Tuesday, August 9, 2011

El Preferido Taco Shop - Santa Paula



What the hell, Rob? 2 months? seriously dude?

That is what I imagine someone who reads this silly blog may be thinking after yours truly failed to post anything in the last 2 months. Again, and as I always like to point out, that's assuming anyone is actually following this.

Normally, I would start a post after a long and extended break with some serious self depreciating humor and of course, a promise to post more frequently in the coming days/weeks. But in a promise I made to the wife, I'll cut out the jokes aimed at myself and head straight to the question of: will there be any new posts coming up? Why did I fall asleep at the wheel for so long?

Yes- more posts are on the way (for this month anyway) and I really have no good answer as to why I was dormant on the taco blogging for so long. That's all I've got. I mean lets face it; shit has not worked out the way I wanted with this blog. I thought Josh and I would hook up more often on these things and I also (naively) thought I would be closer to 40 or 50 reviews by now. Welp, whatever. With that, lets just head to today's review.

There's been plenty of areas in the Ventura County that I've not visited for this blog yet which has been one of  the more disappointing developments in my quest for delicious tacos. All's I can say is: I'm trying.

And to that end, I'm at El Preferido Taco Shop in Santa Paula for this review. I have no idea what the taco scene is like in these parts but I'll try and visit this area more in the future along with places like Saticoy and Filmore to find out what the deal is in this corner of the county.

Okay, I walk in to El Preferido and order my tacos at the front with one thing in mind: Tripas. Yes, I heard that the tripas are a popular item here (as far as a filling for a taco/burrito) so I order one of those along with the usual: Pastor, Asada and Carnitas.




The first thing that I notice as I receive my order is that the tacos come plain with no salsa topping. I went over to the small salsa bar they had set up and just went with one cup of verde and one of roja. I noticed they also had a "dipping" salsa that's intended more to go with chips (in my opinion) and there was also another watery red salsa that I didn't go with but thought I would mention.

Starting with the Tripas: I went ahead and dumped the salsa verde on this one and it seemed to have been a good choice. The refreshing flavor of the tomatillos in the salsa along with the salty, deep fried profile of the tripas ( intestines) made for a very nice paring. Sure, the tripas were not totally easy to chew on but still, this taco was very, very tasty.

Asada: The meat in this asada was relatively tender with a very mild "asada" flavor. There was a bit of connective bits here and there but was still enjoyable to eat. The salsa roja had quite a bite to it and was nice and spicy with a good consistency to it. Solid all around.

The Carnitas were also solid. No bold pork flavor or crispy bits the way I personally like but the meat was tender and moist which made it easy to scarf down. The pork was shredded with a "clean" flavor; Nothing to write home about but you pork lovers will be okay with this taco overall.

The Al Pastor was very flavorful. Had the distinct adobado/achiote thing going on and was really tender. Delicious and well done.

All of the tacos arrived on the plate nice and hot with the tortillas also at a high temp. This obviously made them pliable and easy to work with which is always important but they weren't oiled which is a bummer. Cilantro and onions were abundant.

Anyways, none of the tacos, with the exception of the Tripas, was a home run. Rather, they were all line drive singles which makes El Preferido a solid choice to go to for taco consumption. I liked it and when I'm in the area again I'll definitely go back for more. 3.5/5 stars.




El Preferido Taco Shop
654 West Harvard Boulevard
Santa Paula, CA 93060