TACO CRAWL !

Jeff was in 'Frisco for the weekend. The idea of doing a taco crawl through the Mission district had been percolating through my mind for some time, and it seemed only fitting to do our first crawl with Jeff. JP also joined in on the fun and put away some delicious tacos. The taqueria concentration is quite high in the Mission, and some of the best are located there, so it was the logical place to do our first taco crawl. We were all very excited to start, and luckily I had it all planned out.







Stop 1: La Taqueria

Jeff and I both got the Carnitas Tacos Dorados. The carnitas was pretty good, and the addition of a soft shell taco wrapped around the hard taco was nice. There was supposed to be cheese welding the two shells together. I think mine had some, but Jeff may have gotten no cheese. Perhaps they don't give cheese to gringos. Regardless, the taco was excellent. Chistine went for the vegetarian option, and was quite pleased.












Down the hatch!






We left La Taqueria, the self-proclaimed home of the best tacos AND burritos in the world, for El Farolito. Here, Jeff is feeling pretty good about himself and ready to eat some more tacos.







Stop 2: El Farolito. The owners of La Taqueria must be out of their minds, because the tacos at El Farolito were fantastic. Jeff, JP, and myself could easily claim that the El Farolitio tacos were the best we'd ever had. JP went with one chicken and one steak taco, a wise choice. Jeff went with the carne asada, and I tried out the "al pastor". This place was all about the food. A narrow hole in the wall, but packed to capacity with people on a Thursday night. No music at first, a long narrow hallway with tables, and tacos. These guys mean business. They kicked it up a notch once our food arrived with the obligatory mariachi music. The perfect mix of savory meats, delicious spicy heat, and an upbeat tuba bass line. I could have eaten at least 8 of these tacos. The burritos at the place looked huge, about the size of an infant. Definitely not for the faint of heart.


Jeff was seriously happy about this pile of tacos. If he ever needs a headshot for his acting career, this is the one!






JP devouring the chicken taco






Christine was completely focused on the tacos.






Stop 3: El Papalote. This was a change of scenery. Still very, very busy, almost standing room only. More of an upscale taqueria. The chips were free and came with an excellent creamy tomato salsa. Jeff and JP went with the Chile Verde tacos. Christine and I decided to try out their Mole tacos, chicken for me and some sort of tofu business for her. Again the tacos were quite good, but after El Farolito these tacos paled in comparison. I may be completely spoiled now, and I will compare all other tacos to El Farolito.


The flying dragon in El Papalote, an omen for Jeff's flight back to the east coast??






Free chips and salsa, a nice touch.







My Chicken Mole tacos






Jeff's Chile Verde tacos



Whoa! Color! The food here was pretty and the tacos were presented with care on the plates. Maybe they're trying to compensate. At El Papalote you also eat with your eyes. At El Farolito its pure flavor explosion. Regardless I had to do these in color.





JP still going strong






Jeff outside El Papalote, full and happy






JP catches a taxi home, leaving the Mission with a belly full of tacos






Fin