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The Search for Tacos Dorados (Part 1)
Posted on Thursday, June 11 @ 15:02:44 PDT
Topic: Mexican
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In Part 1, we take a look at Mia's, Rafa's Café, Gonzalez Restaurant, Chuy's, and Mi Cocina. On to the food...
Mia's. 4322 Lemmon Avenue.
Tacos dorados aren't listed on the menu at Mia's, but are available upon request as "old-fashioned tacos." The tacos are "closed" style, with the toothpick removed. Mediocre, commercial yellow corn tortillas form the shell. More crunchy than crispy, but not at all soggy, soft, or grease-soaked. Ground beef filling was lightly seasoned (verging on blandness) and, suprisingly, a little dry. Side salad/garnishes consisted of shredded romaine, industrial cheddar, and diced tomato. Rice came with the order, but not beans. Three tacos to an order. $8.25.
Rafa's Café. 5617 West Lovers Lane.
Rafa's menu lists their offering as "pan-fried tacos." Though the menu only mentions the tacos as elements in combos, they will put together a custom plate with pan-fried tacos only. "Closed" style, with the toothpick removed, the shells were nicely crisp around the edges, but somewhat soft in the belly of the taco. The filling of mealy, onion-laden ground beef recalled bad memories of corporate tacos. Side salad of romaine, tomato, and cheese. Unremarkable rice and beans were included. Two tacos to an order. $9.25.
Gonzalez Restaurant. 367 West Jefferson Boulevard.
We've discussed the old-school Tex-Mex greatness of Gonzalez Restaurant in a prior report. Their performance with crispy tacos also impresses. Gonzalez is one of very few restaurants in this list that uses fresh, handmade tortillas for their crispy tacos. It makes a big difference, giving the shells a light, layered, slightly puffed texture. Though they're done in an "open" style, it's hard to find fault with such a beautiful, delicious taco shell (pictured at the top of this report).
The tacos are filled with well-seasoned ground beef, shredded romaine, cheese, and diced tomato. The "crispy taco dinner" includes generous portions of their cumin-heavy rice and respectable beans. To top it off, you get two of their monstrous, house-made flour tortillas (which, as previously reported, average about three ounces each). Though I'd love to see a more traditional shredded beef filling as an option, that has proven to be hard to find anywhere in Dallas. Two tacos to an order. An astonishingly cheap $7.25 for some of the best fried tacos in Dallas.
Chuy's. 4544 McKinney Avenue.
Chuy's was a miss. I'll be describing some of the failures in these reports, though they won't make the forum list. If nothing else, it'll show how hard it is to get accurate information from some waiters. When I asked the waiter at Chuy's whether the shells for their crispy tacos were fried on site, he said they were. That much was true. When I asked whether they were fried to order, he said they were. Inaccurate.
The shells had clearly been fried earlier in the day--cool to the touch, dry on the surface, and with that stick-to-the-teeth quality one gets from masa that's had a chance to absorb grease. Heavily seasoned ground beef filling, with a typical Tex-Mex character. Shredded romaine, scant diced tomato, and a little cheese (industrial Jack and cheddar). The plate came with rice and a choice of charro or refried beans. Three tacos to an order. The $7.79 price tag isn't unreasonable. But, by failing to fry the shells to order, Chuy's falls in with the majority of restaurants that rank speed and convenience over quality. Disqualified.
Mi Cocina. 77 Highland Park Village.
Mi Cocina, following the Mia's tradition, also serves "old-fashioned tacos" as an off-menu item. From what I've seen, the older and more central locations have waiters who are more likely to understand the request right off the bat. The tacos dorados at Mi Cocina are almost identical to those at Mia's. Yellow corn tortillas fried with the meat inside in a "closed" style, with the toothpick removed before serving. Romaine, cheese, and tomato. (In one visit, the tacos were served with a side of chile de arbol salsa--a nice improvement over the table salsa.)
Of course, there are some "added value" aspects to the Mi Cocina experience to justify a higher price--e.g., rice that is neatly molded rather than served loose, a sliver of avocado on the side salad, and a sprig of parsley. However, the old-fashioned tacos at Mi Cocina aren't much costlier than those at Mia's, so at least one isn't gouged for the frippery. Waiters seemed flexible on meat selection, also, accommodating a request for brisket instead of ground beef in one visit. The long-fibered brisket wasn't practical; bite into it and, unless you have extraordinarily sharp teeth, the tendency is to pull big wads of meat out of the tacos, leaving empty shells. Absent chopped, shredded beef, it seems best to stick with the more functional ground beef. The number of tacos per order varied between three and four. Price varied between $9.95 and $11.95.
The Search for Tacos Dorados: Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5....
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