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

Corrales Mexican Food - Ventura



So, Corrales Mexican Food in Ventura doesn't necessarily fall within the guidelines of a prototypical taqueria. But, I haven't been too much of a hard ass about this stuff lately especially with my recent post about Los Dos Amigos in Thousand Oaks.

As with the other hot spots for Mexican food in Ventura city, this place has an absolute legion of fans that won't be swayed by this blog, or any other (possible) negative reviews about their beloved Corrales.

I knew going in to this posting that Corrales is not known for their tacos, and I think that the loyal patrons of this establishment may acknowledge this opinion. But none the less, I may get a little "feed back" if I don't give these dudes a glowing review. Assuming that any of those good folks even read this blog, which is assuming a ton.

But lets face it, when you go to Corrales you go for burritos, hamburgers and all the other Mexican/American mish-mash posted on the menu.

Okay, I go up to the window to order my tacos and come to learn that the options for fillings are as follows: Shredded beef, carne asada, fish, shredded chicken and if I'm feeling a bit naughty, they can fill a corn tortilla with pork in a verde sauce.

Since I didn't want the soupy pork scattered all over the tortillas creating a horrible mess, I decided to go with the shredded chicken and the carne asada. I order two of each. I was hungry.

Now, both of these came topped with no salsa and as you can see, the chicken came loaded with shredded lettuce, shredded American cheese and a slice of tomato. When I first started this blog, one of the things that I mentioned I hate on my tacos, is shredded lettuce and cheese. But because I want to give Corrales a fair shake, I'm going to ride this out and see if the taco tastes any good (as I should) basing my opinion solely on flavor and not on my own personal preference.

Shredded chicken: So, when I ordered this I envisioned a version of the awesome Tinga De Pollo (a spicy stewed chicken) dish which I make at home a lot. But that was definitely not the case; this chicken was shredded and moist but was flavorless on its own. Thanks to the (can't believe I'm writing this) toppings of lettuce/tomato/cheese and the very tasty salsa that came on the side, this taco ended up being pretty decent. Not something that I would come back for but it filled me up in a hearty sort of way and I did appreciate that.

Carne asada: I scrutinized this one a little bit more. Now, the meat that filled this taco was tender and juicy but still a bit too chewy and borderline rubbery. How can it be tender and rubbery at the same time? Don't know how to answer that but you'll have to try it for yourself to understand it fully. Maybe not in a taco but in a torta or a burrito or something. Since this taco was not garnished with anything I was left with the salsa to drench the meat in. The results were positive, much like the chicken taco the meat had a very hearty "beef" flavor and paired well with the very tasty salsa. Really damn flavorful salsa, do they sell this stuff on its own? its good.

Welp, that's it. The tacos were very decent but knowing that there are other superior taquerias in Ventura plus the short list of options for fillings on the Corrales menu, I can't say that I'd recommend ordering tacos here. Yes- I'll probably be back for a burrito at some point which I know first hand is actually pretty good. Unfortunately I only review tacos for this blog.
TA-COS. 2/5 stars

Corrales Mexican Food
1951 East Thompson Boulevard
Ventura, Ca 93006

Taqueria Jalisco - Oxnard

Well, as usual I'm back in Oxnard and this time at Taqueria Jalisco. By looking at the picture above, you'll notice there's no sign letting you know that its Taqueria Jalisco but, whatever- This is were I ended up.

When I went to the Taqueria Jalisco in Simi Valley, I loved it. I'm not sure if the two are related (business wise I mean) but if its as good as that place then I'm in for some high quality tacos.

Anyways, I walk in and discover that:

A: There's no posted/printed menu at all.

B: About 5 dudes sitting at one of the table's (including the guy who eventually took my order) watching Mexican telenovelas on the TV mounted to the wall. And I mean they were hanging on every freaking word.

C: By far the most disappointing, only 3 taco options. Yup: Pollo, Al Pastor and Carnitas.

Yes, its true, for the last few reviews I have stuck to ordering Pastor, Asada and Carnitas but I've been wanting to go back to trying other types of tacos and was planning on starting with this post. Also, who cares if there's no menu, I've obviously been to many a taqueria without any posted menu. I'm just nit picking at this point.

Alright, I sit at one of the tables and receive my order.

Pollo: Pretty dry. It was served up cut into cubes and appeared to have been seared on the plancha a bit. But all in all it was a boring cut of boneless skinless chicken breast probably seasoned with Goya Adobo seasoning or something. I don't know, I'd probably have a better time at El Pollo Loco armed with a bottle of El Yucateco.

Al Pastor: This was the standout of the group but it was just an average pastor taco. Nice flavor with the achiote but the texture was too tough and the feel in my mouth too dry.

Carnitas: Shredded with some pork flavor and some crispy fat in there but again, too dry. No juiciness to it whatsoever.

The one positive was the salsa; it was nice and hot, had a very strong, snappy heat at the front of the mouth. It was definitely a one trick pony though, it didn't offer any other complexities in flavor it just got right to the point. But I loved it that way and would have absolutely drenched my tacos with the stuff if I had the chance.

Well, as you can read this was not the most exciting place I've ever been to. Its also not overwhelmingly bad were I start to go into great (agonizing) detail about how shitty thing's were and such. In any case, I really can't recommend Taqueria Jalisco in Oxnard, There's just to many other options that are much better around.

2/5 stars.

Taqueria Jalisco (Oxnard)

345 South C Street

Oxnard, Ca 93030

Los Dos Amigos - Thousand Oaks

Well, talk about unexpected! I had zero intention of doing a review of Los Dos Amigos in Thousand Oaks. But a co-worker offered to treat me to lunch out in TO ( since we were going to be in the area ) and the only place we thought of was LDA.

The reason that I wasn't going to come here for the blog, was because its not necessarily a "taqueria" in the context of what I'm doing review-wise. I mean, I love the place and have been going there for many years but its the kind of joint were you sit down, get served by a waiter, has a distinct restaurant ambiance, etc........you get the picture. If I'm going on a date with the wife and we want to get a few margaritas, get some ceviche and have a nice time this is were we go in Thousand Oaks. Its the Anti-El Torito. Although, in LDA's defense, they do have a walk up window were you can order food to go...........nah, its still not a taqueria if you're paying $12.50 for a burrito.

In keeping up with these modern taco times, LDA has a section in their menu with a heading that reads: "Street Tacos". The plate comes with 3 tacos for $9.50 and you have the choice of a few different fillings. Obviously, this price is too damn expensive if you just want to grab some tacos and a drink. Again, Los Dos Amigos was not on my list for a reason- This is a restaurant price, your paying for more than just tacos in that number.

Am I only posting this review just for the sake of putting up a new post? maybe, but lets continue and see where it goes.

Okay, I go for the Asada, Al Pastor and Carnitas. They also serve you what seems to be an unlimited amount of chips, salsa and spicy bean dip while you wait. Both the bean dip and the salsa are quite good; the salsa is strictly for dipping purposes (in flavor, I mean) and the chips are deep fried and crunchy.

Asada: pretty boring. Yeah, the meat was almost flavorless and the texture far too rubbery. There's just not much more to describe here because that's all I tasted; meat that was not prepared correctly and probably not marinated. This was not the carne asada that dreams are made of.

The salsa that it was topped with was nice with a mild heat, no smokey accents but very tasty overall. It wasn't strong enough to cover up any of the flaws in this taco though.

Carnitas: Although the appearance of the carnitas was impressive, the taste, not so much. The meat was moist and shredded into thick strands but had no bold pork flavor the way I personally like. It was just average really.

Al Pastor: In this case, it tasted like they cooked up chopped pork, then threw it in a bowl filled with some kind of sauce that they believe tastes like an adobado/achiote paste used in al pastor. This failed miserably in trying to capture anything that really resembles al pastor. Plus, the texture of the pork was VERY chewy. Oh well.

Also, the tortillas were not oiled and thus not very pliable. That sucked too.

So, that's it. I know you must be thinking "what was the point of this stupid review?" I'm not sure. I love the place still, and will continue to go to there but in my humble opinion; the tacos aren't exactly the house specialty. Also, Los Dos Amigos has a legion of cliental that won't all of a sudden head over to Acapulcos or Cisco's ( because of this or any other review) anytime soon. Its a great place to have a drink and relax but for all you taco fans, this is not best. 2/5stars

Los Dos Amigos

1421 East Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Thousand Oaks, Ca 91362

Taqueria La Hermita - Ventura

Hi there! haven't posted anything in a month or so and figured today is as good a time as any to get going again.

Sometimes, there's a man, and sometimes there's a man who eats quite a bit of Mexican food. Since I categorize myself in the latter, I just had to step away from the tacos for a spell and take an extended break.

And when I mean "break" I mean I'm still eating plenty of  tacos except I'm not blogging about it.

Anyhow, today's post finds at me at Taqueria La Hermita in Ventura off Johnson. Its located in a large strip mall who's main attraction is a movie theater. The building that actually houses La Hermita, is like one of those food courts you'll find in a shopping mall. So the neighbors are dishing up all kinds of fare like: Korean food, BBQ, Hamburgers, a deli and so on and so forth.

You may be asking yourself if a taqueria located in a food court is worth the time to review. The answer is pretty surprising.

I order the carnitas, asada and al pastor and take a seat. Included with my order was a small bowl of complimentary chips and spicy salsa roja. The chips were thin and lightly salted and the salsa was pretty watery but had the strong bite and flavor of Chile De Arbol. Still, a little to watery for me.



Carne Asada: Very nice! really strong flavor, chopped into small bits but not pulverized into almost ground beef. Juicy too, with some crispy char after the extended once over on the plancha. Again, really good carne asada taco with a simi-crispy exterior and juicy/moist interior.

Carnitas: Again, gooooood; Juicy, moist and crispy throughout. In a shredded fashion with big time depth of flavor that lets you know you're eating pork. I've said it many times before, when it comes to carnitas the flavor of pork is not always there. But that was not a problem with this taco whatsoever; delicious.

Al Pastor: keeping with the theme of the other two, this taco was great. Again, the taquero/cook who prepared this really knew what he was doing. The pork was marinated and cooked quite well. Then, a nice re-heating on the plancha which gave it a beautiful blackened char all over while still retaining its moister. This added texture stood out in the flavor along with the strong notes of sweet pineapple and achiote paste. Nice.

All of these tacos came topped with cilantro/onions and the salsa roja I described earlier.  And all of them were really piping hot, I mean really sizzling. The tortillas were a little thick and rustic in taste plus lightly oiled. And again, really freaking hot.

Eating this quality of taco in a place like a strip mall food court was a big eye opener for me. The tacos were fantastic and if not for the salsa being the weak link here, they would most certainly get 5 stars. 

Most of the notable taquerias are loacted on the other side of town in Ventura. Don't fall asleep on this place though, if you're a taco fan, I highly recommend it. 4.5/5 stars.

Taqueria La Hermita

2950 Johnson Drive

Suite 131A

Ventura, Ca 93003









Super Taqueria - Ventura

Its always a tough call for me on deciding were to eat when I' m driving through Ventura Avenue in Ventura.There's obviously many taqueria's on the avenue all with their own fan base, and then there's some that don't get very much attention at all.  

With regards to Super Taquera, were I'm eating for today's post, it may be in the latter. But then again, I’m not a local so I really don’t have much information to go on other than what's been written in all the various food review sites on the web. Even though I've lived in the Ventura county for a long time I'm still learning much about Ventura, Oxnard, Filmore, Port Hueneme and the rest of the cities and towns in the county. So its not just about trying different tacos at different establishments but its also about checking out the different locals in which these taquerias are situated.  

Super Taqueria is nestled in between a small market, and a panderia (Mexican bakery) in what appears to be a pretty decrepit old strip mall right off of Ventura Avenue.

In any case, I end up ordering two asada tacos, one al Pastor and one carnitas. There was plenty of other meat options but I decided to keep it simple for this one. The very nice man who took my order also gave me 2 cups so I could serve myself some salsa. I ended up with their verde and the roja plus he served me bowl of fresh chips. A very nice surprise.

The salsa roja was very spicy and had the sharp flavor of chilies at the front end with a quickly decaying smokey accent at the back. Very nice, it opened up my sinuses a bit so I could definitely taste and feel the kick. The verde was very mild and subdued; it had no real chili flavor or tartness from the tamatillos. It was average but tasted nice none the less.

Okay, so the carne asada was good; the meat had a nice flavor and was tender. Although it did have some connective bits and a little gristle it was still tasty so I didn't think about these flaws to much. Plus the hot salsa roja did its job and covered up any mistakes.

The carnitas taco was not so lucky, I decided to pour the verde on top and it only seemed to amplify the fact that these carnitas were bone dry in taste. They came shredded in their style but the two things I look for in carnitas the most is juiciness and the unmistakable flavor of PORK, both of which it lacked. So no, I didn't like this one to much.

The one that I thought I really would not like here is the Al Pastor. I could see that the Achiote paste was really thick and that the pork was just smothered in it but alas, I actually really liked it. Its not an authentic pastor, per se, but it was pretty flavorful in its own right. The pork was tender and the paste was spicy. Coupled with the salsa roja, it made for a very fiery taste. I enjoyed it, most definitely a different take.

The tortillas, while not oiled up like I prefer, tasted okay. They were warm which in some cases will do.

While I was eating my tacos outside at one of the tables, some dude left his bike leaning on the wall and as he walked away to go in to the bakery he was yelling at a friend telling him that he was worried about the "gabacho" stealing his bike. And then they both laughed at the thought. The gabacho they were referring to was me! I think he thought that because my back was turned to him, right? I've never been confused with being a gringo before. I'll get over it. 3/5 stars

Super Taqueria

819 North Ventura Avenue

Ventura, CA 93001

El Parian - Oxnard

So, I really am clueless as to when Taqueria Mi Tierra in Oxnard is open for business. As I was walking in through their open door, a lady mopping the floor inside told me they were closed for the day (?????) and it was like, 11:45. Well, I didn't ask what their hours of operation were, but some time down the road I’m sure I'll catch them when they're actually open, I think.

Somebody help me out here, If you know when these dudes are open for business, please let me know because I am dying to try some of their tacos.

Anyway- after that, I walked a few feet up the street to El Parian to see what was going on in there.

When I walked in, the answer was not much; the place was pretty dead for it being the middle of lunch time. Is this a bad sign? Could be.

So I'm at the counter ordering my tacos when the very sweet elderly lady who was taking orders and doing the cooking too, informed me that they only have three fillings for the tacos: carne asada, pollo and lengua..........huh? Now those are damn limited options but truth be told, El Parian is more of a sit down type place serving dishes based on regional favorites and not really doing many antojitos like "street" style tacos. That was my impression anyhow as I scanned the menu.

Since I wasn't interested in the pollo whatsoever, I went with 2 carne asada and one lengua.

I took my order to go, and placed the plate on the hood of my car and just had my lunch there.

Lengua: Yeah, I'm not a fan of lengua by any stretch but this taco was quite good. The texture of cow tongue has always been whats so unattractive about this type of meat (to me) but in this case, the texture was chewy yet had a decently moist and tender accent. Also, the flavor and seasoning were excellent and the salsa roja that was on top was tasty and mildly spicy which paired well with the meat. Totally surprised that I enjoyed this taco as much as I did.

Carne asada: this taco was was even more of a surprise, why? Because in my opinion, this might be the best asada I've had since starting this blog. Yup, I had to go to that extreme again.  But it was really good; perfect texture, flavor, tenderness, cut, seasoning/marinade and some great char to go with the fresh taste. I don't know how else to elaborate on its complete dominance any further other than to say that this preparation and execution is exactly the way I love it. The salsa roja was again, a great counter point to the flavorful meat.

Other than that, the tortillas were oiled and piping hot, even a little crispy. Delicious.

Okay, so this is tough- on one hand the tacos I ate were great, but on the other, the options were so limited that I'm not sure I would come back for more tacos. hmmmm, its a reach, but based solely on what I had today......... viva los tacos! 4/5 stars.

El Parian

155 East 7th Street

Oxnard, Ca 93030