Sorry for the delay on this new feature. I went to El Paisa yesterday but am just getting a free moment to tell you about it today. I was in the mood for tacos so I started trolling the interwebs. Over on the Eats blog, one of LB’s posts about tacos got a few comments, and a couple of people recommended El Paisa. They said it was good, clean, and cheap, so I looked it up and we headed out to Harry Hines and Northwest Highway. Please don’t be put off by the bars on the windows and doors. This restaurant is very cute (and clean) inside, with plenty of Mexican tchotchkes on the walls, a handfull of booths and tables, and a bar full of condiments and salsas. Almost everyone was speaking Spanish (a good thing). El Paisa offers several different kinds of tacos for $1.25. I chose the barbacoa and the carnitas, on corn tortillas. I asked the woman at the counter if they made their tortillas in house. She shook her head. Not a good sign, I thought, but we would see how it went anyway. Jump for pics.
These are my tacos (barbacoa on left, carnitas on right). I topped them with cilantro, onions, a little bit of jalapeno and tomato, and a squeeze of lime. The same person who recommended El Paisa on the Eats blog had recommended the carrot relish, as well, so I ordered that too (it’s in the cup). The barbacoa meat was my favorite. The shredded beef was very tender and not greasy, with the right amount of salt. The carnitas, on the other hand, needed more salt. The chunks of fat weren’t off-putting to me (moo) but my friend didn’t care for them. I love cilantro, and it was a great contrast to the rich meat. The tacos came with two tortillas each, and they were heated, so at least they had the temperature of house-made. The store bought tortillas didn’t take away from the experience, but they didn’t enhance it, either. They were simply the wrapper for the fillings. The carrot relish was way too hot for me. It was made of thin carrot slices, chunks of jalapeno, and slivers of onion. I ate a carrot, and it tasted just like a jalapeno (from sharing the juices of the jalapeno for days or weeks during pickling). I’m also kind of a wimp when it comes to hot things. My friend ate some of it, and although he coughed the whole way home because his mouth was still on fire, he only gave it a 3 out of 5 on a heat scale (5 being a habanero sauce his friend’s mother used to make to put on top of cabbage soup when he was growing up).
Lunch total: $3.25. I wasn’t stuffed-to-the-gills full, but I was pleasant. Probably that place you’re supposed to be instead of where I usually am. Would I go back? Yes…though I wish they made their own tortillas. But I liked both of my tacos, the price was right, the place was clean, and the menu was full of other things I like (quesadillas, burritos, and menudo on the weekends). The breakfast tacos are supposed to be great. Oh–there is a drive-through as well.
El Paisa, 10091 Harry Hines. 214-366-9789.
