Taqueria El Tapatio #2 - 2.5/5.0 Jarritos

Nacho cheese belongs on only one thing. Take a wild guess. That’s right – nachos. Guess where nacho cheese does not belong. Take another wild guess. That’s right – my tacos.

If every taqueria has its own “specialty” or a way of making a mark on the taco world here in Los Angeles, Taqueria El Tapatio (#2) has decided to make its mark by coupling nacho cheese with tacos. The result? Me never going back there again.



As you can see from the sign, Taqueria El Tapatio (#2) is the second of its kind. Allegedly. I won’t know for certain since I most likely will not be visiting the first branch, unless zombies start attacking mankind and I just happen to be right next to El Tap #1, and the only way to save humanity is to eat their tacos.



In all seriousness, I’m making out their tacos to be much worse than they actually are. I just hate when honest tacos are ruined by someone’s desire to be new and creative. Or maybe I’m just angry at humans who enjoy nacho cheese on foods other than chips. Right now I’m trying to think about which is worse: nacho cheese on tacos or nacho cheese on hot dogs. Actually, I think I have the winner: nacho cheese IN hot dogs.



You ever hear about how those hot dog “purists” out in Chicago that get pissed off when people put ketchup on their hot dogs? Would those purported purists get more angry at people ladling nacho cheese on their hot dogs?


[Ahhh, Wiener's Circle - The finest customer service one can receive in Chicago]

And where the hell are the Germans in this equation? Would they refuse to answer the question since we’re talking about “hot dogs” and not “sausages”? Do Germans view hot dogs the same way Chinese people view Panda Express – i.e., it’s not Chinese food but it’s tasty food in its own way.

Do we have any nacho cheese purists, who believe that nacho cheese will taste good on pretty much anything? Do they honestly think ramen would taste good with some freshly squeezed nacho cheese? If you are a purist and you are my friend (on Facebook), do me a favor and please de-friend me immediately.

But I digress. Back to the review. As you can see from the following pictures, there’s some mysterious nacho-cheese sandwiched between two tortillas, topped with asada, onions, cilantro, and salsa verde.



I felt like I was eating a grilled cheese sandwich that was left out on the counter for the past three days. At some point, I thought to myself “Am I really eating tacos?” Rubber kept getting squeezed out of the tortillas with every bite. It didn’t help that the meat (asada and al pastor) was bland, the onions were not finely chopped, and it was windy outside. It also didn’t help that Frederick Bottoms and I were located in the taco armpit of the world, a.k.a. Glendale. To be partial to all walks of life, at least Glendale has taquerias in the neighborhood. I can’t say the same about El Segundo.

Final rating: 2.5 Jarritos

Taqueria El Tapatio #2
Address: 1266 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale, CA
Google Maps: Link

Much love till my next post.