Tacos Corona, Lake Balboa, CA

This blog is a long time coming.  Tacos Corona has been on my radar for a while.  I've been here, just not in a while.  One of my best friends in the world, who has never been on this blog, PJ use to live right next door.  Well, his town home was next to the shopping center.  Tacos Corona is one of those places that has been in the Valley for a long time.  It is kind of a staple for many.

The inside of the restaurant is apparently blurry.  I did not realize it was this blurry until I just added this photo.  You can see Alexander wheeling himself up to the counter.  Salsa bar is on the right.  Place is pretty cozy.  It is sort of tight spaced, but that is part of the charm.  They really load people in there.  You can order at the counter, go sit at a table.  It really is a choose your own adventure.

Menu is great.  They do a lot of cool stuff, but don't overwhelm you by trying to do everything.  I am obviously a fan.  Pricing is alright.  I've watched them increase prices over the years, but their portions have always been solid, so it is a pretty mute discussion.

Alexander and I took a high top table in the front and settled in for some tacos.  I will say he loves his tacos.  I am always impressed watching him eat tacos.  He attacks tacos.  I did give him options to go anywhere, pizza, gyros, sandwiches, he insisted on doing the right thing.  This photo reminds me how long my arms are.  I mean, that is kind of crazy that this is just a selfie.

RATINGS:
ASADA: 3, solid asada.  It was textbook goodness that you will enjoy if you need that quick steak taco fix.  Alexander liked it so much he took that entire taco whole.
PASTOR: 4, I loved it.  So did Alexander.  It was a bit spicy, nice pepper flavor but it was not hot or overwhelming.  Alexander is a bit sensitive to the heat and this did not bother him at all, but it was really flavorful.  You could also really taste the port and it was yummy.
CARNITAS: 3, pretty standard stuff.  I though that it was really good.  We enjoyed that it was tender and good, but had some nice crispy ends on it.
LENGUA: 4, this was almost a fight.   We both loved this and it was probably our favorite of all that we ate.  It was really on point, flavorful, cooked perfectly and downright delicious.
CABEZA: 1, this was the most disappointing thing that we had.  I actually had it at a two and switched to a 1 when I started writing.  It was inedible.  Neither of us liked it at all and that was sad.  It was slimy, not cooked well and did not have that nice soft flavor that cabeza has.  We each took only one bite.
BIRRIA: 3, enjoyable, but not exciting.  Light spice to it, soft and good, maybe it was cooked on too high of heat because it didn't melt the way I think it should to be a 4, but it sure wasn't bad if this is your protein of choice.
POLLO: 3, pretty good stuff here.  Pretty basic though.  Alexander took this one on as it did not really impress me.
TRIPA: 2, simply not cooked long enough this time.  I've had it before and it has been a 3 almost a 4.  The flavor was good, but it was way too chewy and under cooked.  Alexander and I both strongly agreed on this one.
BUCHE: 3, this was good.  Alexander liked it more than I did.  I thought it was a little chewy, he said he thought it was great and had most of that taco.
SALSA BAR: 3, it was good, but there is nothing special about this one.  They have all the options that they should and their salsa are all good, except for one.  Their green avocado one is pretty excellent.

Beware of the ketchup salsa.  One of their salsas at the salsa bar tastes like ketchup.  It is the dark red one that kind of looks like textured ketchup.  It is not tasty.

As always, a big thank you for reading and sharing.  Sorry I've been so busy and haven't posted as many lately.  This adventure was great as I got some one on one time with my oldest son Alexander.  We don't get too much time just one on one.  He's by far the nicest of my three kids.  Like I always say, it's not where or which tacos you are eating, but who you are eating them with that makes the experience that much more awesome.  Many more taco adventures to come from around the globe thank you for reading!

Today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is of my oldest son Alexander at Jiu Jitsu.  If you follow me on Instagram you've seen this one.  It is of Alexander (my son with CP, who's in a wheelchair) flipping his instructor Pat King.  He's really doing well and has an amazing instructor.  We are very grateful that we found someone who is working with Alexander and teaching him so much.

Stay Excellent!