Review: El Taco
Mexican food. It’s one of the cuisines that probably won’t ever find its way to white tablecloth, but that doesn’t mean it’s not appetizing. Tonight I ate at El Taco, a Fifth Group Restaurant (owns my beloved Ecco) whose name is about as authentic as bacon is kosher. While I only tried four dishes, I feel like I have a pretty good read on the place. That is to say, it’s typical Americanized-Mexican fare.
Appetizer was chili-braised short rib in a masa (corn) cup with lettuce and avocado. Short rib was juicy and tender, but like so many Mexican dishes, nothing really stood out or came together. I don’t know why but American-Mexican dishes have a tendency to all taste the same. Maybe it’s because they ALL use the same kind of lettuce and add chunks of avocados…
Entree was better, specifically the grilled chicken tacos (left) served with cilantro, crema, avocado and fried jalapenos in a corn tortilla. The chicken was grilled wonderfully to the point where the it had crunchy, near fried edges. These chicken tacos, I must say, are worth coming back for.
Red chili steak tacos served with crispy onions and tomatillo-lime salsa just didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t horrible or anything but the flavors came together in a very weird way.
So obviously El Taco isn’t the place for authentic Mexican cuisine, and it’s not a restaurant worth driving across town for (very few are anyway). Where its brother restaurant Ecco has a menu full of interesting combinations, El Taco has a menu full of predictable combinations (without the numbering system). Judging by the relaxed, bar-like atmosphere, I hope that the Fifth Group just wanted El Taco to be a regular Americanized taco place with a few improvements here and there. Nothing more.
El Taco
1186 North Highland Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30306
404 873 4656
I'm going to be plain spoken here. Using "Americanized Mexican" as some kind of pejorative can raise waves in certain circles. For one, Tejanos are Americans and some of their food is *good*. Just because a Hispanic grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, as did Ninfa Laurenzo, doesn't immediately make her food second rate (except in the hands of second rate food critics).
Robb Walsh, in his article on Ninfa's, covers the problem with "authenticity" better than I could summarize.
If it's bad food, call it bad food. But it's only in Mexican cuisine that we seem to immediately think hybrid is bad. The reasons are aptly covered in Robb's article.
Thanks for the article. It was a good read and I completely agree with you when say that just because a Hispanic grew up in the Rio Grande Valley doesn't make the food second rate.
I can also see how my using the term "Americanized Mexican" as a pejorative probably wasn't PC, but I stand by my belief that El Taco isn't one of those places I'd tell all my friends about. That is to say, El Taco doesn't seem to have anything I couldn't find in other restaurants.