LEO/HotBytes review: Two taquerias

[Robin Garr]

Feeling offal? Check out your local taqueria

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr



Menudo, the fabulously strong flavored and fiery Mexican stew made from pork chitlins ("chitterlings," to the prissy, or, if you insist on a definition in English, pork intestines) is one of the world's most trusted hangover cures.

This may relate to the truth that, no matter how bad you feel, if you can hold down a stenchy ration of menudo, you can probably hold down just about anything.

Be that as it may, taquerias traditionally offer menudo as a cheap special on Saturday mornings, ready and waiting as a healthy antidote for the morning after the night before.

If you're really craving Mexican chitlins after reading all this, though, you don't have to wait for Saturday. You can head on over to El Mariachi in the East End or El Molcajete in the South End right now and summon a brace of Mexican-style tacos de tripas - yep, chitlins tacos - for around 2 bucks a taco.

In fact, if you're feeling just offal, El Molcajete in particular offers an unusual collection of organ-meat tacos. At $2 per, you can go for the aforementioned tripa; or lengua (beef tongue), buche (beef stomach) or even cesos (brains). No extra charge for three colors of spicy salsitas in hefty squeeze bottles.

So, you're probably asking, how does all that stuff taste? Well. Um. Okay, we had a couple lengua tacos. If one of you guys wants to try brains or any of those other innards, send me an Email and tell me about it. For us, having sampled one food item that came out of an animal's mouth, we decided to play it safe and finish up with some eggs. Er, huevos. ...


Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/feeli ... l-taqueria
And in LEO Weekly:
http://leoweekly.com/dining/feeling-off ... l-taqueria

El Mariachi
9901 Lagrange Road
413-5770
http://elmariachilouisville.com
Robin Garr's rating: 85 points

El Molcajete
2932 S. 4th St.
638-0300
http://facebook.com/elmolcajetelouisville
Robin Garr's rating: 85 points

-10 pts for the horrible pun and -25pts for going back to the well a second time and using it in the main text.

For shame.

[Robin Garr]

For shame.

At least I didn't go to the breast feeding meme.

[Robin Garr]

For shame.

At least I didn't go to the breast feeding meme.

Although now that I mention it, it might be fun to find a way to get to it - ironically, of course - in a future column ...

steer clear, matey, those be troubled waters no matter how seafaring ye vessel might be!

No brain? It isn't that bad...

Great article, I need to go to El Molcajete... it is clear to me now.

No offense whatsoever to your review (do reviews get offended?), but I thought where El Mariachi is concerned, the CJ review better captured the hit-and-miss nature of the service. Since it sounds like you plan on visiting again, you might end up experiencing it, too.

Not sure if they've changed management or not. I've gone there for years but the manager I'm used to seeing hasn't been there the last two trips. I used to enjoy going there for a beer and tacos before more local pubs started getting soccer-friendly. Since I usually sat at the bar, the service wasn't much of an issue. This last time, the bar was packed, so I sat at a table, watching the waitress and manager just dithering around the bar for about 10 minutes before the waitress finally came over to my table.

I ordered some combination of carnitas and asada tacos when the waitress brought my ice water and salsa. By the time I saw her again, with my dinner in hand, the table was half covered with water because the plastic cup she had brought me had a hole in it. At least it was a leak rather than a spill, so I was able to keep most of it away from me with the paper napkin I had been given. She was appropriately apologetic when I pointed it out, and quickly returned with another cup -- filled with room-temperature water and no ice. And that was the last time I saw her.

Had one taco, was good as usual, just like the salsa and chips are always good. Second taco, two bites in, and my teeth crunch down on a piece of cartilage/gristle that was about a third the size of a golf ball. Ugh. So freaking nasty, especially having to deal with it with no napkin after having not been giving a replacement from when I used the first as a tsunami-stopper. I poke around the taco and there are a bunch of smaller pieces of cartilage in there as well. The warm water naturally did nothing to relieve the revulsion I was feeling, so, appetite completely lost, my greasy fingers and I waited for the waitress to return. And we waited. And waited.

I finally had to get the person who appeared to be the manager, and I explained to her why I wouldn't be leaving any tip, and why I'd only be willing to pay for a third of the bill. (There were three tacos to the order, and I had eaten one.) I was honestly surprised she expected me to pay anything for that experience, but pay I did, and it'll likely be the last money that they see from me. The spotty service I could always deal with, because the people there were friendly and I previously liked my tacos and salsa, and I believe in second chances, but that last taco was so gross that my stomach does involuntary flips whenever I think about the place. It's been about three weeks since then. Too soon, man. Too soon.

[Robin Garr]

Good review, Stuart, thanks! Actually, I've been off and on and haven't had really awful service, but I would add that I don't expect the same level of elegance, or pacing, at a taqueria as I might at a fancier place. (Not suggesting that you do, but I felt this was worth saying.)

Go back again? I could get used to that idea!

Robin-
I'm thankful you did an offal review at El Molcajete. Most readers won't be so interested in such tripe, which is good, because I don't want to be crowded out of this place by newbies going for the rest of the great stuff they offer!

Robin-
I'm thankful you did an offal review at El Molcajete. Most readers won't be so interested in such tripe, which is good, because I don't want to be crowded out of this place by newbies going for the rest of the great stuff they offer!

Very good