Mexican cuisine

Tightwad Tuesday: Emma’s Taco House

July 14, 2009 by SacFoodies

If you ever find yourself in West Sac, Emma’s Taco House is worth the stop. On Sacramento Avenue a few blocks behind the Ikea/Wal-Mart shopping center (Reed Avenue turns into Sacramento Avenue), Emma’s is a hidden treasure of delicious Mexican food in huge portions at great prices. What could be better than that?

Before a recent River Cats game, we skipped the usual bar stops for pre-game drinks and apps and headed over to Emma’s instead for a pitcher of my favorite frozen-to-perfection margaritas and a look at their menu for a possible appetizer for four. We’ve been many times for dinner and have never been disappointed. A scroll down the menu landed us on the only real appetizer choice – nachos.

When the ginormous platter of nachos arrived, we were all in complete shock. They were less than $10 and came with enough chips, beans, carnitas, cheese, jalepenos and salsa to feed a small country. Okay, well maybe not a country, but it was certainly enough food to fill up the four of us (and I have to admit, we couldn’t even finish them!).
A full stomach for less than $4 a person? Sounds like a Tightwad Tuesday deal to me.
Emma’s Taco House
1617 Sacramento Ave
West Sacramento, CA 95605

El Indio Lives Up to Its Fame

June 15, 2009 by SacFoodies

The sign outside read El Indio since 1940, but after one taste of the carnitas burrito, I would vote for a name change to El Carnitas Nirvana. This Mexican food hot spot in San Diego had a lunch-time line coming out the door, and after one bite, I knew why.

We had seen El Indio featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-in and Dives, and the images alone made my mouth water, so while on vaca in America’s finest city, it was a must-eat destination for me and the boys. Tamales, burritos and taquitos…oh my, everything was amazing. El Indio is just a stone’s throw from the San Diego airport, so next time you are visiting or passing through; I strongly suggest a stop, a planned lay-over or even a re-scheduled flight to make your way to burrito bliss.

El Indio
3695 India Street
San Diego, CA 92103
619-299-0333

Cinco de Mayo Festivities

May 4, 2009 by SacFoodies

Cross your fingers for sun tomorrow because there’s lots of fun to be had around town for Cinco de Mayo! If you didn’t celebrate early over the weekend (or even if you did!) you won’t want to miss these festivities:

After successful block parties for St. Patrick’s Day and New Year’s Eve, the streets will shut down once again tomorrow for the Paragary Group’s Cinco Festival. Participating businesses on the 2700 block of J Street include Aura, Blue Cue, Momo Lounge, Centro and G.V. Hurley’s. The party will include a Mexican food court in Centro’s parking lot, live outdoor music from The Cheeseballs, mariachi bands and Salsambo inside Harlow’s, and even mechanical bull rides! Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
Another option is the Cinco de Mayo party at Zocalo. They’ll be celebrating with live music, Mexican food and their signature margaritas which will be flowing all day long. The party starts at noon and the cost is $10 in advance or $15 at the door.
If you’re more in the mood to kick back with some Mexican food and a margarita, you’ve got lots of yummy choices for that too. We love Azul for their quesadillas, Dos Coyotes for their tacos, Los Jarritos for their cheap eats and Taqueria Davis for their smothered burritos! You can read about all our favorite Mexican food eateries here. Ole!

Peace, Love and Pollo

March 4, 2009 by SacFoodies

It was Saturday afternoon in San Francisco’s Mission District and my little family was right smack dab in the middle of La Taqueria ordering up a trio of carnitas, carne asada and pollo tacos along with a couple of ice cold Coca-Colas.
In walks a cool dude carrying his bongo drum. Then, a nattily dressed businessman on what looked like his way home from some weekend power meetings – poor soul. A group of teenage girls in line looked up from their texting just long enough to place their orders, as singles, couples and families milled in and around the taco joint as if there was no better place to be in the world that day.
I think that very well may have been the case.
Here in this little corner of the universe was at least a half dozen or more ethnicities along with what appeared to be people who had done well and those who were just, well…done. One and all – just being and eating and enjoying great tacos, a great afternoon and a great moment in time.

Mexican Food Week Wrap-Up

February 27, 2009 by SacFoodies

This week we shared reviews of our favorite local Mexican restaurants. To wrap things up, we checked in with some of our foodie friends around town to see if we’d left anything out. Here’s what they had to say:
Kate Washington, food writer for Sactown magazine, told us that while she often visits Azul and La Fiesta, she especially likes El Herradero on Arden Way.

Ann Martin Rolke, author of Hands Off Cooking and the Sacatomato blog had this to say: “I love the burritos at La Favorita because they’re the most like Mission burritos I’ve found here. I like the mole at Tres Hermanas a lot. Oh, I did like Sal’s Tacos in West Sac for their impressive array of salsas and a HUGE, delicious bowl of posole. They also have great mosaics.”

Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic told us that he loves Taqueria Garibaldi. As he said, “Garibaldi. Hands down. I can get a whole fried tilapia there and make two meals out of it.” (Sounds like a great Tightwad Tuesday idea to us!)

Kristy DeVaney of CakeGrrl also chimed in: “I really love El Centro. It’s got a great location and I love the decor. There are also over 100 tequilas available at the bar. Most importantly though, the food is spectacular and plated so elegantly! Kurt Spataro developed the menu through a collaboration with Diana Southwood Kennedy, a noted author and authority on Mexican cooking.”

Julie Gallaher, author of the blog Fun Things To Do said that her top three in Sacramento are Zocalo for the fundito and margaritas, Nopalito’s for the Nopalitos Taco and Ernesto’s for the Huevos Rancheros – Ole!

Sacramento resident Lisa Serna-Mayorga told us that for her, it’s a tie between El Novillero and Zocalo.
And, don’t think we’ve forgotten about the great Mexican eateries we’ve reviewed on Sac Foodies in the past! Here’s a quick recap:
First, there’s Azul. With a prime midtown location, tacos for less than $2 and burritos under $4, you can’t go wrong.
Dos Coyotes offers some of the freshest tasting Mexican food in town – and did we mention the cheese sauce? Maria ate at Dos recently and tried the Mesa Taco Plate with shrimp – hold the rice and double the black beans. Looks delish!

If you find yourself in Roseville with a hankering for Mexican, head to Mas. You’ll go home happy after a meal of albondigas (meatball) soup with churros and ice cream for dessert.
If you’re looking for a trendy atmosphere with fancy margaritas, then we suggest you try Zocalo. One of the most popular dining establishments in Sacramento, you’ll get great food and service, and if you’re lucky you might even be serenaded by their mariachi band!