Establos Meat Market and Taqueria - Thousand Oaks

This is gonna be a quick one.

So it turns out that one of my personal favorite places to get a taco or burrito, Establos Meat Market in Camarillo, has opened up another market in the taco deprived area of Thousand Oaks.

If I were much more tech savvy I'd put a link up here somewhere to the review that I wrote up last year about Establos Meat Market in Camarillo. But since I'm an utter buffoon and I can't seem to figure out how to do it please just search it out on this blog to read for yourself how much I freaking love Establos.

For toady's post (And by the way, the inside of this market is like a mini version of the much larger location in Camarillo. Same lay out) I go ahead and order: Carne Asada, Pastor, Carnitas, Tripas and Buche. They have so many other fantastic things up on the big menu board that its pretty tempting to just order a ton of food.

Do you see how fucking awesome this looks? Because the tacos and the items accompanying them on the plate tasted even more awesome.

Tripas: The best. That's it. You can go to other places for tripas tacos but these are simply the best in the county.

Buche: Good. Has a solid pork flavor, nice texture, well cooked.

Carne asada: Very nice, great depth of flavor, slight char........can't go wrong ordering asada from here.

Carnitas: Oops, bad carnitas day. Dry, almost like shredded beef jerky. Its not normally like this but today's version came out bad. C'mon yo, get your carnitas game up. Geez.

Pastor: Pretty good, very nice flavor from the achoite/adobado seasoning that comes through with each bite. I like their version of this polarizing classic.

Other highlights: tortillas oiled up like crazy, salsa: they call it hot, I call it smokey, flavorful but not hot and radishes and limes wedges thrown on my plate will get you everywhere. They also threw in a habanero and like, a GMO/steroided habanero pepper too. They were both delicious and burnt the crap outta my mouth. I couldn't put out the fire with my pineapple Jarritos either. Whatever.

Anyhow, I love this place. The dudes who cook up the food here are nothing short of highly skilled taco technicians. The best that Thousand Oaks has to offer in tacos. That is, until Loteria opens up in Westlake. But that's Westlake. No, I won't be going to Sabor Cocina, sorry. 4/5 stars

Establos Meat Market and Taqueria

140 Hillcrest Drive

Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

Santa Cruz Mexican Cuisine - Ventura

Hi!

Well, I found it necessary to blog about something this month so here it goes.

Santa Cruz Mexican Cuisine is where this particular post takes place, I've never heard of the taqueria before but its not to far down the road from another Mexican establishment that I've reviewed in the past: El Burrito Alegre. Also, they have a huge banner draped over the top of the entryway that reads: "Delicious Mexican Food Here".

I know I'm being captain obvious on that one seeing as how you can all make that observation yourself with that picture at the top but........

Anyways, whatever, I walk inside and B-line it to the counter and order: Carnitas, Carne Asada and Tripas.

Be aware that the tacos come in two different sizes (regular taco and mini tacos) the carnitas and the carne asdada I ordered were in the "mini taco" size and the tripas taco was actually posted on the menu by itself. Like, that it was a specialty of the house, a dish on its own.......you know what I mean? And also a bit larger than the mini tacos.

So, the tacos all arrived on my plate with no salsa on board. I poured the salsa roja that I obtained at the salsa bar pretty much all over the 3 tacos I ordered. The salsa was executed to perfection, it had all the greatest hits of a salsa roja you could want: smokey flavor, not to "liquidy" not like paste either, nice slow building heat, great spicy finish. When I die, I want the tacos served at my funeral topped with something like this. I better let my kids know this information ASAP. 

Tripas: Wow, really good. I've only had one other tripas taco (intestines) for this blog at El Preferido Taco Shop in Santa Paula. This one is easily better, great crispy texture from the deep fry treatment but not losing any of the chewy character that tripas has. Its all in the cooking and these were cooked perfectly, just the right amount of time spent frying and arriving sizzling hot on my plate.

Carne Asada: Solid. No wow factor here but these small pieces of asada get the job done in this taco. Slight char, moist, not overcooked or loaded with connective bits/gristle. Good job!

Carnitas: To dry, dudes. Yes it was shredded and somehow the texture was acceptable (as in the meat fell apart with every bite) but the mouth feel was all wrong as the carnitas did not retain any moister or oil/grease/fat/whatever from the cooking process. So, it just didn't work for me. Also, no bold "pork" flavor.

And that's really what its all about friends, if I'm eating pork I want to know that I'm eating pork. Don't bullshit me, if I keep eating like this I'll be gaining some pounds on the way to an early grave. That's the message I need those carnitas to send me.

The tortillas were lightly oiled and volcanically hot. Again, well done.

I liked the place, a solid choice for tacos. 3.5/5 stars.

Santa Cruz Mexican Cuisine
4587 Telephone Road
Ventura, Ca 93003

Tacos Don Chente - Oxnard

So, I was on my way to Tacos La Costa in Oxnard when I saw a large shiny new taqueria on my right that I was drawn to. Tacos Don Chente is the name of the place and I believe that its owned by the same folks who own the El Pescador family of restaurants.

But really, I'm just lazy and didn't want to drive all the way to Tacos La Costa so I pulled over at the first sight of Mexican Food. There could have been a Baja Fresh or a Taco Bell on the side of the road and I would have pulled right in for a review. Its Monday and I just wasn't feeling the sense of exploration of the greater Oxnard.

Not saying that Don Chente's is in the shit hole class of the famous Baja Fresh, just saying that I needed to wrap this posting up quickly.

Right- So its a pretty clean and sterile looking place on the inside. I mean, they just built the damn place from scratch so I was expecting something like this. But flat screen TV's and marble table tops were a bit of a surprise.

Anyway, I order 4 tacos: carne asada, al pastor, chorizo and carnitas.

Afterwards I head to the condiments area/salsa bar, which was loaded by the way, grab a bit of everything and sit down at one of the many tables available.

Carnitas: Really, really good. Yeah, it was very moist and the meat was all shredded beautifully plus a deep pork flavor that made me think of nothing else but purchasing a burrito filled with these carnitas. No crispy bits but just so tender and delicious that I ate this thing in two bites.

Carne Asada: Also good in that the texture was moist and tender just like the carnitas. In carne asada, I always look for the seasoning and char; meaning did they blast some heat from the griddle on that bad boy and add that charred texture that kinda reminds me of the flavor you get from outdoor grilling. Does the seasoning (lime, cumin, Mexican oregano, chili powder, cloves, etc..) give the meat that classic "asada" flavor? Sometimes they do and other times not so much. Should be easy to execute though.

Here, it seems like the meat is of the "boiled" or "steamed" variety. Its neither boiled or steamed per se but has that kinda mouth feel to it. It was solid but I've obviously had better. More on the bland side too.

Chorizo: Excellent! crispy texture and with a nice spicy flavor. Not greasy whatsoever and really dang tasty, another taco that I could order again and again.

Al pastor: A bit on the boring side. As of now, we all know that there's no taquero slicing pork right off of a trompo and onto my tortillas. We now know that most of whats served as "Al Pastor" around Ventura County is really pork adobado. This is subject to debate as to whether it is in fact al pastor or not. In any case, not caring any more about authenticity when it comes to al pastor (and moving on!), the pork in this taco was tender but it had no "bite" or spice to it. Al pastor should be much more flavorful than this offering. 

The salsa's that I tried were not very spicy but were pretty flavorful. The two darker salsas I doused my tacos with both had a very smokey profile with one of them in particular having some heat and the other with the charred bits of chilies giving it that super smokey accent.

The tortillas were awesome; apparently they're made fresh everyday. I loved them.

Well, Don Chente's has flaws but overall the place is a solid taqueria, they do seem to go the extra mile on the little things. And they have a freaking drive up window. I'd go back. 3.5/stars

Tacos Don Chente
2131 North Oxnard Boulevard
Oxnard, CA 93036

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