That white car struck me just after taking this photo, breaking my leg in three spots. All in the name of tacos.
Carnicerias Guanajuato is the second grocery store taco spot on the tour. I’ve seen these stores in a few spots in the city, but didn’t know about their tacos until I did some research. After seeing them come up on list after list of the best taco places in Chicago, I decided to give ’em a try.
The first thing I noticed was how crowded it is in the the little taco corner of the grocery store. The second thing I noticed was that I was the only Blanco in the place. I got to the front of the line, gave them my order and waited. I’m just going to say this was a mere coincidence, but the seven Spanish-speaking people behind me got their tacos before I did. They must’ve wanted to make mine extra carefully.
On a side note, if you ever go there, be attentive to when your order is coming up, especially if you are a Gringo. The guy that yells out the orders that are ready speaks in Spanish, and talks at a speed that would make the Micro Machines guy jealous.
I first tried their carne asada taco. It’s very tasty – juicy, nice grill flavor, good tortillas. It’s very basic, but done right. Then I tried the cecina, which they called a Mexican beef jerky. It’s definitely not like the beef jerky I’m used to. In fact, it tastes just like the carne asada taco, just with a different, less juicy cut of meat. It’s a good tasting taco, but not what I expected. Finally, I tried the carnitas. Most carnitas tend to be on the dry side, but this one is not. It too has great flavor. I’ll take these grocery store tacos any day.
Try to pick out the “beef jerky”…
Here’s the dealyo:
- Location: 3140 N. California Ave., Chicago, IL (Avondale)
- Tourists: Josh
- Tacos sampled: carne asada, cecina, carnitas (also have lengua, lomo y cebolla, and chorizo)
- Toppings: onions and cilantro, lime
- Salsa: salsa verde
- Extras: nada con nada
- Tortillas: corn
- Atmosphere: grocery store, blanco-free, busy, gringo-free, metal bar stools
- Price: $1.99/taco
- OVERALL RATING: 8.0
taco tourist 