This post is waaaaaay overdue. Ash grew up going to San Diego every summer where her grandparents lived. Finally when she took me there, we had to go to a little Mexican restaurant that she and her brother frequented....frequented frequently. It was there that I was turned on to how delicious a true Mexican taco is. I'm not talking ground beef with chopped lettuce and Ortega taco shells, I'm talking real corn tortilla, carnitas tacos.
El Gallo Giro is the only place that I've found so far that comes close to matching such flavor. Its definitely the most authentic Mexican food you'll find around here. If the food doesn't say that itself, then the fact that more Spanish than English is spoken there should convince you.
Typically, I would write about the tacos, but for the sake of demonstrating the uniqueness of this place, I decided to order something else. (But seriously, if you're there, get the carnitas tacos. They are sooooo good!)
Price:
Lunch / Dinner: It can really range from $5 a' la carte items to $15 combo meals.
Food:
I have a friend who lived in Tijuana. Whenever I eat out at Mexican places with him he always gets upset when they bring out chips and salsa. Apparently, real Mexico doesn't eat that (at least not together). Munching on chips and salsa though is a lot better than doing nothing when your'e waiting on your food.
That took a long time to say "they give you chips and salsa to start".
And their salsa is pretty good.
Next time I go, I promise I'll get a picture of the juices, but this will do for now. Its about a pint of tamarind juice. It'll give you a sugar high in about 12.3 seconds. The flavors switch up here and there, but they always have horchata (a personal favorite drink).
Chips and tamarind Juice
The Molcajete comes with a side of refried beans and rice. I don't know if there's much to say on that other than "they taste good".
Ok, here's where it's at. The Molcajeta. Its a giant bowl of rock that is full of everything: chicken, shrimp, steak, cheese, cactus, jalapeno, and onion. It comes with a side of tortillas, so you end up treating it kind of like a Fajita. The bottom line is, it is loaded with flavor. Seriously, so good. It's on the pricier side of the menu, but if you go there a few times and are ready for a change, then I would give it a try. It's one of those things that you really can't get anywhere else, its that unique (at least around here).
You may learn that I am a huge sucker for flavor. Yeah, I love a tuna sandwhich and potato casserole here and there, but spices, and herbs, and tanginess, and whatever else, mmmmmm, I love it. In this one bowl, you find all of that. So try it out!!
The bowl is around 1 million degrees, so be careful!
The Molcajete
If you like Mexican food, it's worth your time; you'll probably get hooked. Ash and I have totally become regulars, and are actually hesitant to blog about it for fear of it loosing its "hole-in-the-wall, our-own-find" kind of status, but alas, the purpose of the blog lives on: good, local food must thrive.
I agree this place is fantastic, but I wouldn't say it's the MOST authentic place you can get. To me they're kind of like a hybrid of authentic and tex-mex, which is actually great because it has something for everyone. Have you ever tried any of those random small places like Laura's Kitchen or the taquerias by or in Mexican grocery stores? Those places are CRAZY authentic. In fact, I'd be willing to say that Provo has a lot more small, authentic mexican food restaurants than most cities.
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