|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Every day or the week at 08:30 in the morning, El Sombrero Taqueria, located in the Granite Bay area of Roseville, CA opens their doors, serving some of the best Mexican cuisine in Roseville. Are you a lover of an authentic, delicious breakfast, in the style of Mexico? El Sombrero Taqueria is YOUR restaurant! As with all restaurant reviews I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's a little past 10:00 in the morning, Saturday, July 09, 2022, and I've arrived at El Sombrero Taqueria, located in the Sierra Oaks Plaza, in the Granite Bay section of Roseville, CA. For a weekend treat to enjoy: A bowl of some of the best menudo to be found in Placer County! El Sombrero opens at 08:30 every morning for breakfast, and continutes serving delicious Mexican cuisine through dinner. The restaurant has a few tables and chairs set up in front of the building for outdoor dining, but since there is no fence, if you care to enjoy a beer or a margarita, you'll need to remain inside, as per state law.
Photo: I walked into a very busy restaurant on this Saturday morning, as customers were lined up at the counter picking up to-go orders and placing dine-in orders. El Sombrero Taqueria is very popular among Rosevillians who enjoy authentic Mexican cuisine! Like most taquerias, El Sombrero operates on what I refer to as the "taqueria format." You walk into the restaurant, and look at the posted, overhead menu and choose what you want to enjoy. You go to the cashier, place your order, pay for it, and in return, you'll receive a number to place on your table. You choose any open table, or a seat at the bar, and when your order is ready, a staff member will bring your order to you, and retrieve your number.
Photo: The restaurant has a clean, modern dining room that is decorated very similar to a taqueria in Mexico, complete with tile floors, traditional Mexican photos and a map of Mexico. There are actually two dining rooms separated by the kitchen, prep room and cashier station. The main dining room is all tables, while the other dining room, which is slightly more "intimate" and besides lots of family-size tables, features a beer, wine and margarita bar.
Photo: The bar in the second dining room features several brands of Mexican beer on tap, domestic beer in bottles, along with margaritas and a small selection of wine. It looks like the youngster in the photo is learning to "belly up" to the bar at a young age, but it looks like he's enjoying a soft drink. There is a soft drink machine, where you can enjoy Coca Cola products, which as many free refills as you can drink.
Photo: At the far end of the dining room there is a serve-yourself, all-you-can-eat chips and salsa bar, featuring lots of fresh, corn tortilla chips, along with three flavors of fresh salsa, made in-house. You can also load up on fresh lime and lemon wedges, pickled jalapenos and diced radishes. The tortilla chips are freshly made in the kitchen, and were fresh and delicious.
Photo: One of the local television stations that serves the greater Sacramento area has what they call an "A-List," where viewers can vote for their favorite restaurants. According to this poster, El Sombrero Taqueria was voted "#4 Best Mexican Food in Greater Sacramento Area," which I don't doubt, as this is a fantastic restaurant. I can't confirm the status of the "A-List," as I seldom watch television.
Photo: Like all restaurants operating the "taqueria format," the menu is placed near the order counter, which makes it easy to choose. You can place your order from the posted menu, on the restaurant's website, or from the printed menu. Speaking of printed menu, the menu is FIVE PAGES, which is extensive. Click on the image of the menu, or the hyperlink to see the menu in detail.
Photo: On weekends, the restaurant offers Pozole and Menudo, both of which are traditional Mexican "comfort foods," enjoyed on weekends all across the country. These selections are listed in the "Soup" section of the menu, but are only served on weekends.
Photo: The restaurant was very busy serving menudo on this Saturday morning, as hostess Jaceline is delivering a bowl of menudo to a guest outside. Note the busy order counter and the gentleman at the rear of the restaurant, helping himself to the "Chip and Salsa" bar.
Photo: The kitchen is open, so you can watch the talented staff in action. Note the giant burrito-size flour tortillas, and the bowl of menudo waiting to be delivered to... yours truly.
Photo: I took a peek over the counter to see carne asada and ribs cooking, along with a couple large pots, where menudo and pozole were simmering on the burner. The aroma of this delicious food was simply fantastic!
Photo: Meet my friendly hostess Jaceline, as she delivered my bowl of menudo to me with a smile. I didn't ask, but for some reason she was the only person - staff or diner - wearing a mask.
Photo: I have a happy "thumbs up" as I'm ready to enjoy my delicious brunch of menudo, corn tortillas, along with chips and salsa. The Corona beer was my dessert!
Photo: From the "Weekend Specials" of the menu, I went with Menudo, which is one of my favorite Mexican offerings. You're looking at my complete meal, including chips and salsa from the "Salsa Bar," along with a "tall boy" of Corona beer. The menu describes Menudo as, "Traditional Mexican soup with beef tripe in broth with a red chili pepper base, lime, chopped onions, and chopped cilantro. Included are crushed oregano and crushed red chili peppers." Menudo is the epitome of Mexican "comfort food," a very traditional breakfast offering, and is as "Mexican" as apple pie is "American." There are many regional variations of menudo served in Mexico, and the version that I enjoyed today reminds me of the countless bowls of menudo I've enjoyed during trips to Baja California. My bowl included a good helping of tender, juicy beef tripe, cooked just right, in a savory, earthy, brick-red broth, that was amazingly tasteful, but not at all hot from spices, but piping-hot from the kitchen. The bowl of menudo was very BIG, most likely a liter or so, which made for a filling brunch. You get to choose between corn or flour tortillas, I went with corn, as there is nothing better to accompany a bowl of menudo than a warm, moist, "earthy" corn tortilla. Four corn tortillas were included in the stack, which is generous. Garnishes included a couple lemon wedges, Mexican oregano, chopped cilantro, and chopped white onion. I added everything to my bowl to create a taste sensation! The menudo I enjoyed at El Sombrero Taqueria was simply delicious! The tripe was juicy and tender, there was lots of it, the chili broth was red and flavorful, and the spice balance was perfect. This menudo was simply delicious! My only complaint - and it was very tiny - is there was no hominy in the menudo, but there are many variations of menudo and not all chefs add hominy. Yes, during trips to Mexico I've enjoyed menudo with... and without hominy, so it's just a matter of personal preference. Anyway you look at it, this is outstanding menudo!
Photo: My bowl of menudo, along with the garnishes that arrived from the kitchen. I've already unwrapped the corn tortillas, as they came wrapped up in aluminum foil to keep them hot and moist. I like to roll the tortillas up tightly and dip them into the menudo, as that's the way it's done in Mexico. You always save one tortilla to scoop up the last of the broth in the bowl.
Photo: My bowl of menudo, after I added lemon juice, oregano, diced cilantro and chopped white onion. This menudo was simply delicious! El Sombrero Taqueria serves delicious Mexican cuisine every day of the week, and offers one of the widest menu selections in western Placer County! You'll love the fine cuisine, served by friendly staff, and the fiesta-like atmosphere of this amazing taqueria. El Sombrero Taqueria serves delicious Mexican food in Granite Bay! El Sombrero Taqueria Copyright(c) 2022 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
|
