Jesse's El Taco De Mexico - Oxnard

One of the reasons that I put a picture of Jesse’s El Taco De Mexico at the top of my blog, is that I’ve always held their tacos in high regard. When I was much younger (much) I had some of their tacos after a trip to the local thrift store on Oxnard Boulevard and have not eaten there since. Will the tacos still be as awesome as I remember?


I got to Jesse’s just before the lunch rush. It’s been unseasonably super-hot down around Ventura/Oxnard this week so inside Jesse’s it was freaking sweltering. No matter, I ordered my usual trinity of tacos (Carne Asada, Al Pastor and Carnitas)

Jesse’s is small place with just a few spots to sit inside but has a great “hole in the wall” character. I personally love it. I also noticed they didn’t have much variety on the menu as far as taco fillings are concerned. The only “exotic” meats were cabeza and lengua.

The tacos came with a salsa roja on top plus the requisite cilantro and onions. There’s a small condiment area with limes, radishes and a salsa verde but I bypassed and dug into my tacos as soon as the plate hit the table.

For starters the Carnitas taco was a total disappointment; just dry and bland almost like shredded beef jerky. Didn’t expect that at all, not even the salsa roja could cover up how bad this was.

The Carne Asada was cut into small chunks and very tender. It was solid but as I keep finding out, except for maybe El Tapatio, no other place can get that charred flavor on the meat as well. Still, the combination with the salsa roja made this a good taco.

The Al Pastor taco was kinda weird. It was greasy and tasty and loaded with tender cuts of pork but not like a traditional Al Pastor. I’m not even sure I can identify the flavor much less properly describe it. I didn’t see it come off of a Trompo (Spit) or anything and it definitely did not have a traditional pineapple flavor to it at all. It was okay but I expected so much more.

All in all Jesse’s Taco El Taco De Mexico did not live up to the high standards I had from memory. So far, out of the 6 places that I’ve been to Don Gaby’s taco truck in Oxnard has been the best that I’ve had. Obviously this may change (since I’ve only just started) but until some other taqueria can convince me otherwise I’m putting Don Gaby’s picture at the top of my blog until further notice. 2.5/5 stars.

Jesse’s El Taco De Mexico
120 West 7th Street
Oxnard, CA 93030

La Carreta De Don Gaby - Oxnard

As I was headed back home after eating at Taquria Vallarta ( and still feeling some disappointment after trying their Birria) my wife pointed out a taco truck that she saw stationed in a parking lot next to a garage door installation company. So, with that, I got off at the next exit to check it out.



The truck was called: La Carreta De Don Gaby Tacos and its parked on the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Balboa in Oxnard. The funny thing is, someone stuck one of their flyers on my car underneath the windshield wiper a while back. I’ve meant to go check them out in the past but just haven’t had any time.


It was pretty dead when I got there, probably because it was after lunch and before dinner.


Anyhow, I ordered 2 tacos (I would have ordered more, but I just had 3 at Vallarta) one Carne Asada and one Al Pastor. I’ve mentioned recently (although, I did not go into full detail) about the way Al Pastor is traditionally cooked. Normally, it’s cooked on a rotisserie or spit, and the meat is sliced right off of it, chopped up, and on to the tortilla. In any case, they did not have one in the truck but at this point, I’d be surprised if I saw one at any establishment in the Ventura County.


There wasn’t a salsa/condiment table anywhere around but the dude taking my order asked if I wanted salsa roja or verde on my tacos. I went with roja.


After I got my tacos, the first thing I noticed that came with my order was a huge cooked scallion and jalapeno on the plate. Obviously, I was pretty happy about this.

The Carne Asada was good; the salsa roja was spicy and thick and complemented the flavor of the meat really well. It’s still not the best Carne Asada that I’ve had but it was very good. The meat was cut into small pieces but flavorful and tender too. No charred bits the way I like but that’s okay.


The Al Pastor was delicious. Like I wrote earlier, not off of a spit but still tasted excellent. Loads of pineapple and spicy flavors, and again, the salsa roja absolutely kicked this taco up a notch. Great job.


I don’t know how many other taco trucks operate in and around the Ventura County. I’m still not totally clear on all the rules, regulations and ordinances for each town and city in that regard. But, I will definitely be on the lookout for more of them.


And as far as Don Gaby’s truck is concerned, I’ll be a repeat customer. 3.5/5 stars.

LA Carreta De Don Gaby
701 East Ventura Boulevard
Oxnard, Ca 93036

Taqueria Vallarta - Ventura

 Today’s trip takes me to Taqueria Vallarta located off Main Street in downtown Ventura.

My original plan called for me to go check out Corrales off Thompson in Ventura but through my sister, I learned that they are closed on Sundays. So, I met up with my sister and brother in law at Vallarta instead.

After I got in line to order and I was trying to decide what to go with, I noticed a sign that said they had birria available today. Birria is a spicy stew that is traditionally made with goat or lamb, but in the states I’ve tried it many times made with beef.

I order 3 tacos: Carne Asada, Carnitas and Birria.

Stopping by the Salsa bar/condiment table, they had 2 salsa’s available and spicy pickled veggies too. The spicier of the 2 was kind of like a salsa roja but it was much more “watery” than salsa roja and with a milder kick, it was okay. The other salsa was adequate; it was even milder in heat then the first and not very flavorful. They were both smoky but not very impressive; I really could not pinpoint what sorts of peppers were used in either.

As far as the tacos go: Care Asada was much like the asada that I had at Somis Café a few weeks back, tender meat cut into large chunks with not much flavor, big disappointment.  Really, I don’t get it-  Carne Asada should be easy to execute in a style that is akin to “street tacos” meaning, thin meat that’s been marinating for awhile then thrown on that sizzling hot plancha (flat top) and served a little greasy and a little crispy and cut into small pieces. That’s what I’m looking for in Carne Asada, anyway.

The Carnitas were spot on: shredded pork with plenty of crispy goodness abound, excellent.

The Birria was okay. It was not as tender as I would have liked, I’m used to it falling apart it’s so tender, then melting in your mouth when eaten. it was not spicy at all, again, just okay.

All the tacos came topped with some cilantro and onions and the carnitas had chopped tomatoes on top as well.

I had a great time hanging out with my family (this is the first time that I brought the kids and wife along) but Taqueria Vallarta needs to step it up a bit. 2.5/5 stars.

Taquria Vallarta

278 Main Street

Ventura, CA 93001

Los Arroyos - Camarillo

For today’s trip, I went to a place in Camarillo called Los Arroyos. It’s located in the Camarillo Outlet Mall off of Las Posas Road.


There are other Los Arroyos restaurants located in Santa Barbara and Montecito as well. It’s a bit more upscale than the last few places that I’ve recently visited. It’s also pricy and definitely not a taqeuria, so no $1.25 tacos here.


I ordered 2 tacos, Al Pastor and Carne Asada with black beans and rice on the side. The menu is not very diverse as far as taco options are concerned but they do have other dishes on the menu that look very interesting and creative.


They do have a salsa bar there but apparently, you can’t serve yourself. You have to put in your request to the waiter and they will go get it for you. The group that I was with ordered a medium spicy salsa and a hot one, both were good. They each had plenty of heat, with the spicier of the 2 having that smokey flavor that seems to be the prerequisite in salsas with more heat. The medium spiced one was very flavorful and you could really taste the peppers that were used in its recipe. I’m guessing Serrano but I can’t be too sure.

As far as the tacos were concerned, the carne asada tasted okay. Seems like they used a thicker cut like Skirt steak to make it, it was tough to bite through and was cut into large chunks. Had some flavor but not the traditional carne asada taste I’m usually looking for.


The Al Pastor was very good; it had a pineapple flavor that I imagine came from pineapple juice dripping down the vertical rotisserie spit that the meat was hanging on to. I don’t know if it was prepared that way but again, it was very good.

The tortillas tasted handmade and had very subtle corn flavor. Not in a traditional way but in creative culinary way.

My friend from work that was part of the group I was with mentioned that his carnitas taco was a bit on the dry side and with no real crispy bits. I asked him if he needed to pour some salsa on top to “wake it up" and he said yes. That’s not good.

All of the tacos came with cilantro and onions on top, we all had to pour some salsa on our tacos before we dug in. That’s not unusual; some taquerias have salsa already on top of their tacos and some don’t.

Overall, I liked the place. Did it have the feel of a mini El Torito? Yes, a little, but like I said, it’s a restaurant not a taqueria. Good food though. 3/5 stars.






Los Arroyos
630 Ventura Boulevard
Suite 1217
Camarillo, CA 93010

Somis Cafe - Somis

Today’s journey for the ultimate taco takes me to the small town of Somis. The place is called Somis Café and is connected to the Somis Market. The cafe has been around for a real long time and there is a large latino base in this area so all the signs are positive as far as this place serving up some good food.


The café, from the inside and out certainly looks the part. Lots of Latinos eating inside, kinda run down interior, tables with old colored chairs that look like they belong in a kindergarten classroom……..everything seems good to me.

I order my tacos, except, I order one carnitas and one carne asada both of which are not on the menu. What is on the menu as an option is a ground beef taco, that’s not a good sign.


There is no salsa bar here, but as I’ve said before, it’s certainly no deal breaker. The guy waiting tables brings me a squeeze bottle filled with a sort of salsa/hot sauce and a dish  full of salsa fresco. Both of these lack any heat what so ever, very disappointing. The good thing was they had the spicy pickled veggies; like carrots and jalapenos. Cutting up one of those jalapenos at least gave me a little heat to work with. Another big letdown was the requisite (at least, in my mind) bottle of Tapatio, or some other hot sauce that should be sitting on the table but was not. If you ask for some ( as I did ) they’ll tell you they don’t have any. Yikes.

Okay, the tacos: my Carnitas were good, they were shredded and had a little crispiness to them and I would say that I liked these tacos a lot. The salsa on top was just the salsa fresco, same as what was in the dish that was put on the table. That did not add anything to the taco flavor wise. Not bad, not good, just bland.


The carne asada was really bland, just not much flavor. The meat was tender but that did not rescue this taco from blandness.

Somis Cafe did not score a lot of points with me, they have way to many things going on that are wrong. The most disappointing being that, with the overwhelming Latino population in this town you would think that the food here would really shine, and it does not.  One positive that I will give them is that the food does have a homemade type of taste. I can imagine my aunt Norma cooking in this style at her house but even my aunt knows how to add flavor, spiciness and heat to her dishes. Since I'm only commenting on the tacos, I can say, without question, that they were lacking flavor in a big way. 1.5/5 stars.

Taqueria El Taptaio - Camarillo

Before going into my first review, I wanted to touch on a few things with regards to “authentic” tacos. I’m not going be too militant about how authentic the tacos need to be but let me point out a few things that I do not want to see on my taco.

First, if I see shredded lettuce on my taco that’s minus 2 stars. To me, it doesn’t get any more un-authentic. But again, I don’t want to get to crazy with this. If it’s good its good and I will point that out if it is. But let me be clear, I do not like shredded lettuce on my tacos.

Second, there should not be any shredded cheese on my taco. Same thing applies as I mentioned for the lettuce thing, minus 2 stars for sure. Massive amounts of cheese in Mexican cuisine is something that really originates from the California/North American influence on the fare over the last 50 years or so. Yes- there are Mexican cheeses like: Cotija, Queso Blanco, Queso Feresco, Panela and others but the traditional taco does not usually have those cheeses or any other on top of it. Much less shredded American cheese. No cheese!


One more thing, I’m not going to make too much commentary on the quality of the service I get at one place or another. I just want to eat good tacos and that’s my main focus.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, the first place that I went to on my quest for excellent tacos (solely in the Ventura County) is a place called Taqueria El Tapatio, and is located in Camarillo.

El Tapatio is located off Arneill Road in a shopping center that includes a Smart and Final. It’s a small place yet has many tables to sit at. One of the things that I really like is the traditional music blaring from the juke box, it’s the kinda music one would expect playing at a taqueria. Not to mention the stuffed dead roosters mounted to the walls, that definitely makes me happy.

In any case, after ordering, I went to the salsa bar (which was pretty sparse) and helped myself to some chips and salsa. Now a salsa bar is not necessarily something that is mandatory at a taqueria but it is nice. Not sure you will find many salsa bars in taco shops located in Mexico but as Americans we’ve definitely grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle (as my wife would say). And I think all of us here in California are used to seeing them. So with that, I sat down and dug into my chips and salsa.

There were a few different options that I could have gone with but I chose their smokey dark red salsa and the salsa fresco which is pretty much like a Pico De Gallo. Both were what I would expect, very solid with the smokey red salsa standing out. It was spicy but nothing that hit you to hard, very nice. The salsas that were available were not very creative but props to them for having fresh radishes plus a variety of pickled veggies like potatoes (which I have never seen) carrots and jalapenos. Those were all especially good. The chips were okay, they were thin but tasted like they came out of a bag then put under a heating lamp.

I ordered 3 tacos (Carne Asada, Al Pastor and Carnitas) so basically steak, pork and pork. If you are not familiar with these offerings Carne Asada is a flank steak or skirt steak that has been marinated, Al Pastor is pork cooked with chilies (and traditionally cooked with pineapple too which makes the meat very tender) and Carnitas is pork cooked in a lot of lard and simmered for a while, then cooked until the outside is crispy.

My Carne Asada was great, had a nice red sauce on top that really complemented the meat but the carne asada just sold itself like it should. Al Pastor was solid with some good flavor but not as much as it could have been. The sauce on it was good but the taco itself was just adequate. The Carnitas were nice and crispy the way they are supposed to be and again, a very nice sauce on top. I do want to point out that the carnitas were not shredded, they came in cubed pieces which is fine but I do like it shredded. Keeping it cubed probably helps with getting them crispy much easier than if they were shredded. In the end, this was also a great taco.

The tortillas were warm and soft and got softer still with the warm filling inside. All the tacos came with cilantro and onions as part of the filling which to me is mandatory. All in all a nice meal.

El Tapatio has other locations in Oxnard and in Los Angeles too. It’s not the best place to get a taco in Ventura County but it’s definitely a solid choice. I would say it’s the best in Camarillo though; I will definitely go there again and again. 3/5 stars

Taqueria El Tapatio
345 Arneill Road
Camarillo, CA 93010