When you’re driving home after a decent workout, what’s the greatest five-letter word you can see on the road? T-A-C-O-S.
Yes, I know “ramen” also has five letters, but it’s not exactly the best meal to eat after working out. Some would also argue that eating tacos after working out is not the best thing either, but those people would be wrong.
Tonight for dinner I had three tacos at Tarascos Mexican Restaurant. The tacos were excellent. Actually, to be specific, the carnitas and carne asada tacos were excellent. The al pastor was so-so.
Tarascos is located 6 doors down from my fiancee’s favorite cupcake shop, Lark. I’ve probably been to Lark about 10 times, and yet I’ve never noticed the enormous “TACOS” sign above Tarascos. Either I’m blind (huge possibility) or I’m losing my edge for tacos (shuddering just thinking about it). (Or they just put up those signs in an effort to attract more business – mission accomplished.) Regardless, the brightly lit “TACOS” sign above Tarascos was a saving grace for my growling stomach. While cruising Sunset after working out, I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to venture into Los Feliz, or double-back and head south of Wilshire.
Actually, let me be honest. It was dark (around 8:15 p.m.) and I originally wanted to go to King Taco to complete my long overdue review of the
I know, some of you might be thinking that
Back to Tarascos. Apparently, they’ve got a parking lot which I completely ignored simply because I was speeding on Sunset. The interior of the shop is divided into two sections: (1) the kitchen and (2) the area where you stand and order your food. The first area is extremely large. The second area is the exact opposite.
Thankfully, Tarascos has a large outdoor covered seating area, complete with Christmas tree lights and music that sounds like they took a French jazz nightclub singer and put him in a Mexican polka band. At first, the covered patio reminded me of my trip to Taco House in downtown
First, I should note that Tarascos serves a lot of other food besides tacos. Unfortunately, for me, I will probably never try that other food. The tacos were $1.50 each and you could choose from the usual suspects of meat. They also had Jarritos(!), but only in orange and some other color/flavor that I’ve already managed to forget.
As I was sitting outside waiting for my order, the lady came out and brought me a platter of chips and salsa. Since my stomach was already starting to devour the thick layer of fat between my rock hard abs and the skin on my stomach, these chips and salsa tasted like the greatest thing in the world. Thus, I can’t really be objective in my assessment of the chips and salsa. Actually, now that I think about it, I had a steak burrito from La Salsa today and the chips and salsa that came with my lunch were nowhere near as good as the chips and salsa from Tarascos.
Random side note: Guess what food I missed the most when I spent my two years in
As I was sitting at Tarascos waiting for my food (and taking pictures entitled “Still Life of Jarritos at Night”), I started to think that the three tacos I ordered were taking just a little more time than necessary. But then I started to think “What if it’s taking longer than usual because they’re making it fresh?” I immediately wrote off that thought since I’m extremely superstitious and did not want to jinx my upcoming taco experience.
When the nice lady delivered my three tacos, I could immediately tell that I was going to be eating above-average tacos. How could I tell? It’s all in the preparation and presentation. The tacos were perfectly lined up next to each other. There was a little container for the habanero salsa. The left side of the plastic tray was lined with ample slices of radishes and cucumbers. The onions and cilantro were chopped finely and sprinkled lightly on top of the taco meat. The carnitas was (were?) pulled in small shreds, as opposed to a lazy person pulling them in large chunks. Everything looked just right.
Hold on, I told myself. In the words of The Wolf from Pulp Fiction, “Let’s not start sucking each others’ dic……” Uh, nevermind.
When I ordered my food, I couldn’t help but notice the three types of salsa that were already prepared and stored near the cash register. Before I took a single bite of my tacos, I walked back to the cash register and asked for some salsa verde, since the “regular” salsa was served with my chips and the habanero salsa came with my tacos. The guy gave me what I needed and I quickly hurried back to my seat to enjoy the tacos.
The result? I became very pleased with Tarascos.
The carnitas were very soft, delicate, and melted in my mouth. Unfortunately, and maybe it’s because I view this with pretty much all food, the carnitas were just a little too salty for my liking. In spite of this, I thought the meat was well cooked and the taco was absolutely delicious.
The carne asada taco was also quite tasty. Within the first bite, you could tell that it was grilled minutes prior to arriving at my table. This meat didn’t have as much of an overpowering lime taste that most taquerias like to do (when compensating for using poor quality meat). Yet, the meat at Tarascos was well seasoned and no extra flavor overpowered the natural taste of the asada.
I should also mention that the double tortillas that held the tacos were slightly grilled which gave the outer tortilla a “mildly firm” shell, while refusing to be totally crunchy. The tortillas tasted like they were store-bought, but because of the proper grilling method just described, they didn’t detract from the overall taco-eating experience.
As for the al pastor, unfortunately it did not live up to the standards set by the carnitas and asada. The pastor was a little too blackened for my liking, which marred the taste. Although the meat was cut into larger than normal chunks, it was a little too chewy than what I was expecting. I guess chewy is a lot better than dry (or is it?), which the meat thankfully was not. Despite the negative remarks I just made, the al pastor was definitely passable. Perhaps I just got a few scraps which blackened easily on the grill (note: the al pastor did not taste like it was cooked on a rotating spit), so next time might be a better pastor experience.
As I mentioned earlier, the tacos came with a generous dose of sliced radishes and cucumbers. After eating my tacos, I devoured my cucumbers and suddenly felt like I just ate a healthy bowl of vegetables for dinner. I then patted myself on the back for making that healthy decision. In no way did my brain register the fact that I just ate meat and starches that were probably soaked in animal lard while washing it all down with orange sugar water.
Would I recommend Tarasacos to you? Absolutely. Ample parking, good steak and carnitas tacos, decent prices, and a pleasant experience. Next time I go back to Tarascos, I’ll be ordering two carnitas and two asada tacos. For now, I’ll just have to be content with pulling up my shirt and shaking my head in front of the mirror in disappointment at how slowly my soon-to-be-six-pack is coming along.
Tarascos Mexican Restaurant – 4.0/5.0 Jarritos
Address: 3319 W. Sunset Blvd.,
Google Maps: Link
Much love till my next post.





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