Eva's Mexican

The Location: Eva's Mexican, 242 Vernon St, Roseville

The Taco: Chicken Taco Lunch Special

The Price: $5.45 for one taco with rice & beans

The Verdict: Last taco of the year, and last review of the decade!

Eva's is tucked away in old Roseville across the street from the Magic Circle Theater. I stopped in this morning for a quick bite and I was happy to find a very reasonable selection of lunch specials that could be had for only a 5-spot and change. There was, however, only one taco selection amongst the specials; though it can be had with either chicken or beef. (There are some other taco choices elsewhere on the menu for a few bucks more). I chose the chicken taco, and it appeared at my table in just a minute or two. It featured shredded chicken which was moist although not extraordinarily flavorful, topped with lettuce, a big mound of cheese, and a slice of tomato. While I didn't find it to be remarkable, it was a perfectly acceptable light lunch and priced reasonably for a sit-down restaurant.

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)

Centro Cocina Mexicana

The Location: Centro Cocina Mexicana 2730 J St, Sacramento

The Taco: Taco de Carnitas y Taco de Pollo.

The Price: $10.75 for 2 taco combo dinner plate served with rice and beans (though I ordered my plate sans beans)

The Verdict: Upon arriving I dove straight into the chips and salsa. The chips were warm and fresh and there were two blended salsas to choose from, one red, one green. I enjoyed both immensely. Neither were particularly spicy, but had plenty of flavor and a tiny kick. When we got around to ordering our waitress told us the tacos from the combo plate were small, and she was right. This entree certainly needed the sides to go along with it to complete the meal for me.

I was disappointed when my plate arrived and the rice was only long grain white rice instead of your traditional orange spanish rice. The chicken taco was advertised as "seasoned chicken" however I could not find the seasonings. The meat seemed bland and boring with no flavor. My chicken taco was loaded with cabbage though and I thought that was an odd selection, as opposed to the more standard lettuce topping. The meat in the carnitas taco was really good. It sure was crispy and had great pork flavor. It wasn't too chunky and I quite enjoyed that taco. Though both tacos advertised salsa on them, I did not find that it was nearly enough so I made sure to dump some from the chip dipping bowls to spice up my tacos a bit more.

Overall since I did not enjoy half my meal, I cannot give a glowing taco review.

The Rating: ★★★ (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)

La Fiesta Taqueria

The Location: La Fiesta Taqueria, Sacramento

The Taco: Plato de Carnitas

The Price: $9.80

The Verdict: La Fiesta Taqueria is a Sacramento Mid-town lunch time favorite! When I stopped in today at noon the line was out the door. This line continued my entire half hour in the restaurant. This also meant lines for chips and salsa, which are self serve bars whether the food is for there or to go. The salsa bar is diverse with blended salsas to chunky pico de gallo and slices of lime.

Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I opted for the Carnitas plate. I got exactly that. A plate with a very generous portion of Carnitas meat, rice, guacamole, sour cream, a little bit of ice berg lettuce topped with a gigantic slice of tomato. It comes with beans as well, but I chose double rice instead. I received 4 tortillas in a separate tortilla warmer. I had a choice of corn or flour and I chose flour.

Next, I got building! I built a gorgeous soft taco. The carnitas were scrumptious. They were soft and juicy but crispy in spots on the outside, practically perfect. I topped my taco with all sorts of goodies from my plate and then... I got full. I had to bring half my plate home with me.

Note that La Fiesta Taqueria does not take credit cards and they charge 50¢ in ATM fees. My plate combo did not come with a drink so after I ordered my drink and paid my ATM fee the total for my lunch was $13.34. The portion size was most definitely dinner worthy.

The Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Sacrag & Tacramento: BFFs!

Sac Rag has a new favorite blog, and what do you know, it's us! Thanks guys! Welcome to all the readers heading over here from that neck of the woods. Keep the suggestions coming for your favorite local taco joints and we'll do our best to check them out!

Feel like writing your own review? (We can't keep up with every taqueria in town, no matter how hard we try). Send us your notes, following the established format, along with a decent quality photograph and we'll post it up and give you the the credit! Contact is at the top of the page there, so get going!

Agree with one of our illustrious and well-written reviews? Think we're morons who wouldn't know carnitas from caramel? Leave a comment and let us know.

La Favorita Taqueria

The Location: La Favorita Taqueria, Sacramento

The Taco: Carnitas Super Taco

The Price: $3.60 each taco. ($2.50 extra for rice/beans combo)

The Verdict: La Favorita is tucked away off Florin Road behind a Del Taco, but it couldn't be any more different than its neighbor. When I stopped by there was Futbol on the TVs, plenty of guys in cowboy hats in the restaurant, and a vendor outside selling churros from a cart.

I decided to sample the Super Taco with carnitas. When they say "super", they're not kidding. The tortillas were completely covered with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole and plenty of meat. And not just any meat, they were filled with moist, chewy, unbelievably flavorful chunks of carnitas. The tacos were so huge that they almost demanded a knife and fork but I managed to persevere in the way nature intended a taco to be eaten with plenty of napkins close by.

The portion of rice and beans was also delicious, and like everything else on the plate steaming hot and obviously prepared just moments before. By the end of the plate I was stuffed and satisfied. (But not being one to pass up a good Churro, I saved room so I could stop at the cart on the way out. $1 well spent!)

I almost hesitate to say it, because we haven't rated a 5-star taco yet and my standards are so high, but this one deserves a top spot. Highly recommended.

The Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)