By: Briana Ulrich
The word ‘love’ can be associated with many things; for example, the way a couple looks at each other just before they kiss on their wedding day, or that feeling you get after a long week when you can finally spend some solid hours binge watching your series on Netflix, or of course, the moment you discover you don’t have to leave your city to find an amazing taqueria. Taqueria Garcia on Division, Tacos El Caporal and Tacos El Cunado (which are both located on the southwest end of Burton St) are all authentic Mexican restaurants and home to three of the most talked about tacos in Grand Rapids.
Taqueria Garcia is unique from other taquerias in the area because of the wide variety of unique ingredients you can choose from, including labio (lip), ojo (eye), and testiculo (testicle). But the most recognized, is Garcia’s cesos taco, which consists of brain meat, onion, and cilantro. Three ingredients that are simple, yet have a very nice complimenting flavor. Patrons can also add a choice of three different hot sauces and a splash of lime juice, which adds a nice little kick to the dish, but doesn’t overpower the taco’s delicious taste. It’s served open faced on a tin foil covered basket rather than plated with a fancy eye, but with the taste, it could be served on a plate of dirt and still be one of the best.
Tacos El Caporal’s al pastor taco was another popular choice in 2015. Served with a basket of fresh tortilla chips, the taco is piled with perfectly cooked pork, lettuce, tomato, onion and sprinkled with cilantro, which gives each bite a perfectly balanced flavor. For fans of spicy flavors, there’s always hot sauce brought out with the meal to add that little extra something, though it definitely doesn’t require it.
The al pastor taco is served open faced, so you can get a good look at the fresh ingredients before you take your first bite, and is simply laid on a paper plate, which is ideal to catch all the pieces that fall out from the opposite end. Which, can be nicely scooped up into one of those tortilla chips.
Like the other two, the asada taco served at Tacos El Cunado isn’t plated in a showy manner, but it really doesn’t need to be, because it has the flavors to make up for it.
What makes the asada taco excellent isn’t the initial mountain of steak garnished with raw onion and cilantro it’s served with, but the little plate of sunshine that’s brought out with the taco that holds a pile of cooked onions and jalapenos. Adding these, gives the dish a sweet and spicy element that adds to the taco’s lusciousness.
And the good news is, Tacos El Cunado is located right off the highway, so it’s nice and convenient for those late night munchies.
