From I-85, exit 177B Avondale Drive to right, left at fork in road,
left
at stop sign, right at first light onto Miami Blvd (70), immediately
after second light, turn left into The Village Shopping Center.
From Durham Freeway (147), exit 11 onto 55 West, turn right onto
Holloway St (98), immediately after intersection with Miami Blvd
(70),
turn left into The Village Shopping Center.
From Raleigh on 70 West, turn left onto Business 70, at intersection
with Holloway Street (98) turn right and immediately turn left into
The
Village Shopping Center.
The tacos of course are great - beautiful fresh soft corn tortillas,
a steal at $1.50 each, as are the incredibly filling tostadas
which
are a complete meal at $2.50 ea. Next time I'm getting a torta,
as we saw other folks eating them the other day and they are _huge_
and the bread looked great.
Go on weekends for specials like posole, menudo, etc. They're
open
every day but Tuesday, 11 am- to 9 pm MWR, and to 10:30 pm
Friday
& Saturday & 10 pm Sunday. Oh! Don't bypass the agua
frescas, which
change daily - we especially like the jamaica flower (which is the
same
as sorrel drink if you're into Jamaican food - in all cases we're
talking
dried hibiscus buds, the primary flavor of Red Zinger tea, if that
helps).
Free "fixin's" bar includes radishes, mexican limes, salsa fresca,
red &
green salsas, and authentic runny guacamole.
one thing: you will enjoy it much more if you speak some spanish,
or go
with someone who does. otherwise it can be somewhat difficult, as
i
quickly realized that my pidgin spanish was much better than the
cashier's
english. plus you will be able to actually somewhat converse with
the
employees and patrons, who apparently don't get many non-latinos
and
thus are super enthusiastic about welcoming you. i was told to bring
"all
my rich friends". but they swore up and down they weren't going
to
change the food to get more customers. the guy i talked to said
they would
never sell out like the el rodeos of the world- he's keeping it
real in
the nine-seven. they seem to be doing a booming business anyway.
jesus, just go already.
It's your standard storefront taqueria, except we don't have many
of
those around here, so I guess it's not standard. Run entirely by
people
who don't speak much english. The tacos are $1.50 and folded in
small,
soft, warm corn tortillas (2 per taco). I had the Carne Asada and
the
Carnitas (the salty pork). All the tacos come with a big handful
of
meat, a boatload of coarsely-shredded fresh cilantro, and onions.
You
can add salsa, though the meat is so well-seasoned that it's not
really
necessary. Even now, 7 hours later, I'm still craving more, particularly
of the Carne Asada.
Flaherty and his sister both had the burrito de carne asada, which
is a
huge (as is the standard, now, in the Triangle--think Cosmic
Cantina/L&S/Burrito Bunker size) flour tortilla stuffed with
rice, meat,
and refrieds. I also swear I saw green chiles in there, but I was
too
busy with my tacos to perform a full inquisition. The burritos come
with
homemade chips which are as good or better than Besa Mi Burro's--light,
fresh, crisp.
They've also got Tortas, which (according to the menu) are "the Mexican
improvement on the sandwich."
They're $4.75; the burritos are 5.25.
Inside the menu there are tostadas and all kinds of house specials.
They've got special weekend specials, which (much like at some
viet/chinese restaurants) get even more hardcore-authentic: Menudo
(beef tripe stew), Pozole (pork and hominy soup), etc.
Don't bother going if you're vegetarian, as I would *guess* that
the
frijoles refritos are cooked with animal fat of some kind, and there's
nothing much else on the menu that doesn't directly involve meat.
They *do* have both Lengua and Cabeza (that would be beef tongue
and
cheek, respectively).
I think they've just replaced at least a couple of spots on my weekly
lunch rotation, for sure.
They're closed on Tuesdays.
One other thing: There is a big sign (en espanol) which reminds patrons
of their 3-beer limit, which I suspect might be the result of a
few too
many dudes having a few too many. So if you're uncomfortable around
drunk people speaking spanish, be warned. There was nobody drunk
there
during the day, but I don't know about night-time.
Not that there's any reason to be uncomfortable around drunk people
speaking spanish. But you know your tolerances better than I do.