The legendary Tacos El Asador

First off, I’m scribbling this all down straight from the can. I want everything to be fresh in my mind when I do up a review, and this is usually where I end up post-grub.

Its friday night, and I’m meetin up with Jenna and Jon from uni to show them some real Salvadorian food. “Oh have you tried Burrito Boyz?” she asked politely. Thats like asking a mechanic if he’s driven a Geo. I shake it off, and we all end up at Tacos El Asador. The place is packed but we eventually grab a table. This place is pretty well known for having great tacos, but also for being super cramped inside.

Everything on the menu is roughly $2.50, so trying a lot without going broke is no problemo. I grabbed some al pastor and chorizo soft shells, a quesadilla, fried plantain, some apple nectar, Negra Modelo and paid for parking with less than a 20. Negra Modelo is like Guiness made by a short, chubby mexican fellow. They also stock Desperados tequila beer there which is just as good.

First to the cramped table is my bud’s order of nachos. These ring in at almost 7 bucks, but I immediately see why. The nachos come smothered in some bean poop, cotija cheese, cream, pico, and fresh slices of avocado all over. We also get a bowl of jalapenos and onions and another of fresh salsa to coat these suckers with. I definitely had the shakes after a few chips. Our only collective gripe was that the salsa was a little too hot. Probably why I’m sitting here right now.

This stuff will ruin the porcelain finish

My tacos come out and I’m diggin the little extras, like the lime wedges, and doubling up on the soft shells so they dont fall apart on me. The al pastor was great and even came with a long slice of pineapple down the middle of the pork. Pretty bare bones with the cilantro and lettuce, but thats what the salsa and jalapenos are for. The pork was tasty but could have been moister. The chorizo was pretty good though.

The fearsome, pineapple lined al pastor taco on the right

My pal Jenna got the cheese quesadilla and a beef taco. Now im not sure why she chose cheese since the meatier ones were pretty much the same price, but turns out cheese means cheese. Cheese in 2 tortillas. Her beef taco didnt redeem anything either. It was definitely pooched, being dry and paler than her. El Asador was starting to embarrass me in front of my friends, not cool. The shredded beef tacos over at Mexitaco definitely have El Asador beat. Jon approved of his chicken quesadilla though. Jenna was mature enough to realize she just picked the crappier items on the menu and could still appreciate her side of rice. Definitely need to try some pupusas next time.

We through back some Desperados, mowed an order of fried plantanes and left. The fried plantanes were mighty good despite my shitty photography skills. A little dipper of cream came with them too.

At the end of the day, Tacos El Asador is still one of my favourite spots in the city. Maybe its the gold chains around every person who works there, or maybe its the hallucinations I get from their salsa. Their tacos are not the best, but their menu is still pretty damn good, and I get warm fuzzy feelings when I eat there like christmas morning.

Rating: 4/5