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East County pork excursion
Sarita's Taco Shop
Carnitas Uruapan
“One ($2.50) crispy carnitas taco, please.” “Crispy taco, or crispy carnitas?” Because when you’re this good with pig meat, it could go either way. I chose the taco, because nowhere else have I encountered soft carnitas this soft; it melts on the tongue like cotton candy. Rich, meaty cotton candy. The prep is ungussied — mostly lettuce, a smattering of cheese and tomatoes — because nothing else is needed. Except maybe the smoky chipotle salsa. Weekend pork bonus: 99-cent tacos al pastor, Friday-Saturday-Sunday, 5pm to close.
Ranas Mexico City Cuisine
Bright and slightly upscale, Ranas is more restaurant than taco shop: you get waiters and an interesting wine list, and there are no à la carte tacos on the menu. Two carnitas tacos with rice and beans costs $10, but it’s easily lunch for two, and it’s worth the expense. Tender (really) corn tortillas surround strandy strips of roasty-firm meat with caramelized edges, moist interiors, and crackly fatlings. All the flavors — corn, meat, guac, cilantro, onions, etc. — remain distinct even as they harmonize.
Sarita’s Taco Shop
The justly successful (granite tabletops! stainless counters!) 24-hour standby for (among other things) adobada tacos ($3.39). The quantity is heroic; using the two tortillas to make tacos for two just makes sense. And the experience is similarly unsubtle, which makes it perfect late-night fare. (This is not a secret; the after-hours crowd is watchably eclectic.) The main thing here is the interplay of salty spice and crispy, curling meat against the cool smoothness of the guacamole. It’s enough to make a body thirsty all over again.
La Posta De Acapulco
Just two doors down from Sarita’s, the adobada taco ($3.25) here is a more complicated and, yes, more delicate affair. A smaller serving, with smaller chunks of pork. Less crispy-salty, more smoky-charry. And more clearly porky. Lettuce plays a part. If Sarita’s is perfect for late at night, the apple green, high-ceilinged, air-conditioned interior of La Posta is just right for a blazing East County afternoon. Even a single taco rates you a platter of substantial chips while you wait and watch the world go by.
Here's something you might be interested in.
East County pork excursion
East County pork excursion
Sarita's Taco Shop
Carnitas Uruapan
“One ($2.50) crispy carnitas taco, please.” “Crispy taco, or crispy carnitas?” Because when you’re this good with pig meat, it could go either way. I chose the taco, because nowhere else have I encountered soft carnitas this soft; it melts on the tongue like cotton candy. Rich, meaty cotton candy. The prep is ungussied — mostly lettuce, a smattering of cheese and tomatoes — because nothing else is needed. Except maybe the smoky chipotle salsa. Weekend pork bonus: 99-cent tacos al pastor, Friday-Saturday-Sunday, 5pm to close.
Ranas Mexico City Cuisine
Bright and slightly upscale, Ranas is more restaurant than taco shop: you get waiters and an interesting wine list, and there are no à la carte tacos on the menu. Two carnitas tacos with rice and beans costs $10, but it’s easily lunch for two, and it’s worth the expense. Tender (really) corn tortillas surround strandy strips of roasty-firm meat with caramelized edges, moist interiors, and crackly fatlings. All the flavors — corn, meat, guac, cilantro, onions, etc. — remain distinct even as they harmonize.
Sarita’s Taco Shop
The justly successful (granite tabletops! stainless counters!) 24-hour standby for (among other things) adobada tacos ($3.39). The quantity is heroic; using the two tortillas to make tacos for two just makes sense. And the experience is similarly unsubtle, which makes it perfect late-night fare. (This is not a secret; the after-hours crowd is watchably eclectic.) The main thing here is the interplay of salty spice and crispy, curling meat against the cool smoothness of the guacamole. It’s enough to make a body thirsty all over again.
La Posta De Acapulco
Just two doors down from Sarita’s, the adobada taco ($3.25) here is a more complicated and, yes, more delicate affair. A smaller serving, with smaller chunks of pork. Less crispy-salty, more smoky-charry. And more clearly porky. Lettuce plays a part. If Sarita’s is perfect for late at night, the apple green, high-ceilinged, air-conditioned interior of La Posta is just right for a blazing East County afternoon. Even a single taco rates you a platter of substantial chips while you wait and watch the world go by.
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