*** Aqui es Jalisco has closed and is now Nhat Vy
Back in October as I was driving around after my meal at Lee's Deli and noticed that The Torta Factory was gone. In its place was a shop called Taqueria Aqui es Jalisco....Jalisco? Pictures of birria and tortas ahogadas danced in my head. That evening the Missus was tied up doing things with friends so I jumped in my car and headed back up to the shop.......
Walking in, I noticed that the place had a real "temporary' look, as if someone had just moved in and was still setting things up. The old counter stood alone, more of a wall than a counter.
I took a look at the hand written menu and was a bit disappointed.......it was pretty basic fare, tortas, tacos, and such, with pretty standard stuff.
The young woman working told me they had just been open for two weeks and was very nice. I would have felt terrible just walking out so I decided to get a taste of the different beef offerings and went for four tacos ($1.25/each).
The Cabeza and Lengua came out first.
There's no salsa bar here; I was asked how I wanted my tacos and told them with everything. The cabeza was the better of the two, beefy, but not overdone. The lengua was mushy and had a real liver-y flavor to it. The salsas were relatively mild.
The suadero, which has been descried as "shoulder, but is actually the meat from between the belly and leg was fairly good. Tender, but mild in flavor. The pale carne asada looked like it was going to be terrible.
It turned out to be more tender than it looked, but it was salty and lacked the introduction of flavor from any other seasoning or cooking (i.e. carmelization).
Overall, this wasn't a particularly good meal, but the investment was just five bucks and you've gotta give these places a shot.
I'm not sure how this place is going to do.......
Taqueria Aqui es Jalisco
4595 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115
at least you gave them a try.
Posted by: kat | Thursday, 15 December 2011 at 03:31 AM
Hi Kat - I had to....you never know when you'll find that hidden gem.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 15 December 2011 at 06:45 AM
Good to know Kirk. I saw this and haven't tried it yet. That's in my soon-to-be 'hood and was wondering about it.
Posted by: Jack | Thursday, 15 December 2011 at 01:38 PM
Hey Jack - You should check them out anyway...maybe they've got things squared away by now.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 16 December 2011 at 06:54 AM