El Chilito #2 - Oxnard

Well, when I see an advertisement in the VC Reporter that reads like this:

It definitely perks my interest, which is why I'm at El Chilito in Oxnard for this post.

In any case, my co-worker buddy, Martin, came with me to check this place out. For some reason, through all of my other taco adventures in Oxnard I've missed this joint. Which is weird since I drive right past it all the time on Oxnard boulevard.

One of the interesting things about El Chilito is that they claim to have a "taquero" outside the premises in the parking lot on Fridays and on the weekends who dishes up fresh tacos right off a mobile plancha and al pastor tacos off a Trompo.

I think that only occurs at night though since I didn't see anything set up out on the parking lot when I got there at noon, oh well.

Another thing that I did not know before hand was the fact that its more of a restaurant/sit down type of place with one of the ladies behind the counter taking our order at the table rather than ordering at the counter. They even served us a complementary bowl of chips and dipping salsa.

So, I order 4 tacos: 2 al pastor, 1 cabeza, 1 carnitas and I think that Martin (also ordered 4) had carne asada, carnitas and 2 al pastor.

Starting with the carnitas taco: I thought it was really bland and dry. It was of the shredded variety but it just lacked flavor in a big way. Not much else to write on this other than it was a big disappointment.

The al pastor tacos were nice; tender and cooked adobado/Ventura County style with hints of pineapple through out. Nothing to amazing here just an adequate to solid taco.

The cabeza was definitely the standout; very moist and tender with loads of flavor and absolutely no tangy taste. Again, it was pretty good and I highly recommend this taco to anyone who is a big fan of cabeza.

Martin didn't have much to report from his end other than to say roughly the same things about all of his tacos as I did: nothing exciting at all but he thought the al pastor was very good.

Speaking of al pastor, I obviously couldn't tell if they were carved off of a trompo or not since the kitchen area was totally hidden from sight. The pic on the advertisement had me hoping that I was gonna hit pay dirt with some delicious al pastor. But alas, that was not the case. Also, I'm not saying that having pork roasting on a rotisserie will yield sweet tasting al pastor but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

A few more notes: tortillas sucked, salsa roja on the tacos was not spicy and didn't "add" anything and I completely missed out on a nice looking salsa bar. On a totally positive note, they threw some grilled onions on my plate that were pretty tasty when I topped a few of my tacos with them. And, the tacos are $1.00 each.

Okay, so I really feel like El Chilito is a place that I need to re-try down the road. I'd like to be here when the taquero is outside wheeling and dealing tacos. I'd also like to take their salsa bar home with me. 2.5/5 stars

El Chilito #2

733 South Oxnard Boulevard

Oxnard, Ca 93030