a perfect juicy pork flavor. You can order the meats by the pound with tortillas on the side. I might have to do just that with the carnitas next time.

As a non-taco aside, my better half ordered the Molcajete, which is impressively served in a steaming hot cauldron with tortillas on the side. It's not every day you get to eat cactus.

Overall, an extremely pleasant experience and definitely worth the trip.  I'm only deducting a half star because the service wasn't exceptionally fast, it took a long time to get our bill and our entrees for two came out several minutes apart, not served together.

The Rating: ★★★★ ½ (out of 5)

El Novillero

The Location: El Novillero. 4216 Franklin Blvd, Sacramento

The Taco: #23, Carnitas Taco Dinner

The Price: $11.95 for two tacos plus rice & beans

The Verdict: El Novillero celebrated its 40th year of operation this year, and as I've said before, any business that manages to survive that long must have something going for it. They have racked up three "Best Mexican Restaurant" awards from KCRA, not to mention being specifically recommended to us by an acquaintance as "the best mexican food in Sacramento", so we made our first visit expecting greatness. The restaurant itself has enough charm to go around and inside you could just as easily imagine yourself in Mexico as Sacramento.

I ordered the carnitas taco plate which came with two well-stuffed tacos and a healthy portion of rice and beans on the side. The tacos were filled with plenty of meat, a generous layer of guacamole and topped with some lettuce, cheese and sauce. The meat was juicy and flavorful and had just the right amount of chewiness. I found the sides to be acceptable, but not great. The beans were tasty but a little dry. The rice had a pronounced tomato flavor that I didn't find overly objectionable, but I would have enjoyed a more subtle flavor.

Overall, this is a taco blog and I did enjoy the tacos. By the stated criteria, this was a delicious well-prepared taco that I would recommend to friends. Maybe we encountered a fluke but the side dishes, would not earn as much of a recommendation.

The Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Rubio's Fish Tacos

The Location: Rubio's on Truxel Rd

The Taco: Carnitas Rajas Taco plate

The Price: About $7

The Verdict: Normally I wouldn't review a chain store here, other than to add the occasional rant, but my co-blogger argued that a taco is a taco, and that they all deserve a fair shot at fame. So, just in case you can't quite decide whether or not to patronize your local mall taco stand, here goes.

This taco was overflowing with ingredients with a good portion of carnitas, grilled peppers, onions, lettuce as well as some cheese and taco sauce thrown in to the mix. While I'd usually expect to find the peppers & grilled onions on a fajita or a burrito rather than a taco, they were still a welcome ingredient. The onions were sweet and not overpowering, but the peppers were a little soggy. The carnitas were moist and flavorful and exceeded my expectations. The tacos were a little overwhelmed with lettuce which adds nothing to the flavor and is probably there just for looks. Also, I must add that the cotija cheese is not one of my favorites, but that is more personal preference than anything else.

Overall, this taco scores points for flavor but I subtracted a half-star for over-abundance of filler (lettuce). If I found myself stranded in a mall I would be willing to order this again.

The Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)

Ernesto's Mexican Food

The Location: Ernesto's Sacramento, CA

The Taco: 3 Original Crunchy Taco Combo

The Price: $12.49

The Verdict: 3 crunchy carnitas, sans cheese and beans was the order and boy were they tasty! The tacos were crispy and not greasy. The meat was plentiful full of flavor. The only downside was the mess factor. The tacos were very wide so there was no possible way to take a taco bite without completely crushing the taco first. Also, the meat could have been shredded a bit more. I ended up with large chunks of meat which made it difficult to take dainty bites, as a girl should when she's out in public. Overall, a fantastic super size meal worth the drive!

The Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Ernesto's

The Location: Ernesto's Mexican Food, Sacramento

The Taco: Mexico City Taco Combo (Longaniza)

The Price: $8.49

The Verdict: Ernesto's is arguably the best known Mexican restaurant in the midtown area, and for good reason. While some of the prices tend towards the higher-end of the casual dining scale the food is almost always delicious, fresh and very quickly prepared. Not to mention their impressive selection of Tequilas, which could probably encompass a blog of their own. We have eaten at Ernesto's a number of times, so this evening I decided to step out of my normal routine and try something different. I had never tried longaniza before, and frankly I can't even name another restaurant that offers it as an option. I settled on the Mexico City Taco plate (also available with chicken, beef, carnitas, shrimp or fish) and just a few minutes later they were whisked to the table. The meat had an interesting, slightly smoky flavor and the onion/cilantro topping was fresh and well proportioned. The tacos were on the small side, but they are described on the menu as "mini" so I can't fault for that. I could have easily eaten another one, but if you're saving room for dessert then three is probably about right. The sides were standard mexican rice and pinto beans — nothing remarkable, but nothing to complain about either. Conclusions: tasty taco plate, and one of the more reasonably priced items on the menu. Would be perfect as a lunch portion, or as a light dinner.

The Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)