Two hot ladies walked in just before my dad and I….
I went home to the Quad Cities to visit my family for the weekend, which is a couple hours west of Chicago. When I arrived home, my dad told me there was only one thing that needed to get done that weekend. Mow the grass? Wax the car? Clean out the garage? Nope. His request was that we had to make a stop on the taco tour.
Most people probably wouldn’t think about authentic Mexican food when you mention the Quad Cities. My memories are of the Mississippi River, John Deere, some red necks, and Geneseo Football. But, the Quad Cities does have a decent-sized Latino population. Although many (White) people would be quick to mention Rudy’s Tacos when you ask about Mexican food, I know there are some authentic, smaller gems in the sea of honky tonk tacos.
We went to La Primavera, which is a large, spacious restaurant. There is also a small grocery store and taqueria down the street with the same owners and name. La Primavera has an older, comfortable feel to it. It didn’t take long for me to notice two things. One: they have a salsa bar with 8 salsas. It’s like the BW3’s of tacos, except nothing like BW3’s. Second: they have an extensive list of tacos, totaling 20 in all.
Ok, so now on to the tacos….
To be honest, they are good, but probably a little too safe for my liking. The carne asada is grilled nicely, but lacks some char flavor and seasoning. The chorizo is nicely seasoned, but could use a little more bite and is a bit dry. The adobada taco is flavorful and juicy, but could also use a little bit of heat. My favorite was the camaron taco, which features grilled shrimp. It’s nice and juicy, just like daddy likes.
I’ll definitely be trying more places in the Quad Cities, but this was a good start.
Oh, try the queso fundito. It’s runny, which looks weird, but it’s super tasty.
Ok, I’m done blabbing:
- Location: 601 15th St., Moline, IL (Quad Cities)
- Tourists: Josh, Julia, Dave, Linda
- Tacos sampled: carne asada, adobada, chorizo, camaron (also have milanesa, molida, lengua, tripa, queso anejo, queso panela, aguacate, veget salteados, adobada de soya, pierna, chicharron, carnitas, pollo chipotle, pollo con veget, pollo asado and filete)
- Toppings: onions and cilantro, lime
- Salsa: roja mild, roja medium, roja hot, pico de gallo with cabbage, salsa verde, salsa cacera, avacado con habanero and salsa habanero
- Extras: chips, pickled veggies
- Tortillas: corn
- Atmosphere: authentic, Mexican ballroom, empty, spacious, salsa-y
- Price: $2.00/taco ($2.60 for camaron and filete)
- OVERALL RATING: 7.0
taco tourist 