Wapo Taco, Hallandale, FL...again! Place is almost too EXCELLENT!!!

I have to start this one off with the picture of their two beautiful cones.  One is pork, the other is chicken.  They are pretty much equally excellent, not good, excellent.  There really is no place like this one.  It is something really, really special.  These guys don't just get it, they force other people to get it.  How can you argue with dueling cones?  It is just awesome to see.  I needed this, I needed this bad.  I've experienced so much bad pastor in the last week plus that it has made me depressed.  This made it all better.  It was a hug from grandma, you know that hug that just makes you feel like its all going to be OK.

Here is the napkin dispenser.  We are doing this photo next so that you know how to eat tacos.  I love this thing.  Josh and I kept reading it and enjoying it along with the decor of the restaurant.  The new menu, by the way, is amazing!  They did three months of research on what the guest really wanted and that is the menu.  They condensed it and went by the rule of doing great things rather than trying to do everything and falling short somewhere.  Let me again repeat, they did not fall short anywhere.

These guys are monsters.  They are always working and working hard with smiles on their faces.  The people that work there make you feel so good as they are always smiling and seem to really enjoy being there as much as I do, and if you can't tell, I love being there.  The owners are in the thick of it and working.  They are leading the charge of excellence that this place portrays in every interaction with the guest and in every dish.  Lets go over what they are creating...

Here is where it all started for us.  Two tacos each.  We had to go pastor, one chicken, one pork each.  We really weren't that hungry, we just needed good pastor, but instead we came here for excellent pastor.  They don't overwhelm you with pineapple, but you get it.  It is the perfect balance of sweetness.  They cut from the cone right into your tortilla.  It is like milk straight from the cow, it really doesn't get better and trust me, I know.  We were done here.  We were ready to head out.  We have been working all day and were pretty full.  We were chatting with the owners and they told us we had to try their Carne Asada with cheese tacos.  We reluctantly said yes to this.

Wow.  I didn't think it could be this good.  We each took our first bite after this photo.  After a solid 6 minutes of crying from happiness, we were able to finish these amazing tacos.  It is something like you've never tasted.  It is flavors that melted together like nothing else.  Grilled fresh jalapeno that are nicely sliced by hand, avocado, cilantro, onion, oh my goodness, I'm about to drive back up there and I'm still full.  Their food is seriously second to none.  They really don't take a back seat.  At the end of this, we were done.  Josh was finishing his juice, I couldn't even take another sip of water, we were going to grab our tab and head to the hotel.  Apparently we weren't leaving without dessert.

I don't know what they call it on the menu, but it is like tacos dorados.  It is their version of a hard shell taco.  This is what I love about this place and these guys.  Guests want hard shell tacos.  They take their delicious homemade tortillas, grill them hard and serve them like this.  Josh and I each had one and a half.  Oh my goodness they were so tasty.  So perfect.  This is the kind of dessert that I will eat.  At this point there was only one thing that we could do, loosen our belts, smile and take a selfie of happiness.

These are two of the happiest tacoteers that you might ever see.  We loved this place, we loved this meal.  We will be back.  There is a second location coming soon in Coral Gables, you better believe that I am going to make it there.  You better believe that I'm excited more people will experience this place.  It just works.  You can grab a beer with friends and co-workers in a comfortable environment, you can take your wife, girlfriend or potential girlfriend on a date here and you are comfortable.  Ambiance is great, food is amazing, it is just comfortable.

Thanks for the reads, re-tweets, re-posts and for checking us out in general.  I did not rate this place since I have before.  Let me make it easy for all of you, they get a 5 on everything.  Their people, their food, perfect today, as it was the last time that I came.  I look forward to my next trip to the area to be able to go back and check these guys out again.  Josh was saying the same.  He loves the place, we both were saying these really might be the best tacos we've ever had and it really might be one of the coolest, best restaurants that we've ever been to.  After the tough run that we've had in Miami, this was such a relief and it brought us to our taco happy place.  If you need a great laugh, read the blog from the other day about Mr Taco.  Place was a burn and you get introduced to BIG HUNGRY, a new tacoteer on the blog. That blog is almost the antithesis of this one.

If you're not following the Order on Twitter or Instagram, check us out, easy to find Order of the Taco!  It'll keep you up to date on where we are, what we are eating and if you are missing out or if you should stay away and run for cover.

Every so often, the goodbye/gratuitous photo is of me.  Today it is a shot that Josh got of me inside the door of Wapo Taco. It sums me and my love for tacos up pretty darn well.  Josh has nailed some pretty cool photos of us Tacoteering, but I will say that I do like this one.

Stay Excellent!

Wapo Taco, Hallandale Beach, FL

I will reiterate, if you don't already know, I don't tag pastor lightly, good or bad.  SPOILER ALERT, this is crazy good, with reason.  Do me a favor, read Yelp and then make the decision.  This is the Yelp issue.  It "can" be useful, but reality is, this place is misunderstood by non taco educated individuals.  Sorry Yelpers, but that is a fact.  I'd get into the whole story, but reality, I don't know if you can handle it.

Lets start today's story off about Emmanuel, one of the owners.  I can't help but notice a resemblance to James, one of the original members of the Order.

This guy has a great personality, a winning smile and helps make the experience all the better.  He was really quarterbacking this operation.  Here is a great photo of the team hard at work.

The menu itself is great.  Not too much, but great options.  They really stick to what their menu is and don't go for a lot of deviations, but they know what they are making and how to make it.

That is the whole deal!  Pretty sweet.  Lets talk about La Costras.  Manchengo cheese melted with meat cooked and put in there.  The then "burnt" cheese is rolled over the meat and put into a tortilla.  This is a must try.  It comes with some delicious guacamole.  They convinced me to try this and I really enjoyed it.

Tortillas are made in house.  The only thing that was tons more exciting than that is that they literally slice right off the cone into the tortillas.  

OMG, I want more right now!!!  They are seriously cutting from cone to plate, let me show you what I mean...

I literally watched them cut meat straight to the tortilla!  Over and over!  Yes, they do it.  The cut right to the tortilla.  It makes it just that much better.  Once again, some real street credit here.

Well oiled machine doing what they do!  These guys have a completely open concept kitchen so that you can see all that they are doing.  They are all working and not stopping.  The communication is excellent.  Each person does their part but in unison with the group.
RATINGS:
BISTEC: 5, holy moly. This is amazing, tender goodness.  Great stuff.  Tender, fresh, not some left over, over marinated junk that they are hoping you like, there is a plan in place and if you earned it, good for you, you are tasting some greatness.
CHORIZO: 4, this is Mexican, not Spanish like you are use to.  A bit more spicy, a little more layered in flavor depth.  Yeah, you are going to love it.  They know what they are doing with this, here is the hint, La Costras...
PASTOR de POLLO: 4, oh my goodness.  I mean, oh my goodness.  This is something tasty.  It has pineapple, it is sweet, it is pepper, it is spicy.  Yummy.  It would have been a 5, but the pork was well..
PASTOR: 5, yes, you read that correctly.  This rivals, but is totally different than Rincon Taurino.  This damn near shames Tacos el Gordo. Yeah, I too am blown away.  It caught me off guard.  I thought that it would be good, but this is so much better than I thought.  Sweet, spicy, hot, savory, it hits all of it.  You need to get there now.  Literally, right now.  OK, get up and go, it is time.
PICO: 2, please avoid and don't waste your time, it is homemade but almost tastes store bought, no bueno!
ROJO: 5, this caught me way off guard.  I did not believe I would find a 5 until I tasted this salsa.  It was unreal.  It has it all.  Get there now.  There is chiptole, there is tomatillo, there is just vegetables...yeah, go now and eat it.
VERDE: 4, they have two.  The one they give you is tasty and has avocado, the second doesn't and it is super delicious too!

Sweet looking spread, right?  Yeah, this places is so solid.  The people are even better, if you couldn't tell, than the food.  The pastor, and you know how I feel about pastor, is crazy delicious.  Salsa's are not to play with, they are amazing.  Seriously, amazing.  I think that this may have been, arguably, the best salsa that I've ever eaten in any country, state, planet, anywhere.  There is no exaggeration.

This place is a great addition to an area I come to often.  I'm very glad to have a great place to go to!  I want to say a huge thank you to the team of folks that were working on Monday night 11/24/2014 when I went into eat.  I also always have to thank the readers.  The folks that read, tell people, re-tweet, re-post and tell others.  Everyone knows that you are getting a gratuitous photo.  Today's photo depicts reality.  Judy the server, she's cute and sweet with some sass.  Francisco and Emmanuel the owners are there for business.  They are great guys, with amazing vision.  Me? Well, I look like an old Grizzly Bear there to eat and annoy the ones who are making things happen.

Stay Excellent!!!