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My wife and I were enjoying Labor Day weekend, 2010, in Reno, Nevada, with the main purpose of our trip to spend some quality time at the 2010 Nugget Rib Cook-off, but with the secondary mission to relax, gamble, relax some more, and to enjoy life in general. Our friend, Robert Kipperman, spends a lot of time in Reno, as he's in the Air Force Reserve, and he's familiar with the fine dining scene in Reno. Robert is a "foodie" like I am, and a member of the Sacramento Breakfast Club, and like me, he's a lover of authentic Mexican food. My wife and I decided to meet him for dinner Labor Day evening on Monday, September 6, 2010, for some authentic Mexican food, and he said hands-down the place to go was Tacos El Rey.
Photo: Sharlene and Robert pose near the entrance to Tacos El Rey. Outside, you're in Reno, Nevada, USA. Inside, you're somewhere in Mexico. Check out those decorative boulders. We've never eaten Mexican food in Reno before, and from what I've heard, finding a good taco in Reno can be difficult, as most places that claim to be "Mexican" are more American than Mexican - some even include hamburgers on their menu. Yikes!!! Robert assured us that Tacos El Rey is authentic to the point that Spanish is the preferred language spoken in the restaurant, and to me, that's a gigantic plus for any restaurant that serves Mexican food.
Photo: The dining room is huge, and on this early holiday evening, the restaurant wasn't crowded. That's the order counter in the background, with the menu posted above it.
Photo: Robert and Sharlene wait in line to order. Since I was busy taking photos, I had them order a bowl of menudo for me, with corn tortillas on the side.
Photo: Sharlene and Robert place our order with the girl behind the counter. She spoke English but seemed to prefer Spanish, as I used some of my Spanish on her. Tacos El Rey is located in the Chaparral Shopping Center, on Sutro Street, with a canecería/Mexican grocery store next door. From the outside, the restaurant looks almost like any other generic restaurant, as it could almost pass for a waffle shop or a diner. But when you walk through the door, you're almost transported to Mexico, as Spanish is the preferred language, and the place is decorated in a red, white and green motif, which are the national colors of Mexico. To order your meal, you simply walk in, scan the menu above the order counter, decide what you want, place your order at the counter, pay for it, and they give you a number, and you sit down at the table of choice and place your plastic number on the table. No problema in choosing tables, as the dining room is quite large - it could probably seat a hundred or more people. We noticed that the place was filled with families, which is always a good sign, and we were the only Anglos in the place, and the only English speakers, which is another indication that we were in for a delicious meal.
Photo: Sharlene and Robert have just received their orders, and my menudo is on the way. Menudo always seem to arrive last, but its certainly worth waiting for.
Photo: Sharlene and Robert pose, with their combination dinners that have just been delivered. Our food arrived quickly at our table, with a smile from the friendly, but shy server gal. Robert and Sharlene both ordered combination dinners, and I ordered a bowl of menudo. Something noteworthy to mention is that one of the benchmarks of a hard-core Mexican restaurant is that they serve menudo every day, and Tacos Del Rey certainly lives up to the task. I regretted that I didn't have more of an appetite, but I'd been feasting on ribs all day at the Nugget Rib Cook-off, so it was all I could do to down a large bowl of menudo.
Photo: Look at that tripe; lots of it! My bowl of red menudo, complete with garnishes and a side of in-house made corn tortillas.
Photo: Sharlene's combination plate of two tacos, an enchilada, rice and beans. Check out the beautiful presentation and the authentic Mexican garnishes. Robert and Sharlene both commented how delicious their dinners were, and I certainly felt the same way about my bowl of menudo. The broth was brick-red, and very tasty, with just a bit of a spicy kick, but not at all hot. Unlike some other restaurants that sell watery menudo, my bowl of menudo was loaded with tender honeycomb tripe and hominy, just the way a bowl of menudo should be. The corn tortillas were chewy and very fresh - I asked the girl behind the counter if they made their tortillas in-house, and she replied, "¡Si Señor!"
Photo: Robert gives the camera his unbiased opinion of the good food at Tacos El Rey. If you want to take a culinary adventure to Mexico, on a budget, without leaving the Reno area, Tacos El Rey is the place to visit, as it's about as close to Mexico as you can get in Nevada. The food is delicious, it's authentic Mexican cuisine, the portions are huge, and the price is very reasonable. ¡Viva Tacos El Rey! Tacos
El Rey Copyright(c) 2010 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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