Jaco Taco

21 W State Street
Media, PA 19063
(484) 444-2839
Website

There is a Jaco Taco in West Chester I had passed by on weekend strolls a few times, but never had the want/need to try. Mainly because it is a taco and JUICE BAR. While I am no stranger to some authentic fresh juice with my tacos, this was the yuppie version. That being said, I decided to give the Media outpost a shot.

The interior is nice, with a bar or high tops to sit at and your food is complemented with some New Jersey hot sauce, Hank Sauce.

The "Baco" juice drink boasts fresh squeezed OJ, carrot and ginger. I was here for a late breakfast, so I figured I would give it a go. Surprisingly my body reacted perfectly okay to the healthiest thing I have consumed in 2017.

To round it out, I got some tacos. And a burrito. From the top and going clockwise, a "Froman" burrito, a "Baco" taco, a pulled pork street taco, and an adoba chicken taco.

The "Baco" taco was shockingly my favorite. Avocado, sweet onion, tomato, sweet corn, cotija cheese, tomatillo salsa and roasted poblano crema, this one had the flavor that I wanted. Which was "a lot". The sweet corn and roasted poblano crema had the sweet and savory, with some tomatillo salsa bringing just a touch of heat. Can't believe the meatless thing was my fave.

The adoba chicken (hiding under that cabbage) had quality chicken, but it was dry and somewhat bland. This was kind of rectified by the addition of hot sauce, but this should have brought some chipotle fire. Braised chicken, cabbage slaw, cotija cheese, tomatillo salsa and roasted poblano crema should not be mild in flavor.

I could have used some more cheese too. It was lost in the jazz cabbage.



On to the Tijuana street taco with pulled pork. The pork was nicely rendered, but had a serious lack of salt. I want my pork salty, crispy and decadent. They did fine on the crispy edges, but this was again lacking any "pop". I did appreciate the nod to street fare.

The "Froman" burrito features scrambled organic egg, chorizo, potatoes, caramelized onions and blended cheese. This was a pretty tasty breakfast burrito, with the addition of some salsa it was livened right up.

Don't mind the color, just add some red salsa and ask for a side of the poblano crema.

Overall, they had a decent thing going here. If they jacked up the spice beyond basic gringo, I might be a regular.

Tacos El Rodeo

(food truck)
1000 Washington Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(267) 997-3415
Facebook

Always on the lookout for top notch Mexican, I had seen/heard about the Tacos El Rodeo, and it got rave reviews, so I figured it was worth a try. My consensus, however, is that it needs to try harder. There were a surprising number of walk-up patrons at 5 PM on a Saturday, including a cook from Paesano's. He said it was hands down the best in the city. I immediately regretted ordering only three tacos and a burrito.

It had potential, with a spit of al pastor, and friendly folks working inside. Not to mention the sweet-ass mural covering the truck itself. A real beaut.

I took my offerings to Garage, which not only boasts a rotating food cart inside, but allows all outside food as well. I was excited for the fiesta about to transpire on my taste buds, but was left with a flavor siesta instead.

The burrito was well wrapped, the lard-infused tortilla looked so very promising – glistening in the setting sunlight, I could almost taste the fatty flavor. The inside had a sufficient amount of al pastor, but everything else must have gotten run out of flavor town.

The al pastor was chewy and mostly gristle; the rest of the components were just bland and kind of mushy. I wondered if they had run out of salt. The rice was missing that 'cooked with bouillon' flavor. Even the hot sauce had little to no spice, and was a watered down version of the traditional Mexican sauces I know and love. That tortilla was pretty much the most flavorful item.

The chicken tacos were equally as underwhelming. Sure, they were a deal at $2 a pop, but having eaten hundreds of street tacos (I spent my drinking years out west), these were just so boring. The avocado was a nice touch, but I couldn't get any bit excited about these. The chicken pieces were also without any noticeable flavor and again, the tortillas may have been the stand-out flavor. So disappointing.

I mean, when you're slingin' your wares in the hotbed of Mexican restaurants, you can't perform so lazily with seasonings. The people working were VERY nice, but my itch was not scratched. Maybe I caught them on an off day, or maybe I have become spoiled with my go-to spots around the city. I'll stick to my favorites for now...

Don Gabriel

611 W Strasburg Rd.
West Chester, PA 19380
(610) 431-3212
Website

I was told West Chester had some great Mexican spots, so I thought I would start with the popular Don Gabriel. It's located in what was obviously a WAWA in it's former life.

It had all of the makings of a great spot. No frills seating, a small grocery store inside, and chips and salsa.

A kitchen with various pots of bubbling sauces and stews.

And fresh guacamole.

The guac was good. The chips were medicore. But they were not a show stopper. The salsas, while plentiful, all lacked acidity and salt.

The pork tamale was decent, nothing to write home about. Confusingly, I had a previously frozen sweet corn tamale sample at Trader Joe's recently that far surpassed this offering.

The sope was good, like a salad on a masa disc. I liked the cotija, but again, nothing was too impressive with this item.

I felt the taco trio would be a good way to try some of my favorite meat varieties. The chorizo was good, the barbacoa had all the trappings of good 'coa, but the chicken was extremely bland and dry. In addition, why were they served with lemon slices? The lime shortage?

The torta was the biggest winner of the group. I got the al pastor, and although the bread could have been better, it had all the necessary requirements. I would order this again, if I were ever forced back here.

Probably the biggest disappointment was the mole. It had a couple of whole pieces of chicken in a rather bland sauce, lacking the complexity and depth of traditional mole. I would pass next time.

I just didn't find anything to love at Don Gabriel, and ended up spending over $40 in disappointment. I have heard West Chester has great Mexican, so where is it?

Union Taco

712 W Girard Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(267) 455-0445
Website

I read somewhere (FB) that a new spot was opening at 7th and Girard and for their inaugural lunch, they were handing out free tacos. Now, this is a long way from my office in Center City, but when I read that, "Attendees get two tacos on the house," (thank you Michael Klein) AND that "Opening torta and taco options include Pork Carnitas with Pomegranate, Spinach and Barbeque Sauce; Sliced Kobe Beef with Figs and Housemade Tres Queso; Flash Fried Mahi-Mahi with Soy Ginger, Carrot Slaw and Cabbage; Grilled Seasonal Vegetables with Huitlacoche; Pork Cheeks with Pickled Tomatillo Salsa and Pork Jus; and Pulled Chicken with Chile Relish," I COULDN'T RESIST THE TREK.

UGH. So there I was. All the way up in no man's land, expecting to get two mouthwateringly described tacos from a joint whose logo is more like that of a tattoo parlor than an eatery. And so we entered.

There were a bunch of people there and when I got to the counter, they took my name, not my order. If you don't already recognize it, this is Tiffin's old pizza shop. I was a big fan of the Tiffin pizzas, but I guess they closed up shop. Now, if you know something I don't know about Tiffin, Etc. do share...

5 minutes later, my name was called and I got ONE taco. One chicken taco, which I guess had chile relish and some crema. Now, the reason you see two here is because I convinced a coworker to make the destination lunch trip with me - we both had high hopes.

Alas, we were thoroughly let down. Bland and slopped together with old iceberg and a random smattering of other chopped bits, it was not very memorable. Mind you, this was three weeks ago, but my notes remind me of the vividly disappointing memory well enough.

Maybe they've improved, maybe their food is better than it was on opening day, we all know how that goes, but the false advertising is what really let me down the most. The sweet painting was no consolation.

If you make a public claim, you'd better stand by your word. It is this failure to fulfill their announcement and their delivery of one (well two in this case) flavorless taco that leaves Union Tacos at the lowest end of my list of recommendations.