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The Search for Tacos Dorados (Part 3)
Posted on Thursday, June 18 @ 20:16:28 PDT
Topic: Mexican
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In Part 3, we take a look at La Jaivita, Mattito's, Desperados, Escondido Restaurant, and Tupinamba Restaurant. On to the food...
La Jaivita. 6839 Harry Hines Boulevard.
La Jaivita on Harry Hines has been packing in customers for nearly 25 years with a mariscos-oriented menu and no shyness with the deep fryer. Witness their tacos marineros. The "closed" style tacos were beautifully fried, very near the ideal sweet spot between crispness and chew. Each taco held shreds of tender, seasoned catfish. The tacos were served with crisp, skin-on fries and two breaded-and-fried, shrimp-stuffed, pickled jalapenos. For those who want something unfried, there's a small garnish of iceberg, purple onion, and tomato. Two tacos per order at lunch. A bargain at $7.35. (Dinner portion is $9.95.)
Mattito's. 3011 Routh Street.
Though not on the menu, Mattito's will do fried tacos upon request. When I asked the waiter if they were deep-fried, he said they weren't. He explained that deep-frying would make the tacos very greasy; so, instead, they griddle the tortilla with a little oil to form the shell. I had some doubts about that theory--about whether a griddle with a puddle of oil would generate the heat necessary to dehydrate and crisp the shell--but went ahead and placed the order.
The tacos that arrived didn't support his claim about the superiority of griddling. The yellow corn tortillas had been griddled into an "open" form. They were extremely greasy, lacking in crispness, and unpleasantly chewy. The shells were filled with lightly-seasoned ground beef, along with shredded iceberg, industrial cheddar, and diced tomato. The plate included beans and heavily chili-powdered rice. The method is close enough to the old "tongs and a skillet" technique that Mattito's qualifies as having crispy tacos fried to order. They're just not very good, nor are they cheap. Three tacos to the order. $10.58.
Desperados. 4818 Greenville Avenue.
Desperados doesn't have fried tacos as a daily menu item, though they're available as a lunch special on Thursdays, listed as "tacos fritos." (I haven't asked, but they might be willing to make them on other days, without the "lunch special" pricing.) The tacos are somewhat puzzling, in that the shells were "open," yet it seemed they were possibly fried with the meat inside like a "closed" style taco dorado.
Regardless, the shells were good. White corn tortillas (hoorah!) were fried crisp, without crossing into crunchiness, with just a little softness in the belly of the taco. The flavorful shredded brisket was tender enough to be bitten through easily. (Some of the better meat in this series, actually.) Side salad had iceberg, tomato, white onion, cilantro, and crumbled queso fresco. The lunch special included mild rice and a pleasant pinto bean soup. One of the better options out there. Two tacos to an order. Another great deal at the lunch special price of $6.99.
But, before moving on, I should also briefly note the "Desperado tacos" (also pictured at the top of this report). They are crispy fried tacos, but with an unabashedly Tex-Mex slant. Large flour tortillas of better-than-average quality (though not house-made) are fried into a V-shaped "open" form, then filled with grilled fajitas, pico, melted Jack, and avocado, with garnishes of iceberg, onion, tomato, and cilantro. Frying gives the flour tortillas an interesting flakiness, without imparting too much grease. Though my preference lies with the more traditional "tacos fritos" at Desperados, it's not hard to see the appeal of the Desperados tacos. Two large and filling tacos per order. $7.29 on the lunch menu.
Escondido Restaurant. 2210 Butler Street.
Escondido features crispy tacos on their "Rosita's" combo platter. The "open" style yellow corn shells had enough soft greasiness to the belly to suggest they might have been fried meat-in. The greasy ground beef was mealy-textured and heavily seasoned. (A little too close to the corporate taco profile for my taste.) Some shredded iceberg and a few bits of diced tomato topped the beef. Undistinguished rice and beans. Two tacos to an order. The pricing isn't bad, at $6.95, but the quality is fairly mediocre.
Tupinamba Restaurant. 12270 Inwood Road.
Tupinamba offers a wide variety of fried taco-like dishes: Tupy tacos, puff tacos, crispy shell tacos, tacos San Antonio (i.e., fried flour tortillas), chalupas, flautas, and Tupy chalupas (i.e., a flour tortilla). The closest fit to what I'm looking for were the Tupy tacos, with deep fried corn tortilla shells. Even so, they were miles away from what I want. The yellow corn tortillas were competently fried in an "open" style, though with the filling inside.
But, man, what a filling. Recalling the atrocity of El Fenix's "picadillo meat," this gloppy substance had the consistency and flavor of mashed potatoes, mixed with a little beef, bell pepper, and taco seasoning. Though not as revolting as El Fenix's version, it's still quite off-putting (unless your taste buds perk up at the thought of a Swanson Salisbury steak dinner taking a spin in a Cuisinart). The plate came with a large pile of lettuce, with a little tomato and cheese. No rice or beans. Three tacos (too many) per order. The price, $8.95.
Astonishing that Tupinamba and El Fenix both consider beef so precious that they have to resort to fillers, yet they charge more for fried tacos than most Dallas restaurants that serve them, even though most of their competitors are including sides of rice and/or beans. (They'd be better off dropping the meat pretense and just making tacos de papas.)
The Search for Tacos Dorados: Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5....
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