Taco Threekend

Friday Esquina. http://www.esquinalawrence.com/MENU.html

I had heard mixed reviews for this new taco stand. Opened by the Burger Stand people, why isnt it The Taco Stand? I guess they want up-scale, and that is one of the complaints, "$3 tacos!" Well, I had the 3 tacos com, choosing

1. Steak
   

2. with chimichurri sauce, spicy peppers, onions and potatoes

1. Peruvian Potato
   

2. roasted purple potatoes, roasted garlic purée, poblano-corn salsa

   1. Chicken
      

   2. salsa verdé, queso fresco, tomatillo relish and toasted almonds

      
      

Each very good on their own , making a quite a nice meal. Chips and Salsa while we waited was appreciated, since it was EOF night and way past dinner time. The plate came with my 3 tacos in bed of red cabbage, pretty and functional, holding the tacos together. The Potato came highly recommended, and did not disappoint. Kind of like tasty and colorful garlicky smashed (rough mashed) potatoes with a nice garnish served in soft corn tortilla's. Steak taco was good, but came in last place on this plate. I have been known to pour salsa/taco/hot sauce on all of my mexican foods, but these tacos didn't need it. A little dab of the tasty salsa on the steak was about all the adulteration my dinner required. The Chicken was my fave! Salsa verde and tomatillo relish, if you have been following you know how I feel about green, were just delightful! Fresh and tangy with shredded chicken and tortillas that didn't disintegrate when picked up, yummy! Only downside to the meal was the Dos Equis lager that they had to build for me like a Guinness. Not quite cold enough and foamy, but a nice compliment to the tacos. My friend had a Dark n' Stormy, an illegal one, since it Goslings Rum has registered the name, and there wasn't Goslings Rum in the drink. Despite that, it was very good, lending the credit to the Goya brand Ginger Beer I saw poured into it. I will have to go back sometime just for that, and have a taco just because!

Saturday Border Bandito. Border Bandito has been around forever. There is a list of restaurants in Lawrence that have failed in the 35 years or so they have been open. The 3 pages read like a trip down memory lane, some good, some bad memories. Though all the changes in Lawrence, this place has stayed the same. Same blurry TV. Same self-serve soda fountain with Pepsi products. Same Taco Bar, menu, decor, and the owner still assembling the burritos himself. Ahhh. I used to go here regularly for cheap Texas Burritos Sunday special. We had a group that would desend on the place and devour our burritos and countless sodas and leave nearly cleaned plates in our wake. Good cheap dinner. They are no longer open on Sunday's, so I guess there is change, and the prices have gone up, but the Burritos match those of my memories. The Texas Burrito is a huge flour tortilla wrapped around beef, beans, cheese, sour cream (I get the combo) and covered in a red sauce resulting in a foot of smothered burrito goodness! Grab a free basket of fresh tortilla chips and a bottle of the hot sauce and head for a table or booth and prepare to dig in. Half a bottle of the yummy hot sauce goes on the burrito. They have a mild sauce I have never had, and a green sauce that I think is just ground jalapeños, plenty hot but not quite the flavor I am going for here. The chips make nice scoops and pushers to get the burrito on the fork and in the mouth, this is not a pick-up-and-eat burrito! Fifteen minutes later I am resisting the temptation to like the last of the sauce off my plate, knowing that I better get up and start moving before I get stuck in the booth. MMM,mmm, MMM. The Taco Bar is also pretty good, with seasoned ground beef and chicken fillings for hard shells, soft shells, buns or taco salad shells and an extensive salad bar for your fixin's then queso dip and chili con carne to top if off. Available side dishes of little fried burritos, tater tots and sopapilla anchor the feast, and on weekend you can get enchiladas, too. Retro Mexican food (before everything was covered in cheese) that is coming back in style.

Sunday Tortas Jalisco. This is now my favorite Mexican in town! I liked my meal (Carnivorous Combo) so much, I made it the destination of my B-day dinner when I had another profoundly tasty meal (Fish Tacos Diablo). Quick descriptions, the Combo has thin sliced beef and pork steaks, seasoned and grilled, served with rice, beans, avocado salad, jalapeño and warmed tortillas. The Fish tacos were cubed Mahi-mahi marinated in diablo sauce then grilled and served in soft corn tortilla filled with pico de gallo and beans and rice. I like foods that allow me to get my hands messy and both of these are multiple napkin meals. I sliced the meats and put a couple pieces on part of a tortilla with a little beans, slices of jalapeño and avocado and some of their spicy salsa.. yummy! The jalapeño has been slightly cook somehow, to soften the outside skin while leaving the inside hot and fresh, a magical thing. At the B-day dinner at least 5 people pleased they ordered this after my endorsement. The Fish tacos were what I want when I think of fish tacos. 1- corn tortillas, 2- grilled fish (not fried), 3- spicy (without having to add anything) and the pico was delicious, a little saucy with chunk of stuff including pineapple which perfectly complimented the heat of the diablo sauce.

Not one to normally get desert at a taqueria, both that where brought out where excellent. Little triangle unstuffed sopapias and some lady finger/cheese caky things were shared with the table and elicited raves.

OK, so that is the end of my 9 days of tacos. I missed a day, but the first friday's dinner was unexpected bonus. Learned from this was that while quick and cheap, fast food tacos are just that, fast food, and you get what you pay for.

Viva Tacos!!