Alright New Jersey, we came in for round one and it was not your best showing. I will not put readers in suspense on this one. Was it Houston bad, no, by no means was it that bad. This is no Los Angeles, no San Diego, not California, heck, not even Virginia. Will I go back to this place? No. Will I give NJ another chance? You bet I will. They don't have a choice, I'm coming. This is part of the beauty of all the travels. Different tacos, different places. This place is a converted Baja Fresh. They took it over and turned it into a taqueria. They have multiple locations in the area and this is their latest addition. Easy to see this by the design.
They brighten up some of the colors which is cool. I do like the design. Very inviting. If you look closely in the back corner, I'm sure you'll know why we came here. There was mixed things said about this location, but their other locations have glowing publicity and reviews. I think that the biggest hurdle this location has is folks were trying to get to Baja Fresh and this joint is no Baja Fresh. Did you see it yet? Do you know what I'm talking about?
Winner winner, Pastor for dinner! Yes, they pride themselves on cooking on the cone. If you don't know, then you don't read this blog, but I'm a huge sucker for pastor. Especially when it is done right on the cone. The melded, marinated flavors with the sweetness being pulled straight out of the meat into your mouth, yeah, I love pastor. Does is remind me of gyro? Yes, of course. It is said that pastor was first made in Central America with Lebanese workers. After the Lebanese started making their gyro rip offs when they were working in Central America and Southern Mexico, they combined the local flavors with their style of cooking. Pastor was born. Yeah, I tear up just thinking about the story. OK, back this joint. They have a salsa bar with what they say are a variety of salsas and heat to each sauce. Their is no variety. Everything is hot. You know I love hot. I love that crazy spice. It makes me get excited, it makes me want to go back. This place was just hot though. No flavor, no excitement, just really spicy. I can eat and enjoy eating just plain peppers whether they are raw, smoked, roasted, whatever, but this was just hot. Not enjoyable, just hot.
The picture of the place looks good, but I can assure you that there is better use for kale then garnish on a sub par salsa bar. Their really is no reason for this. We have evolved and realized how good and good for you kale is and it was just insulting to see it on a salsa bar. Lets get to it.
RATINGS:
CARNITAS: 2, it was just not very good. It was not too moist or flavorful. I was disappointed in mostly every way.
CHULETA: 2, this just had pepper on it. Yeah, it was not good and I really was shocked at how disappointing this was.
ASADA: 3, about as run of the mill as you can get. It wasn't bad, but I would not go back for it.
POLLO: 3, this was pretty normal stuff. Not too good, not too bad. Don't get excited by that three, it is really not that great.
HORCHATA: 1, yeah, this was nasty. It was put in a big jug and looked like it was fresh made, but I can assure you that this is not the case. It was horrid. If it was at least rancid I could understand, but it was just really poorly made.
SALSA BAR: 2
SPICY ROJO: 2, it gets the two instead of a one because it was really hot, but not at all enjoyable. That made me sad.
MOCAJETE: 2, yeah, umm...
AVOCADO: 3, it was spicy, it was ok. The consistency was not great. It did not blow me away. It wasn't bad. Basically it was the cream of the crap.
It doesn't even look that awesome, because its not! Dude, here is the kicker. Here is what really got me even more pissed off. I get my bill and see that they took off the avocado and pico which is INCLUDED! Are you serious? You don't just take avocado off of someone's tacos without speaking to them first. I mean damn! Have you no manners? Have you no integrity? Really chaps my hide. This place just made me unhappy in every way, except for my company. I was not sick, but did not feel well all night. My stomach was unsettled and I was just miserable all night from this. What would an Order of the Taco Blog be without a gratuitous photo?
The amazing Amber Morales! BOOM. One of my favorite fellow Tacoteers. Amber is a great friend, a great colleague and a hell of a Tacoteer and trooper. We've eaten many tacos in many places in many states. Thanks for being there and a part of the journey of a taco life Amber.
Thanks for reading folks. Thanks for telling people via conversation and social media. Keep it coming, keep reading. Really, thank you.
Stay Excellent all!
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