On the drive over, we are seriously wondering how we should do this? "Call ahead?" "No that will ruin the freshness of the carnitas if its
sitting around." We are actually doing a little better for time because we blew through Tres Portrillos so quickly, but still 2 places left to go and 45 minutes have passed. We figure we'll hit Tapatios first and exit 101 and drive past La Bamba. "Holy crap! Look!" "Oh my gawd, the line is out the door!" We are stopped at the left lane to go to Tapatio, so Jose jumps out and runs across the street to place our order.
The rest of us pull into the lot at Tapatio and Mike and Dominic are out of the car, without closing the doors. They get their orders in quick, while Jason is on the phone with Jose. "Should I call it in?" "No, the guy is walking down the line taking orders." "Good, OK, see you soon." Dominic and Mike are waiting right near the kitchen and grab the tacos (to go) immediately and is in the car quickly. Terry takes a few pics while Dominic holds the box, while Jason is maneuvering in the parking lot. Jason reaches a hand back (while merging into traffic) and gets a big old messy taco that explodes all over the Corolla. Fortunately enough is salvageable but not before cursing vehemently. (and yeah, he did think twice about eating the carnitas that fell on the floor, before wisely throwing it away). We park illegally in front of La Bamba and Jose is still not out yet. The rest of us polish off our Tapatio tacos while Jason runs inside to see what is holding up Jose.
| |
Taste |
Texure |
Portion/Price |
Appearance |
Notes |
| Dominic |
9.5 |
9.5 |
8 |
9 |
the best flavor, really good corn flavor in the tortilla's |
| Jason |
8.5 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
Mounds of crispy carnitas with pico de gallo piled high. Tortillas broke apart and could have been prevented if salsa was drained a bit more. |
| Jose |
6 |
6 |
9 |
8 |
This was by far the largest taco in the competition, but unfortunately fell short in terms of taste and texture. The carnitas were a bit too chunky, tough, and dry for my taste and were bundled with a bland salsa that seemed to do more harm than good. |
| Michael |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
Colorful looking, good spiceness |
| Terry |
8.5 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
This was in between Las Islitas and Tres Portrillos. More lush and flavorful than Tres Portrillos, but not quite as rich and fulfilling as the Las Islitas. Taste 8.5, Texture 8, Portion 8 |
| |
| Average |
8.3 |
8.1 |
8.4 |
8.4 |
Final Score 8.3 |
