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The sign advertises three tacos for fifteen pesos... how can you beat that? Especially on this date of Friday, March 13, 2009 when the exchange rate between the peso and the dollar was 14.75 pesos to 1 dollar. Let's see, multiply the 1, carry the 9, divide by the square root of pi, and my seat-of-the pants calculations that each taco costs a measly U.S. $.38 each! That price reminds me of when I was a kid, back in the mid 1960's, when I recall Mickey D's hamburgers priced at 3 for $1.00 - but that was, like, 1968, and all you got on your burger was a little-bitty piece of beef on a so-so, semi-stale bun, with a dab of ketchup, a little bitty scoop of plain mustard, and a pickle slice... Forward to Tijuana, March 2009, and for about the same price, you get a delicious grilled taco el pastor, garnished with all of the trimmings, at El Poblado, on the streets of Tijuana's Zona Centro. 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: On a late Friday afternoon in mid March, El Poblado is a busy place, on the sidewalks of Tijuana. El Poblado is housed in a trailer that never moves, and it's parked on a wide spot in the sidewalk on Av. Madero, about a hundred feet south of Calle Benito Juárez, in Tijuana's Zona Centro, a short block east of the tourist Mecca of Av. Revolución. The small restaurant is staffed by two gentlemen and one lady, who keep very busy creating delicious tacos that cater to the taste of the Tijuana local residents. Although El Poblado is very close to the tourist zone, I would wager that 99.99% of the tourists who flock to AvRev aren't aware that El Poblado exist, much less would ever care to sample the fine wares that they sell. The loss of the tourists is the gain of the natives...
Photo: The cook is cooking corn tortillas and diced tripe on the griddle. Note the large piece of pork that is roasting over the vertical grill. You would think at the price they're charging that there must be something wrong with the tacos that El Poblado sells, as they're priced too cheap... but think again, because the place is packed with locals, and you can't fault a restaurant that's crowded with local residents. Before I took the plunge and invested in 3 tacos, the business side of me came out, and I looked around a bit to attempt to figure out how a place can sell tacos so cheap. I think I know how they do it: * Love overhead location (the sidewalk!) Bullet number six makes a point of a limited menu, and the 3 for $15.00 tacos are tacos al pastor, but El Poblado also offers tacos de carne asada, and tripa at the slightly higher price of 2 for $15.00, which is still a bargain.
Photo: The gal in the red coat works at the restaurant, and she's cutting up a piece of tripe, to fry on the griddle for a delicious taco de tripa. Note the colorful radishes and green onions stacked up on the counter. They don't offer radishes as garnish for the tacos, so I assume they're for decoration. Tacos al pastor are cooked the authentic way, over a vertical, propane-fired grill, called a trompo. A large chunk of pork is placed on a spit, and a chunk of pineapple is placed on top of it, and it's slowly rotated before the vertical rotisserie. The juice from the pineapple bastes the meat, and the juices that drip down and permeate the meat make it very tender. Pieces of meat are sliced from the bottom until the chunk of meat resembles the shape of a child's spinning top, hence the name in Spanish that describes the piece of meat, "el trompo." By the way, this is a very common way to cook a chunk of pork in Mexico. If you opt for carne asada or tripe, those cuts of meat are grilled over a charcoal-fired grill. You can have any variety of tortillas you want, as long as they're corn, and the corn tortillas are toasted on a griddle, to make them soft, pliable and chewy, before becoming the foundation of your taco. You get two tortillas per taco, which not only adds more of the earthy corn flavor, but it almost guarantees that your taco won't break and spill all over your lap when you attempt to eat it.
Photo: Here's the method used to slice meat from the trompo to be used in a taco al pastor. This method of cooking pork is very common in Tijuana, and almost all of Mexico. This little taco stand is very equipped to withstand the elements, as the kitchen, if you want to call it that, is protected by a plastic tart, which stretches over the sidewalk, and is anchored to a chain link fence. Not only is the staff protected from the elements, but pedestrians who use the sidewalk and customers can huddle under the tarp to find protection from a sudden downpour, or the sometimes-scorching Tijuana sun. El Poblado gives a nod to the comfort of their customers, as they provide several plastic chairs where diners can actually sit down and relax while enjoying delicious tacos. Colorful piles of red radishes and green onions are piled on the counter which give the restaurant a very "earthy" feeling.
Photo: You can tell the tacos are delicious by the expression on the faces of these satisfied diners. These guys are taking advantage of the chairs that El Poblado offers, which is an amenity not commonly found among small street taco vendors. I hit the restaurant at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon, and it was busy, as there was a crowd of folks hanging around the place, and the two guys that were operating the restaurant were working full-speed, to fulfill the orders. When it was finally my turn, I ordered the obligatory 3 tacos for $15.00, how could I resist a bargain like that? In the case of tacos al pastor, it's almost like they're pre-made, as the guy places six tortillas - you get two corn tortillas per taco - on a plate, and then with a large knife, slices chunks of meat from the trompo, and places the meat on the tortillas. Since I'd ordered everything with my tacos, my tacos came garnished with diced green onions, chopped cilantro, and a large scoop of chunky guacamole. After receiving my plateful of tacos, I sat down in one of the plastic chairs, and began to enjoy a delicious meal of tacos al pastor. In a word, my tacos were DELICIOUS!. The al pastor was juicy, succulent, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. The onions, cilantro and guacamole were delicious an fresh. The chairs add a nice touch, and give you a chance to relax while you enjoy your taco. I would have loved to linger and do a bit of people-watching, but I wanted to give other diners a chance to sit down, so after finishing my tacos, I relinquished my chair to a lady who had just picked up her plate of tacos.
Photo: Mr. Computer Programmer makes good use of his taco. Honestly, I thought this guy was a gringo tourist until I attempted to chat with him in English! A very funny aside to the story happened after I'd tossed my plate in the trash can, and I noticed a blonde gentleman, who looked like a computer programmer, obviously enjoying a plate of tacos. When I passed him by I remarked to him, in English, how delicious the tacos were and I asked him if he liked them as well. All I received from him was a blank stare, then it occurred to me that even though this gentleman was very blonde, he was a local, and didn't understand English. So I switched to Spanish, and he returned my greeting.. it goes to show, when you're in Tijuana, and you're not mingling with tourists, SPEAK SPANISH!
Photo: My order of three tacos al pastor, complete with all the garnishes. Note each taco contains two tortillas; what a good value! The red liquid isn't picante sauce, it's meat juices from the juicy grilled carne al pastor. Delicious! El Poblado delivers delicious tacos at unbelievably low prices... you just gotta stop there if you love delicious tacos al pastor. It's a sidewalk gem of a restaurant on the streets of Tijuana... El Poblado Copyright(c) 2009 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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