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Las Islitas Taqueria (Mexican cuisine)  $

 8
JaT Rating

848 E. Evelyn Ave, Sunnyvale, 94086  (Directions)


408.736.6008


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Mexican restaurant in the quiet sidestreets of Sunnyvale


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1020
Reviewed: 12/5/2006
Rating: 8
My photo gallery 		Let's get down to business and figure out a way for you guys to roll down to Las Islitas Taqueria for carnitas tacos. Ever since Thanksgiving, I've made it a goal for the next couple of months to find you some of the tastiest tacos in the bay area.

Today I ordered carnitas, pollo asado, and carne asada. The regular tacos were $1.80 each and comes with the standard 2 corn tortillas, onions, cilantro, and salsa. Tortillas were lightly grilled on the steel grill and layered with meat and the fixings. Something to look for on your taco plate are radishes and limes. If you see those, you're on your way to authentic tacos. I don't usually eat radishes but I definitely use the lime.

Carne Asada (image 7) - the meat was good stuff and thank gawd they didn't finely chopped the meat to oblivion. Not too heavy on the grease but could have used more seasoning. Cooked on a flat grill and didn't have the char taste that I love. Squeeze a tiny bit of lime and enjoy. Tacos rates in between 7-7.5.

Pollo Asado (image 8) - I didn't see this meat on the menu but asked, she said 'we'll make it for you'. Grilled chicken coming up. Dreams were shattered as I had envisioned a spicy grilled chicken with burnt edges and she brought a soupy chicken taco. Oh well, the chicken was marinated decently and had medium low heat. It's worth ordering again but I don't think it's pollo asado, more like regular pollo. Rated 7.5

Carnitas (image 9) - just come here and get one. crunchy, juicy, melts in your mouth, so bad for you, I love it. Definitely the best of the 3 tacos. Rated 9.

You can be sure I'll be coming back for the carnitas at Las Islitas Taqueria. If I had to rank the carnitas against other places in the area, it would look something like this

1. Tres Potrillos Taqueria
2. Taqueria La Bamba
3. Taqueria Tlaquepaque
4. Las Islitas Taqueria
5. La Pinata
 
8
Agent Rating


Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 81
Reviewed: 8/1/2007
Rating: 8
My photo gallery		 I decided to visit Las Islitas after it placed highly in the Jatbar “great carnitas shootout.” I had never heard of it until then. I arrived on a quiet Thursday and parking was a breeze. The place was pretty dead with no line. I ordered the three taco plate: one carnitas, one carne asada, and one al pastor. Chips and salsa were included. Yay! After a short wait, I received my plate and the tacos were huge! What was I thinking? How would I finish these? I attacked the carnitas taco first: moist, flavorful, and definitely tasty. This was not quite as tasty as those that Tres Potrillos USED to have (lately the carnitas at TP have gone downhill). It didn't have the crackle and great texture but is on par with those from many other taquerias. I give this taco an 8.
Next was the carne asada taco. Just awesome. Smaller pieces than I'm used to but tender and flavorful. I give this taco a 9.
Last I tried the al pastor taco. The BBQ pork was swimming in BBQ sauce, a bit too much for my taste. Not very subtle. And the pieces were pretty fatty. Good thing I saved this for last. My hunger was waning fast and I only finished about half. I give this last taco a 6.5.

On my next visit I ordered a regular chicken burrito “wet style” and sat at a table on the patio outside. As before, the place was not very crowded. This time it took quite a while to get my food. Not sure why. Eventually my burrito showed up. It was immense. And joy of all joys, it was covered in green chile sauce, not that wimpy tomatillo stuff. My only nit was the huge amount of cheese they heaped on top. There was no mention of this on the menu. I'm not a big cheese fan and scraped much of it off. Then I dug in. The filling was chicken, rice, and beans. They were generous with the meat. I would say it was 70% meat. The chicken was delicious and simmered in some kind of tomato sauce. It was a tad overcooked, making some of the pieces a bit chewy. Despite my high hopes, the green chile sauce added on top was pretty mediocre. It did have little bits of pork in it, but the flavor was too mild, though it did have a little heat to it. I sweated lightly through my whole meal and finished all but a few bites. I would rate this burrito an 8 or 8.5 by itself.

Pros: Generous portions; free chips/salsa; above avg food; easy parking, not crowded
Cons: Sometimes slow service
 
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byteff ate...

Carnitas burrito

“Wow, thanks guys for pointing this little hole in the wall place out in the carnitas shootout. Amazing carnitas and lots of it.”

8/8/2008 1:33:57 PM

theDude ate...

Carnitas Taco

“Holy cow!!! By far the best carnitas taco I've ever had. Oh so sweet crispy goodness. This place must be kept secret....going to be a regular after today's eats.”

5/8/2007 1:28:11 PM