Taqueria Cuernavaca - Ventura

Well, I finally gave in.....

After about a year of deliberately avoiding this place, I decided to just go for it and have a bite at one of the best places to grab a taco in the Ventura County: Taqueria Cuernavaca in Ventura (city).

It was a real crappy Monday and I was desperate for an easy no-brainer taqueria to blog about so against my better judgement, I decided on knocking this one out today. I mean, I also wanted to get at least another review going before the end of the year.

The reason I've stayed away from Cuernavaca is because I know that's its a real popular place and in some folks eyes, its the gold standard of taquerias in this area. So, given this info way before this blog was even a twinkle in my eye I wanted to hold off as long as possible before giving it the once over.

Anyways, Over a year ago when Josh and I went to go check out Lalo's, he snuck off afterwards and had seconds at Taqueria Cuernavaca. Here's what he emailed me about the place at the time:

"After ordering I headed to the salsa bar to grab one of each. They had a Guacamole type Verde, a regular Verde and a Roja. They all had a nice flavor and the two Verdes had a good kick that made me excited. I then noticed the salsa bar sign stating: 'Our Salsa is free, however please only take what you need". Sorry but that's lame, I've been to places where they allow you to clean em out if you choose".

"Pastor - this caught my eye. It came with a pineapple chunk which was like a neon sign of victory for me. I bit a couple chunks of the Pastor meat to get an idea of the taste, and noticed it wasn't bbq texas sloppy joe that Rob and I have been experiencing, however it's still isn't the same. The cooking just doesn't seem to be marinated and slow cooked like I’m used to, the meat I'm used to seems to have been soaked with the chili powder and pineapple making it really tasty, and this seemed partly red, not caked/covered".

"Asada - nothing great, seemed like beef boiled instead of grilled to me. The flavor was lacking after eating the Lola's well seasoned and well cooked but fatty meat".

"Chorizo is touchy because I work near one of the best places that serves melted cheese Chorizo taco's that melt in your mouth. They are so amazing. Variety though is great, like the El Sancho Loco Taqueria in Newbury Park a new way of cooking something can be good and a nice change. I know what Chorizo is, but this was too much like normal sausage. It tasted literally like Vons bought sausage grounded up into small chunks rather than a seasoned Chorizo. So if you like sausage, you can get this sausage taco".

Well, even though I do value Josh's opinion in these matters I have to disagree with him regarding some of the tacos we both tried.

I personally went with the: Pastor, Chorizo, Asada and Suadero (brisket?). Then I went over to the salsa/condiment area and fixed myself up some of offerings they had to choose from:

Even though its not pictured, I also had the regular salsa verde. I have to say that I was mighty impressed with all all their salsas. If I had to say which one was the weakest it would have to be the roja. It definitely was not as spicy as I like while the avocado salsa was the stand out.
 
These salsas were well thought out and executed. A slow building heat was theme here with an eye more towards the flavor side of things as opposed to the destroy-your-taste buds spicy explosion that alot of other places strive for. I mean, I love that stuff too but, this was a nice change of pace.
 
 

 
Suadero: Yeah, this is the best suadero taco I've ever had. Really, it was tender, juicy, slow cooked taste and had a bunch of crispiness throughout the exterior of the meat that makes me want to eat at least ten of these. Yeah, I don't care what your thinking of me right now because it was really fucking good. Oh yeah.
 
Chorizo: This is where I disagree with Josh. I really liked the chorizo here. I thought it had a "clean" flavor profile that was enjoyable, it didn't taste like a grease bomb is what I'm trying to say. I liked the seasoning and the little bit of spice/heat it contained. Again, it was really, really good.
 
Al Pastor: The pastor taco from this particular taqueria is a bit of a polarizing culinary item around these parts. And as Josh pointed out above, he wasn't too stoked on it when he tried it. You either love Cuernavaca's pastor taco or you hate it but let me be clear; I loved it. Why? because it was different. Yeah, it won't get confused with the real, real hardcore pastor sliced off the spit right onto your tortilla but it was very tasty and enjoyable. I'd love to keep score on these things but I'm tired, guys. so tired.........and that's why I ate the shit out of this taco. The pineapple on top was a nice touch and the flavor and texture of the pork was good; a bit spicy and a bit sweet, with a nice char. Not like the typical pastor that's really pork adobado (and no where near a trompo) that I've been eating for most of this blog. Hey, maybe it came off of a trompo in the back of the kitchen somewhere but I just don't care, the taco was totally great.
 
Carne Asada: Well, this is where things fell apart. The asada here is chopped way to fine and thus makes it hard to get that "asada" flavor that we all look forward too. Also, the small bits of meat in the taco were comprised mostly of the connective gristle crap that I hate. Maybe I got a bad batch but I just can't stand it when a place kinda blows the whole carne asada thing.

Other than that, the tortillas were warm and very lightly oiled which worked out ok for me.

All in all this place was very impressive, at least in my opinion. And definitely headed for 5 stars if it wasn't for that carne asada that was highly disappointing. That being said, I will be back for more. 4/5 stars.

Taqueria Cuernavaca
1117 North Ventura Avenue
Ventura, Ca 93001

La Gloria Taqueria - Oxnard

Well, instead of me starting off this review with the prerequisite "I suck at running a blog" rabble,  lets just get into my latest post in the never (never) ending search for taco excellence in the Ventura County. But let me also add, it would be a joke to say that I'm keeping this blog up to date. OK-

So I'm at La Gloria Taqueria in Oxnard which may, or may not be related to the fantastic: La Gloria De Oxnard. The names of some of these taqueria's can make things quite confusing in how they borrow from each other (or, possibly their respective home town) when it comes to naming. Although really, who gives a shit.

So yeah- I go up to the counter to order my tacos, and after a bout with indecisiveness, I settle upon two carnitas, one asada and one cabeza. No Al pastor here, but they did have tripas up on the board and surprisingly, chicken too. Which I feel is totally useless in a taco unless we're talking about Chicken Tinga and not some dry chicken breast. the latter seems to be appearing in many tacos around Oxnard. Such a sad state of affairs.

So moving on:

Carnitas were really good; strong pork flavor, shredded and moist with some crispy bits and overtones of lard. Hey, I don't have a problem with lard. Although it wasn't up there with Taqueria Potrillos (in Camarillo) lard-ish tacos, the taste was part of the flavor profile and very distinctive. Delicious all the way.

Cabeza: just like its carnitas brethren it was moist, juicy, greasy and very tasty. Can't ask for a better cabeza taco. Well seasoned too.

Carne Asada: Unfortunately the loser of the bunch ended up being the carne asada. It lacked flavor and quite honestly the texture had no "bite" whatsoever. I never felt like I was eating beef but instead something that came out of slow cooker that may have been beef at one point. It was really soggy and bland, it would have been great in a beef stew but not in this taco.

The tortillas were okay, warm and pliable which is fine but I like my tortillas heated up on the plancha with some oil or preferably dipped in some chorizo grease..... or something along those lines.

The salsa on these tacos was very, very mild and did not stand out in any way. The only salsa available in the condiment area was a salsa verde that was pleasant but a nice dark, smokey salsa roja would have jolted these tacos alive. Too bad that the container that was holding the salsa roja was totally empty. I tried to scoop out the liquid that I could see at the bottom but couldn't get any on the ladle. Oh well.

I may try and come back, but probably won't. 3/5 stars.

La Gloria Taqueria
2736 East Vinyard Avenue
Oxnard, CA 93036 

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