Sorry for the long hiatus... lots of stuff going on. =) Just letting everyone know that these entries are not going to be posted on the dates which i visited.
I recently went on an outreach trip to Tampa with my church and the last day on our way back to Orlando, we stopped by the Lakeland Square Mall to get some dinner. I didn't want to eat at chick-fil-a or any of the 4 or so Asian food eateries. I did notice the Amigo's Grill though and wondered what sort of food they had there.
here's the breakdown.
Sanitation: 1/5
This is kind of cheap IMO. First of all, it's a shopping mall so they don't have to worry about dining space. And there's just the front part of the restaurant that i can see. But from what I saw, there are no health code violations. It's actually very clean. Gloves, hand washing, and all that good stuff. But still because of the lack of the dining area to worry about, they're only getting 1 point.
The Taco: 1/5
I'm giving this low points for a few reasons. First off, it's more taco bell-esque. It's not very authentic. You get lettuce, sour cream, and tomatoes rather than the standard onions and cilantro. The meat was sort of tough but was seasoned well. The tortillas are also not fresh made but they're the store-bought variety. And since they've got tons of preservatives and whatnot in it, it falls apart very easily.
The Salsa: 5/5
This impressed me. They didn't let anyone know about the hot salsa because i guess it's just waaaay too hot for a lot of people. But this stuff was made in house and extremely flavorful and most importantly, it worked well with the food.
Flavor: 3/5
Not very authentic, but good for what it is.
so overall, 10/20. A few things about this place.
They apparently don't have an a la carte menu so you HAVE to order a platter. it's $6.99 for 3 tacos, rice and beans, and a drink. No horchata either.
You also get a choice between flour tortillas (ew!) or corn tortillas. But again, they're the store-bought variety so it's not gonna be as good as fresh tortillas.
Amigo's Grill is located in the food court of the Lakeland Square Mall.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Supermercado Mi Mexico and Meat Market
when i first moved down to the Orlando area, i was really shocked to see the lack of decent Korean restaurants. how was i supposed to get my fix of all things Korean? how does this tie in with tacos? well, my dad had been traveling back and forth and in the year he did so, he found a few key places to do some shopping. first was the Korean grocery stores on Edgewater and second was the Mexican meat market. these places gave the same good quality cuts of meat used in Korean cuisine for far cheaper prices than the Korean grocery stores were charging. beef short ribs were going for i think $4 or $5/lb but it was $1.29/lb at the Mexican market. and the place we always used to go is mi Mexico supermarket in Apopka. i never really paid any attention to the small part of the store they dedicated to the restaurant but going to the small tortilleria next door (owned by the same people) to get a cup of horchata now and then made me notice the smells and hoards of people sitting there and happily munching down on Mexican food.
after church today, my brother suggested we go get some tacos and so that suggestion brought us to mi mexico.
anywho, we sat down and ordered some food. the thing that's kind of weird is that they don't bring fresh salsa and chips out.. rather, the salsa is already on the table. it's kinda gross actually. we both ordered some tacos and i went next door to get some aguas frescas. strawberry for my brother and horchata for me. =)
here's the breakdown.
Sanitation: 2/5
Again, the issue with the salsa that's been sitting out for a really long time. the kitchen is kind of dirty and the tables aren't wiped down well enough. it felt greasy. and since it's always packed during service times and it's small and cramped, it doesn't get swept down or anything.
The Taco: 3/5
The tortillas are made in the tortilleria next door. so they're fresh-ish, sort of. and the meat is from the meat market in the supermarket. so it's fresh. butttt... the chorizo tacos i had were super greasy. i mean like each taco leaked a good 1 oz of fat and oil. but everything else was decent.
The Salsa: 3/5
The flavors were excellent. The only reason why it gets a 3 is because it's not fresh and has been sitting out for who knows how long. kinda gross if ya ask me.
Flavor: 3/5
The chorizo tacos i had were very good. The steak though were underseasoned. Everything worked well together though.
so overall, 11/20. another thing is, the food quality is very inconsistent. i've gotten some really great tacos there... but i've gotten a lot of junk tacos as well. regardless, the score still stands. also, the menu is written on the wall so definitely a street vendor feel to it i guess.
oh and don't be scared of the location... just because someone got stabbed in the plaza and all.
i'll still be getting horchatas at the place next door. =)
Supermercado Mi Mexico is located at 387 E. Main St (US 441) in Apopka, FL.
after church today, my brother suggested we go get some tacos and so that suggestion brought us to mi mexico.
anywho, we sat down and ordered some food. the thing that's kind of weird is that they don't bring fresh salsa and chips out.. rather, the salsa is already on the table. it's kinda gross actually. we both ordered some tacos and i went next door to get some aguas frescas. strawberry for my brother and horchata for me. =)
here's the breakdown.
Sanitation: 2/5
Again, the issue with the salsa that's been sitting out for a really long time. the kitchen is kind of dirty and the tables aren't wiped down well enough. it felt greasy. and since it's always packed during service times and it's small and cramped, it doesn't get swept down or anything.
The Taco: 3/5
The tortillas are made in the tortilleria next door. so they're fresh-ish, sort of. and the meat is from the meat market in the supermarket. so it's fresh. butttt... the chorizo tacos i had were super greasy. i mean like each taco leaked a good 1 oz of fat and oil. but everything else was decent.
The Salsa: 3/5
The flavors were excellent. The only reason why it gets a 3 is because it's not fresh and has been sitting out for who knows how long. kinda gross if ya ask me.
Flavor: 3/5
The chorizo tacos i had were very good. The steak though were underseasoned. Everything worked well together though.
so overall, 11/20. another thing is, the food quality is very inconsistent. i've gotten some really great tacos there... but i've gotten a lot of junk tacos as well. regardless, the score still stands. also, the menu is written on the wall so definitely a street vendor feel to it i guess.
oh and don't be scared of the location... just because someone got stabbed in the plaza and all.
i'll still be getting horchatas at the place next door. =)
Supermercado Mi Mexico is located at 387 E. Main St (US 441) in Apopka, FL.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Tacos Don Pepe
I noticed Tacos Don Pepe on my way to church a few times. I never really thought about it because it's in a sort of run-down looking shopping plaza in downtown apopka. but recently, it caught my eye (maybe because of the 3 police cars parked in the plaza) and i decided i would try them out.
it's dark, a lot of the painted letterings and drawings on the windows outside are either completely wiped off or they're starting to come off. it wasn't busy at all when i visited (lunchtime) so i found that bit odd. there wasn't any mexican music playing either... just the small TV behind the counter that was on some spanish channel. but none of that stuff concerned me. i was there for the food, so i sat down and asked for a menu.
this place bothered me at first. first off, the menu was absolutely disgusting. i mean like kitty litter liner material disgusting. and they didn't have a la carte tacos like EVERY other taqueria does. or maybe you can get it... but they didn't put it on the menu. back to the menu itself... the daily special was scribbled on a post-it note and put on the front of the menu and some of the prices were crossed out and illegibly written in permanent marker. and there were no prices written for aguas frescas so i didn't know how much the horchata cost.
they did have a taco platter $7.89 which included 4 tacos, rice, and beans. sadly, no chorizo.. so i just ordered 2 steak and 2 chicken. and a horchata.
here's the breakdown.
Sanitation: 2/5
oh my goodness. the tables and such are wiped down and there aren't huge pieces of food on the floor... but there were a few straw wrappers and such on the floor. it's fairly easy to keep a place clean when there's no one there to mess it up... so no excuses as far as i'm concerned. again, the menus were disgusting. they also didn't use an ice scoop (even they had one correctly stored for the health inspection reasons). they simply scooped out the ice with the cup. i have a big problem with this because i noticed they didn't wash their hands at all and they also didn't use gloves for ready-to-eat foods (like you're supposed to). i saw the little old lady in the kitchen wash dishes, not wash her hands, than handle my tortillas (fresh made by the way). the waitress cleaned the tables, scooped the ice out of the bin with the cup, then handled some money, and then brought my food out. so not good.
The Taco: 5/5
ok here's where this restaurant redeems itself... the actual food. these tacos were EXCELLENT! the tortillas were fresh made to order by an old lady working the masa flour, pressing them out, then cooking them right after pressing them. she flips them with her hands too (without gloves). but yeah. the meat was real tender, the tortillas had some crunch and bite to it, but not too much, and seasoned perfectly. it reminded me of the tacos i had as a child. in fact, those tacos were pretty much like the ones i ate in chicago, right down to the salsa roja. the difference with this place was they didn't put the cilantro and onions on the tacos for you... you had to do it crapplebee's style (do-it-yourself). they also put some lettuce shreds there. not a big deal. it was phenomenal.
The Salsa: 5/5
This place didn't have the tomatillo-based salsa verde but they did have salsa roja. just like chicago. it was not too spicy but had some heat to it. very flavorful and complemented the tacos well. excellent.
Flavor: 5/5
Again, excellent flavors, seasoning was spot on, and just overall brought back memories of chowing down on tacos as a kid growing up in chicago. i felt like anton ego in the movie "ratatouille". the rice and beans that came with the platter wasn't as good as the tacos, but still pretty good considering it was just rice and beans.
so overall, 17/20. much better than the taco bell down the street. again, the only thing that bothered me was the lack of a la carte ordering. and the disgusting menus. but the food makes it all worthwhile.
Tacos don Pepe is located on 809 S. Park Ave. in Apopka.
it's dark, a lot of the painted letterings and drawings on the windows outside are either completely wiped off or they're starting to come off. it wasn't busy at all when i visited (lunchtime) so i found that bit odd. there wasn't any mexican music playing either... just the small TV behind the counter that was on some spanish channel. but none of that stuff concerned me. i was there for the food, so i sat down and asked for a menu.
this place bothered me at first. first off, the menu was absolutely disgusting. i mean like kitty litter liner material disgusting. and they didn't have a la carte tacos like EVERY other taqueria does. or maybe you can get it... but they didn't put it on the menu. back to the menu itself... the daily special was scribbled on a post-it note and put on the front of the menu and some of the prices were crossed out and illegibly written in permanent marker. and there were no prices written for aguas frescas so i didn't know how much the horchata cost.
they did have a taco platter $7.89 which included 4 tacos, rice, and beans. sadly, no chorizo.. so i just ordered 2 steak and 2 chicken. and a horchata.
here's the breakdown.
Sanitation: 2/5
oh my goodness. the tables and such are wiped down and there aren't huge pieces of food on the floor... but there were a few straw wrappers and such on the floor. it's fairly easy to keep a place clean when there's no one there to mess it up... so no excuses as far as i'm concerned. again, the menus were disgusting. they also didn't use an ice scoop (even they had one correctly stored for the health inspection reasons). they simply scooped out the ice with the cup. i have a big problem with this because i noticed they didn't wash their hands at all and they also didn't use gloves for ready-to-eat foods (like you're supposed to). i saw the little old lady in the kitchen wash dishes, not wash her hands, than handle my tortillas (fresh made by the way). the waitress cleaned the tables, scooped the ice out of the bin with the cup, then handled some money, and then brought my food out. so not good.
The Taco: 5/5
ok here's where this restaurant redeems itself... the actual food. these tacos were EXCELLENT! the tortillas were fresh made to order by an old lady working the masa flour, pressing them out, then cooking them right after pressing them. she flips them with her hands too (without gloves). but yeah. the meat was real tender, the tortillas had some crunch and bite to it, but not too much, and seasoned perfectly. it reminded me of the tacos i had as a child. in fact, those tacos were pretty much like the ones i ate in chicago, right down to the salsa roja. the difference with this place was they didn't put the cilantro and onions on the tacos for you... you had to do it crapplebee's style (do-it-yourself). they also put some lettuce shreds there. not a big deal. it was phenomenal.
The Salsa: 5/5
This place didn't have the tomatillo-based salsa verde but they did have salsa roja. just like chicago. it was not too spicy but had some heat to it. very flavorful and complemented the tacos well. excellent.
Flavor: 5/5
Again, excellent flavors, seasoning was spot on, and just overall brought back memories of chowing down on tacos as a kid growing up in chicago. i felt like anton ego in the movie "ratatouille". the rice and beans that came with the platter wasn't as good as the tacos, but still pretty good considering it was just rice and beans.
so overall, 17/20. much better than the taco bell down the street. again, the only thing that bothered me was the lack of a la carte ordering. and the disgusting menus. but the food makes it all worthwhile.
Tacos don Pepe is located on 809 S. Park Ave. in Apopka.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
El Torito Supermarket
alright! first review ever. enjoy.
So yesterday after school, i decided that it was time to finally get a new power supply for the computer... seeing as how i gutted 2 computers to get some older (but still working) units. on my way to the computer shop, i noticed a small, but vibrant building on the left hand side. the sign read, "El Torito Supermarket and Restaurant" but it didn't seem to be too busy. the computer place was right next to another Mexican restaurant i had eaten at before (review to come at a later date...) so i was debating whether or not to eat at this place. anyways, i eventually decided to try this place out.
el torito is a grocery store as well as a restaurant. so the first thing i saw when i walked in was, naturally, the grocery store. it was a pretty neat and well kept place but i didn't see too many people in both the restaurant and the grocery store. it wasn't too loud like most taquerias i go to.
anyways i sat down and ordered a horchata and some chorizo and steak tacos.
steak is the standard order because sometimes they won't have chorizo or al pastor so i just get that since it's always available.
so without further ado, here's the grading.
Cleanliness: 4/5
There weren't any apparent health code violations but you never know what goes on behind the doors right? but yeah the waitresses washed their hands when they were supposed to and all. the tables were clean and wiped down and the floors were kept clean. the menus were pretty clean too. the only thing is, when there was a mess, they were real slow to clean it up. i guess you could say it was due to a staffing shortage but there were plenty of times where they were just standing around.
The Tacos: 3/5
The tacos were served to me somewhat cold. that was the first thing about them that bothered me. The meat in the steak tacos was cooked well, but it was very under seasoned. c'mon... at least use a little salt and pepper or something. the chorizo was very flavorful, but it was super greasy and had the texture of corned beef hash. not exactly how chorizo is supposed to be. the tortillas were pretty good though and they used 2 tortillas per taco.
The Salsa: 1/5
I had a lot of issues with the salsa they gave me. first of all, it was neon orange (think of track pants from the '80s...). not a natural color... i don't think. and it was just very acidic and hot with no sort of flavor at all. it smelled like kimchee or gochujang but didn't taste like anything. and it didn't work with the tacos at all either. i ended up using the Valentina's bottled hot sauce to give it some flavor.
Flavor: 4/5
The Chorizo was very good but the salsa sucked (not taking points off for that... there's a salsa category) and the steak tacos were under seasoned.
overall, i would give El Torito a 12/20.
a few other notes:
tacos are $1.75 each too... $.25 more than most places. and horchatas are $2 each... but it's a medium cup compared to other places, and there was a lot of ice in there (about 1/2 the cup). so i felt kind of ripped off there too. and the ice didn't even cool the horchata down either. again, the place is severely understaffed so it takes them a while to get to your table and such.
El Torito is located on 12962 W. Colonial in Winter Garden.
So yesterday after school, i decided that it was time to finally get a new power supply for the computer... seeing as how i gutted 2 computers to get some older (but still working) units. on my way to the computer shop, i noticed a small, but vibrant building on the left hand side. the sign read, "El Torito Supermarket and Restaurant" but it didn't seem to be too busy. the computer place was right next to another Mexican restaurant i had eaten at before (review to come at a later date...) so i was debating whether or not to eat at this place. anyways, i eventually decided to try this place out.
el torito is a grocery store as well as a restaurant. so the first thing i saw when i walked in was, naturally, the grocery store. it was a pretty neat and well kept place but i didn't see too many people in both the restaurant and the grocery store. it wasn't too loud like most taquerias i go to.
anyways i sat down and ordered a horchata and some chorizo and steak tacos.
steak is the standard order because sometimes they won't have chorizo or al pastor so i just get that since it's always available.
so without further ado, here's the grading.
Cleanliness: 4/5
There weren't any apparent health code violations but you never know what goes on behind the doors right? but yeah the waitresses washed their hands when they were supposed to and all. the tables were clean and wiped down and the floors were kept clean. the menus were pretty clean too. the only thing is, when there was a mess, they were real slow to clean it up. i guess you could say it was due to a staffing shortage but there were plenty of times where they were just standing around.
The Tacos: 3/5
The tacos were served to me somewhat cold. that was the first thing about them that bothered me. The meat in the steak tacos was cooked well, but it was very under seasoned. c'mon... at least use a little salt and pepper or something. the chorizo was very flavorful, but it was super greasy and had the texture of corned beef hash. not exactly how chorizo is supposed to be. the tortillas were pretty good though and they used 2 tortillas per taco.
The Salsa: 1/5
I had a lot of issues with the salsa they gave me. first of all, it was neon orange (think of track pants from the '80s...). not a natural color... i don't think. and it was just very acidic and hot with no sort of flavor at all. it smelled like kimchee or gochujang but didn't taste like anything. and it didn't work with the tacos at all either. i ended up using the Valentina's bottled hot sauce to give it some flavor.
Flavor: 4/5
The Chorizo was very good but the salsa sucked (not taking points off for that... there's a salsa category) and the steak tacos were under seasoned.
overall, i would give El Torito a 12/20.
a few other notes:
tacos are $1.75 each too... $.25 more than most places. and horchatas are $2 each... but it's a medium cup compared to other places, and there was a lot of ice in there (about 1/2 the cup). so i felt kind of ripped off there too. and the ice didn't even cool the horchata down either. again, the place is severely understaffed so it takes them a while to get to your table and such.
El Torito is located on 12962 W. Colonial in Winter Garden.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
New blog... new purpose
as if i didn't have enough blogs/websites/forums/etc... i belong to, i decided to start this one solely for documenting my gastronomic tour of the many taquerias in the Orlando area.
see, i remember eating many things growing up in chicago but there were a couple things my dad would bring home and i would just looooove to eat. those things were baklava and tacos. not taco bell tacos or even those dollar tacos burger king used to have (remember those?)... real mexican tacos dripping with juice from the carne asada, with onions and cilantro, the salsa roja that came in the plastic disposable ramekins, and the corn tortillas.
see, since moving down to orlando, i really haven't found food that defines orlando. i mean things like the philly cheesesteak or the chicago-style pizza. so the throwback to the days of old brought me to the neighborhood taqueria. and boy was it good. the only thing was, there are soooo many taquerias in the orlando area. heck, there's a bunch in my neck of the woods... and there isn't much here.
so this blog is to document for those few people who would actually spend time to read of my adventures.
here's how it's gonna work. i'll be "grading" each place i visit according to a criteria. those are:
-the salsa
this is an important part of the taco experience. i think the salsa makes or breaks the taco joint. if the salsa is crap and i have to resort to using the valentina's hot sauce that's been sitting out open on the table for months on end, they're gonna get a bad score
-the taco itself
this is along the lines of, "is the meat cooked well, is there too little of a certain ingredient, is the tortilla good?
-flavor
is it seasoned well? do the ingredients complement each other?
-cleanliness, service, other
pretty self-explanatory, right?
i'll also put the address, price, etc. of each place i visit. hopefully i'll visit all of them here.
so cheers! here's to good eats.
see, i remember eating many things growing up in chicago but there were a couple things my dad would bring home and i would just looooove to eat. those things were baklava and tacos. not taco bell tacos or even those dollar tacos burger king used to have (remember those?)... real mexican tacos dripping with juice from the carne asada, with onions and cilantro, the salsa roja that came in the plastic disposable ramekins, and the corn tortillas.
see, since moving down to orlando, i really haven't found food that defines orlando. i mean things like the philly cheesesteak or the chicago-style pizza. so the throwback to the days of old brought me to the neighborhood taqueria. and boy was it good. the only thing was, there are soooo many taquerias in the orlando area. heck, there's a bunch in my neck of the woods... and there isn't much here.
so this blog is to document for those few people who would actually spend time to read of my adventures.
here's how it's gonna work. i'll be "grading" each place i visit according to a criteria. those are:
-the salsa
this is an important part of the taco experience. i think the salsa makes or breaks the taco joint. if the salsa is crap and i have to resort to using the valentina's hot sauce that's been sitting out open on the table for months on end, they're gonna get a bad score
-the taco itself
this is along the lines of, "is the meat cooked well, is there too little of a certain ingredient, is the tortilla good?
-flavor
is it seasoned well? do the ingredients complement each other?
-cleanliness, service, other
pretty self-explanatory, right?
i'll also put the address, price, etc. of each place i visit. hopefully i'll visit all of them here.
so cheers! here's to good eats.
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