Taqueria Arandas. Honest food that's muy bueno.

Now that I've exhausted most of my Spanish let's talk about some honest Mexican food.  Not Tex-Mex, not fast food, but Mexican food.  At least what I call Mexican food.  I'm just a visiting gringo learning the ropes.

Taqueria  Arandas #3 is on Burnett north of 2222/Koenig.  Kind of across the street from that farmers market.  It's kind of a hole in the wall but still very clean and fun.  They had the futbol match on and several people were getting into it.  Gooooooooooooooooooal, Gooooooooooooooooooal, Gooooooooooooooooooal I'd hear coming from the TV every now and then.  People would cheer a little and go back to eating.  And you can tell it's a popular place.  They only had a couple people waiting so they had to clean off some tables before we could be seated.  The business was brisk but the service was good and it only took a short time to get our food.

Steph had a couple tortas filled with pork and avocado.  I tried a little and it was delicious.  Now don't expect the same flavors as TexMex, this is what I imagine home cooking is like.  If I'm wrong just let me know in the comments.  As I said before, I'm just a visiting gringo.  The pork was nice and juicy but not overly fatty and had a subtle spiciness to it.  The bun looked like a giant hamburger bun cut in quarters.  Steph ate it all so she must have liked it.  She didn't get any sides with it.

I ordered the Carne Asada dinner.  In Tulsa I used to go to a place called Cancun and they made the best burrito in town.  My buddies and I would go down there for lunch and get the Carne Asada burrito.  A giant tortilla filled with beef, rice and beans then covered in cheese and the most flavorful red sauce I've ever had. But that's Tulsa let's get back to Taqueria Arandas.  My dinner came out piled high with salad, avocado, rice, beans, cactus, grilled onions and a giant piece of beef.  The beef was pounded down pretty thin then fried.  It was still juicy and seasoned very well.  The cactus and onions added a new dimension to the meal since I'm not used to cactus.  It's very tasty and came across with just a little heat.  I don't know if that was from a spice or the cactus itself.  Either way the meal as a whole was delicious.

So add a couple drinks and the bill was only a little over 12 bucks!  I couldn't believe they served such good food for that price.  No wonder they stay busy.  And they even include chips and salsa.  Another thing I liked about their menu is you can buy tacos and burritos individually.  They had five or six different meats to choose from too.  Aside from the breakfast taco selections.  I didn't notice if they served breakfast all day so you'd have to check.

Well, I can't say that was my first try at real Mexican food but I don't know why I don't eat it more often.

Manana amigo!