Hola! Last week, I finally got back to one of my favorite taquerias, El Mariachi, and oh did it make me happy.
Now I wish it hadnt taken me so long, but I felt uneasy about the idea before I finally got fully vaccinated. Theres typically some language barrier for me at the storefront places I love best I can read Spanish fairly well, but Im not good with conversations en español so I couldnt gear up to investigate a favorite spots takeout and curbside delivery options.
Now thats over, and I hope its over to stay. We headed out to Lagrange Road to El Mariachi for lunch and found it back in full operation. This little place, with its roots in Mexicos Guanajuato region, looks the same as I remembered: Walking in feels like crossing a barrier into the colorful, little, subtropical Mexican village of your dreams. Just about every surface, including the heavy wooden chairs and booth backs, is covered with big, bright works of Mexican art, depicting such varied scenes as toucans, an ox cart, and a woman gently holding a big clay pot.
El Mariachi social media is bilingual, declaring itself Restaurante mexicano una nueva experiencia en tacos con sabor original (Mexican restaurant, a new experience in tacos with original flavor), while assuring Anglophones that Our chefs prepare every dish with care casual, everyday style food made from fresh, natural ingredients from local farms makes our menu reminiscent of Moms home cooking.
The menu accessible via smartphone from a QR code on each table is bold in color, too, with large images of many dishes. Its entirely in English, with only the names of familiar dishes in Spanish.
Ten pages long, it includes both familiar Mexican dishes and a separate section for Tex-Mex options. Youll find just about all the basics, starting with a dozen soft tacos priced from $2.49 to $3.49, an attractive toll that invites one to order several.
A choice of eight tortas Mexican sandwiches on traditional bolillo rolls from the panaderia next door are $10.99 to $12.99. Thick gorditas and open-face sopesitos are just $3.99; oversize huaraches topped with taco fillings are $8.99. On the Tex-Mex side, quesadillas, chimichangas, taco salads and burritos start at $2.99 (for a crunchy American-style taco) to $13.99 (for a seafood-stuffed burrito de mariscos).
Fajitas and other favorite entrees top out at $17.99 for fajita Guanajuato (the only dish explicitly billed as Guanajuato-style), loaded with arrachera (marinated spicy skirt steak), grilled onions and peppers and Mexican sausage.
Dinner entrees include caldos (large beef soups filled with ingredients); molcajetes de la parrilla (grilled meat or seafood served in stone bowls), and a dozen fancy seafood dishes ranging from $14.99 to $25.99.
We didnt get into the pricey dinner entrees, but Im happy to report that our simple lunch was well prepared and delicious, just as I remembered it.
Its easy to unthinkingly scarf down the complimentary chips and salsa that are almost ubiquitous at Mexican eateries, but its worth pausing to savor El Mariachis chips. They are thick and crunchy and full of the flavor of masa, Mexican cornmeal theyre freshly fried from thick, just-made corn tortillas. The roughly pureed tomato-and-green-chile salsa is simple, just gently piquant, and very tasty, too.
We ordered three tacos from the list: lengua (tongue, $3.49), carnitas (pork, $2.49) and lomo (beef, $3.49). They all came out packed tightly together in a plastic basket lined with wax paper.
They were each built on doubled, fresh corn tortillas that seemed to have been quickly fried or grilled with oil, imparting an unfamiliar, yet appealing gently-greasy character. They were all topped with the traditional garnish of fresh cilantro and chopped raw onion.
Beef tongue scares some people, but if you wont eat a lengua taco youre missing a Mexican experience. It was cut into small pieces, tender and reminiscent of gamey pot roast.
The lomo beef was sliced very thin with fatty edges and on the tough side, with a strong beef flavor.
Im committed to include a good vegetarian option in every review, but that can be tough at a meat-centric taqueria. The manager, whose English was quite a bit better than my Spanish, worked with me to come up with an off-menu veggie burrito ($6.99).
It turned out delicious, a large wheat tortilla stuffed with crisp, slightly oily, fresh-fried bits of onion and red, green and yellow pepper, coated with melted queso. First-rate Mexican rice and frijoles refritos alongside made it a meal. Squeeze jars of fiery red salsa and even fierier green salsa brought it all together. With a sweet-tart Jarritos Tamarindo ($2.49) Mexican soft drink, our taqueria lunch came to a reasonable $20.09. I tossed the 20% rule out the window for a tab that small and added a $10 tip.
El Mariachi Restaurante Mexicano 9901 Lagrange Road
413-5770
elmariachilouisville.com
This article appears in July 14, 2021.
