Mission Taqueria

1516 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 383-1200
Website

I have been to Mission Taqueria a few times, specifically for Happy Hour, and I have yet to be disappointed. Located near my favorite Center City watering hole, Oscar's Tavern, and newcomer falafel/tahini shake spot Goldie, this upstairs eatery is easy to walk past if you are not paying attention. The discount offerings make this a fantastic place for after work boozing, and the snacks are all on point as well.

$2 tacos include carnitas and chicken, and they are each a steal.

The carnitas touts pulled pork, salsa verde, and pickled red onion on a small, well made corn tortilla. Simple taco heaven.

The chicken is garnished with guajillo-garlic glaze, salsa fresca, and cotija cheese. Tender, smoky chicken, and cool cotija mix well. Another $2 winner.

The wings have a pineapple habanero glaze, and are only $5 for the 5-7pm drinking slot. A very reasonable price for the complex and well rendered wings.

Likely my favorite of the lot was the fresh fried chicharron with spicy queso seasoning. Like eating the best cheeto you have ever tasted. Hot, light, extremely crispy. and salty, the ultimate drinking snack. $4 and worth every cent. Seriously addictive. However be careful, as it IS possible to have too many of these, but it will cost you about $12.

Taco Shop

1288 Hornet Road
Rio Grande, NJ 08242
(609) 600-2961
Website

Cape May Brewing is a fantastic off-the-beach shore stop. A wide selection of good beer, the only thing missing was something to eat. Until Taco Shop opened next door, that is. In the same industrial area that the brewery operates, a number of small shops have taken root.

Taco Shop has a small menu, with standard burrito, bowl, quesadilla, taco options and then a choice of protein for each. When I saw they were hand making the tortillas for the tacos, I figured a sampler was in order.

Place an order, step next door to the brewery and have a beer while you wait, then pop back in, pick it up, and head back to the bar.

I got some tacos, a special shrimp tostada, and some street corn.

From left are the mole chicken, the carne asada, and the chorizo.

The "De Chorizo Casero" consists of housemade chorizo, salsa roja, and xni-pec (pronounced shneee pec) has Mayan roots, and refers to a wet dogs nose, a reference to the runny nose you will have from this spicy habanero hot sauce. While I didn't find this particularly hot, I did rather enjoy the chorizo. While I generally like my chorizo rendered down and grilled hard, this had lots of flavor and a great texture.

"De Carne Asada" taco was garnished with cherry tomato, avocado, pickled red onion, and creamy chimichurri. The brisket was nicely crisped, and well rendered, but it was lacking a strong punch of flavor. The topping worked well together, but I was looking for a deeper, more beefy experience (perhaps adding some stock or boullion to the braise mixture would work). Certainly it was still good, but the flavor was a bit subdued as opposed to what I expected.

Meanwhile, "De Pollo" was well shredded chicken, simply garnished with mole poblano. pickled red onion, and queso fresco. Again, everything was fresh, well thought out, and assembled with care, but it was lacked the depth of flavor I expect from mole. It had no distinct, characteristic flavor, such as nutty, chocolaty, etc.

The shrimp tostada was my favorite of the protein (a special), because of the chiptole mayo. That stuff was like crack. A crisp tostada flat topped with avocado, tender shrimp, queso, and crema. The stuff dreams are made of.

Finally the street corn. Chipotle mayo (fantastic), crema, queso, El Muerto salt (red flakes below, absolutely delicious, you can buy it here), lime, and cilantro. I loved this street corn. The spicy mayo and El Muerto made it stand out from the dozens of variations I have tried, and numerous versions made myself. They might bump the flavor up a bit on some of the offerings (though I imagine they are catering to a specific niche, but overall, this is a SOLID place to eat when quaffing some delicious Cape May Brewery beers.

World of Beer

Main Street at Exton
102 Main St #100
Exton, PA 19341
(610) 991-2863
Website

World of Beer is a smallish chain that has been in Exton since 2016. They offer 50 beers on tap with all kinds of variety, including many limited releases. The venue itself is large with plenty of seating, and a large wrap around bar. The outdoor area has fires going with cornhole, jumbo Jenga and inviting couches for extended lounging.

Photo by Pete Bannan / DailyLocal.com

Most importantly, they have tater tots. Specifically, tater tots topped with homemade beer cheese, jalapeños, crispy bacon, scallions & sour cream. The tots were perfectly fried, and the beer cheese was incredibly addictive.

It was an unusually refreshing pile of fried potatoes.

The wings were next up. I got a mix of Garlic Parmesan and Korean Spicy, which is basically a thick and slightly sweet gochujang sauce. The garlic parm were rendered out and left a crispy skin. The sauce itself was nicely flavored without being a garlic bomb. My personal favorites (as usual) were the gochujang version. Sticky, sweet, and packing heat, the scallion greens were a nice contrast and added some cooling crunch.

Are those garlic or parm flecks? Who knows. Just eat them.

The Chimay burger ($5 on Monday nights) comes with a fresh Angus beef burger piled high with Chimay Classique cheese, sautéed mushrooms, & caramelized onions. Served on a brioche bun with house-made Chimay sauce.

Although my medium rare was over cooked, the flavor the was still there. The sauce was rich and the brioche held everything together.

The apple and kale coleslaw was a nice variation on the fries, tater tots, wings, and burger I had already consumed. Crunchy, fresh, and just enough dressing.

I was not finished yet, however. The crispy chicken sliders came with beer-brined chicken breast, fried crisp, southern style with dill pickles & local IPA sauce served on two toasted brioche buns. Yet another winner. These were perfect if you didn't want to overdo it on food (but still wanted to overdo the beer).

The IPA sauce helped keep this from being dry, and the pickle cut the fried breading and bread itself with some acidity.

The street tacos were also pretty good (there was definitely no beer-fueled favoritism going on at this point). Below is the beef barbacoa, beer battered shrimp, and beer brined fried chicken from the left. They are offered with either the house made ranch (fried chicken) or the Sriracha lime aioli (the rest). All did the trick, and it was a fair deal at $11. Plus they were not stingy with the queso fresco.

As if there were not enough food at this outing, the Guinness-infused Bratwurst with sauerkraut, sautéed onions & peppers and  house mustard in a toasted hoagie roll was the grand finale. This, like the burgers, is $5 on Monday nights. The sausage was hearty, juicy, and had a nice snap to the casing. Nothing to complain about.

Basically, this place is great if you are looking for an alternative to Victory in Downingtown, who has consistently fallen off with their food execution. Plus you can drink most of the special Victory brews here for cheaper. What's not to like?

La Cabra Brewing

642 Lancaster Ave.
Berwyn, PA 19312
(610) 240-7908
Website

La Cabra has gotten some recent publicity, so I figured it was about time that I gave it a write up myself. I love the Berwyn Tavern and this place is literally across the street. Damn Berwyn, who would have thought you would have two of the best bars in the burbs?

The bar itself has an old industrial vibe inside, with high ceilings, complemented with brick and wood accents. Also the upstairs has all kinds of games like darts, Bimini Ring Toss and the recent addition of fooseball (:-O). I loved it at first sight. The beers are delicious and they are constantly unveiling new releases. I went from hoppy to malty and back, and was pleased with every choice. Not to mention the bar food.

The garlic truffle Parmesan wings were fantastic. Sous vide cooked and then fried to a perfect crispiness, they were some of my favorites I have had in a while. Seven wings for $9 is a bit spendy, but given the size and prep that went into them, I had no complaints.

Look at that rendered out skin, fried to a crackling crisp.

The micro greens made it so I was basically eating a salad, which was nice for those counting calories.

Another guilt-free snack was the frisee salad served with crispy pork belly, chipotle honey, goat cheese, jalapeño bacon and a citrus aioli. Not a typo, the pork belly comes with bacon lardons. The belly was sous vide until tender as well, and then crisped up, notice a trend? This was sweet, salty, crispy, fatty and the frisee really did help cut the heaviness.

Basically the healthiest thing I have eaten in 2017.

Finally, the brisket tacos. These are accompanied by potato plantain hash, cilantro, and mole BBQ. Well at least I think they are. I didn't get any hash or cilantro. I DID get a hell of a lot of brisket though. So no complaints. The brisket was tender, and the mole sauce was sweet and smokey. The tortillas were quite good, with a nice toast to them. Thick salty chips with some salsas were the perfect accompaniment.

Perhaps the most amazing part is the crowler. I am easily amused, to be sure, but the ability to get a 32oz can of beer from the tap sealed on the spot to take home is a godsend. Who the hell ever remembers a growler. I have at least a half dozen at home I neglect to bring with me, despite the fact that I visit some type of brewery or place that fills them at least once a week.

You might drive past La Cabra (the goat) without knowing it. But you would be doing your palate a disservice.

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.