Pedro's Taco's: The Gateway to Mexico!!!!!

I love going down to San Clemente!!!!! It's one of the few places I can go in Orange County and feel like I'm truly getting away!!!!! There's something about the architecture, the feel, and the people of the city that just makes it feel different from all other places in Orange County!!!! It's almost as if San Clemente doesn't belong in Orange County but rather should be incorporated into northern San Diego County!!!!! To me, San Clemente is the gateway into Latin America, save the Carribean and Spain!!!!!!! Every time I step foot onto El Camino Real or Avendia Del Mar, I feel like I'm taking my initial steps into Mexico, Central America and South America!!!!!!! And I love Latin America!!!!!! The food, the people, the culture, the women!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!! My dream in life is to walk the land through Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Argentina  speaking Spanish to the locals and meeting a beautiful Latina woman, get married to her, sip whatever the national cocktail is on a beach, eating good food while watching the sunset every single night of the week!!!! My wife wouldn't be too happy with that, but I don't think she reads this blog!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! One can dream, right?!?!?!?!?!?! Right?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!
So whenever I can, I like to escape down to San Clemente for a few hours!!!!! I love all the hole in the wall restaurants, dive bars, preservation of the city, the guys in their mid 40's who are burnt out on life, overweight, overly tan, sitting around smoking cigarettes and sipping beers all day while telling fishing stories, as well as the the homeless mentally ill dudes who ride their bikes along that trail by the pier who are always very suspicious looking, like they're sexual predators or something!!!!!!!!! Well, that last one isn't so appealing!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
OK, so on a recent half day getaway I took down to San Clemente, I decided to eat at Pedro's Taco's!!!!! I had been to Pedro's before, but it had been quite a long time ago!!!!! I know that after the surfer brah's finish a day of shredding the gnar and spreading the stoke down at Trestles, the tradition is to go to Pedro's Tacos and munch on some killer grindage!!!!!! The only problem with Pedro's is that there are a lot of Barney's, Assmunchers, and Co-Kooks hanging around that kind of ruin the surfer brah vibe!!!!!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! I'm just kidding!!!! I just wanted to use some of the surfer lingo that I learned while in college!!!!!!!!!!
Pedro's is legendary for their fish tacos!!!! Also, I remember they had a potato burrito that was pretty damn good too!!!! Earlier that day I was across the street at Pizza Port, slamming beers and feeling nice and uhhhh, warm, if you know what I mean!!!!!! With a beautiful feeling buzz from that powerful and wonderful tasting craft beer, I stumbled out the door and walked across and down the street to Pedro's Tacos to satisfy my alcohol induced hunger!!!!!!! My stomach was empty and was growling and screaming like the Zodiac Killer on the morning he called in to that talk show to speak with Melvin Belli!!!!!!!! The growling and hissing coming from my stomach was so loud that it probably could've made a g-damn cat hiss and/or run for it's life!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!
When I got to Pedro's I noticed that there are no tables to eat at!!!!! You pretty much have to order your food to go, which is fine!!!!! It's perfect for walking down to the beach and eating there!!!!!!!! As I looked over the menu I ordered a carne asada burrito, and three fish tacos!!!!!! I wanted to save a little room for the pizza I was going to have later that night!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! I didn't want to walk all the way down to the beach, so after waiting a few minutes for my food, when they called my number, I took my grinds back to my car and decided to eat it there!!!!!!!!! First up was the carne asada burrito!!!!!!! The meat was flavorful and combined with the onions, guacamole, and salsa, this made for a fantastic carne asada burrito!!!! Also, it was really juicy!!!!! When I bit into it, the grease from the carne asada sprayed everywhere like a shaken up can of root beer!!!!!!!!! It was awesome Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Next, I went for the fish tacos!!!!!!! I was really impressed by how large the tacos were!!!!!!! At first when I looked into the bag of food I couldn't tell which were the tacos and which were the burritos!!!! They all looked to be the same size!!!!!!!! When I unrolled the fish tacos they had on them cabbage, salsa, and that white fish taco sauce!!!!! These were damn good fish tacos!!!! Like, damn good!!!!!! The fried fish batter combined with that white sauce made me want to dance La Cucaracha at Papa's and Beer to the wee hours!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! After sitting in the ocean for a couple of hours, or after doing bong hits, I could totally see how surfers would crave fish tacos from Pedros!!!!! Being around those fish in the ocean would make you want to eat them, right?!?!?!?!?!?! These fish tacos are up there in terms of the greatest of all time in my book!!!!! Not sure if they're number 1, but they might be!!!!!!! Eating this food took me to the streets of Rosarito Beach and reminded me that I was in fact in the gateway to Latin America!!!!! Pedros is beautiful, satisfying food, and when you go down to San Clemente, you just have to eat there!!!!!!! You have to!!!!!!!! Do this place and eat hard!!!!!!!!! I love Pedro's and look forward to many many more meals in the not so distant future!!!!!!!!! Oh, and don't be a Co-Kook!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

Albertaco's: Not the Best I've Ever Had, But Not Bad.

So, I have been to Albertaco’s on three different occasions, and to be perfectly blunt and honest, have failed to understand the hype surrounding this establishment!!! I’ve noticed on urbanspoon that it’s ranked as the number 5 “cheap eats” place in all of Orange County. Plus, one of my co-workers who went to Saddleback College, which Albertaco’s is right across the street from, swears by this place! I mean she goes ga ga every single time the topic of Mexican Food is brought up in a coversation around the office!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!! Albertaco’s has been on my radar for quite some time and I was excited to try it, and quite honestly really really really really wanted to like this place!!! We're talking desperately wanting to like!!!!! I mean as I sat eating my Albertaco's Mexican Food, I was looking for excuses or anyhing I could latch on to about this fare that would cause my emotions to inflame so I could write an over the top review of this Mission Viejo eatery!!! I tried, Albertaco! I swear to you that I tried!!!!! I dug down deep into the portals of my heart and soul and failed to muster up any kind of passionate depiction or feeling over my experience eating at Albertaco's!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Look, I try to keep it positive around here and I like to have fun with my reviews! But if I want to be taken seriously as a food blogger, then I have to dish out a little bit of negativity when it comes across my palette. I don’t like being negative and I would never ever tell somebody to not eat someplace unless the food and or service is exceptionally poor (or if your name is Gilley’s in Las Vegas).  So let’s just establish that right off the bat!! In no way does this review of Albertaco’s mean you should not eat here! Try the food for yourself! You may have a much better experience than I did!! Also, let me just say that the food at Albertaco’s is not bad at all. It’s not low quality or poor in any way!!! The owners and employees at Albertacos work very hard and take noticeable pride in their food!!! And for that, I say to Albertaco, Muchos Gracias por todo!!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

So the other day as I was driving down to San Diego, I stopped here for lunch to give Albertaco’s one last shot!! I ordered a Carne Asada Burrito, 3 fish tacos, and a chicken quesadilla!!!! I ate every last bite of my food, so it couldn’t have been that bad, right?!?!?! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! First off let me say that the carne asada burrito was fine. The carne asada had good flavor, and the fillings of rice, beans, guacamole and salsa complimented everything nicely!!! I was off to a good start!!!! I then moved on to my fish tacos!!! The downfall with these fish tacos was the white sauce. It was overly-mayonaisey and sweet, which just didn’t work for me!!! But, I ate all three of them, so again, it couldn’t have been too bad!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! I then capped off my Mexican feast with their chicken quesadilla!!! There wasn’t anything fantastic about the chicken quesadilla unfortunately. The flavors were kind of bland and the combination of everything together didn’t do much for me!!! The quesadilla was huge though and I had to push through some pain to squeeze that mother down in to my gut!!! But I did it!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

If you’re deciding whether or not to eat at Albertaco’s, I would say, go! Heck if there was a night sometime in the future where I was really lusting for some Mexican food, I could see myself returning!!! Go to Albertaco’s! They are worthy of your business! They will not give you bad food by any means!! It’s just that I’ve had Mexican food that in my opinion is much better! Not sure why they are the 5^th ranked cheap eats place in all of OC! But hey, they’re doing something right!!! 

Yuca's: Ehhh...

A few years back I was watching either a USC or a UCLA football game and at halftime this segment came on that had Todd Blackledge stuffing his face with Yuca's burritos. With his mouth full of tortilla and pinto beans hanging off of his chin, Blackledge was insistent that Yuca's in Los Feliz was serving up the finest Mexican food in all of Los Angeles. With that, I've always had it in the back of my mind to try Yuca's whenever I was up near Hollywood, which isn't often. But the other day I was at Griffith Park and decided that the moment had arrived for me to destroy Yuca's!!! As I walked up to the counter I ordered a carne asada burrito, 2 yucatan pork tacos, 2 carnitas tacos, a carne asada torta, and a cheeseburger. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! I was pretty damned excited to do my best Blackledge impression that day, cramming Yuca's down my pie hole to no end!!! In leading up to the moment of eating at Yuca's, I did a little research and saw that Yuca's was voted best tacos in 2009 by a publication of some sort I'm not familiar with. Needless to say, between being voted best tacos in LA and listening to Blackledge, my expectations were pretty damn high!! After I had finished my food, I gotta say... I was pretty underwhelmed. I'm not saying Yuca's is bad, the food is fine, but I really struggled to understand what the big deal is surrounding Yuca's. I'm not hating on Yuca's! Again, the food is fine!! It's just that I can't figure out why Todd Blackledge would wet his pants over this place, or why Yuca's would be voted best taco's in 2009!! Hell, I can name 10 places right now off the top of my head that have superior tacos to Yuca's. King Taco in East LA, Chronic Tacos or even Pedro's in San Clemente all serve up tacos that are much tastier than Yuca's in my humble, but accurate, opinion!!! But again, Yuca's isn't bad!! I'm not hating!! I guess it's that I had high expectations and had my heart broken a little bit by Yuca!! I don't quite get all of the excitement about Yuca's!! But hey, I'm only one person!! Go to Yuca's and try the food for yourself! The food is not bad and overall you will be pleased!!! Eat hard when you go though!!! I mean put it away!!!! You can do it too because the portions are kind of small!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Fuzzy's Taco Shop: Good atmosphere, Great food, Cheap beer!!

Simply put, this place is delicious! The food is absolutely awesome!!! Their chicken tacos are so incredibly flavorful that my head popped back in stunned pleasure as my taste buds encountered the combination of fowl, tortilla, veggies, and cheese!! But but but but but... the real joy of Fuzzy's is their vinegar based hot sauce!! What an absolutely unforgettable experience dousing and eating taco after taco after taco after taco after taco after taco after taco with their hot sauce!!! I mean it was unlike anything I've ever put on a taco!!! ... EVER!!!!!!!

Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of Fuzzy's Taco's though is their atmosphere and cheap beer on tap!!!! Ahahahahahahahaha!!!! Now, I'm not talking about cheap as in bad, but cheap as in inexpensive! You can get a pint of Shiner for $3 and that's not even the happy hour price.... that's regular price!!!! Gosh!!! I loved the fact that in Texas beer on tap is so inexpensive!!! California is a g-dam ripoff when buying beer on tap!!! Sigh...

But I digress! On to brighter things! Fuzzy's has the feel of a bar, yet it isn't a bar!!! It's a fantastic taco shop that serves up cold beer at a good price! If I lived in Ft. Worth you can bet I would camp my ass at Fuzzy's and make it my local watering hole while sucking back tacos doused in their vinegar based hot sauce on a regular basis!!! Aboslutely unbelievable and brilliant!! We need places like this in California!!!! Now!!!! If we did, I would be there every day of the week!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahaha!!!! Good food, festive atmosphere, and $3 Shiners on tap!!!! I loved this place!!!! Nuff said!!! Ahahahahahahaha!!!

Taco's Jalisco: Viva Comida de Mexico!!!!

When I walked in to Tacos Jalisco I knew I was in for a treat as I was the only white guy and English speaker in the joint!!! Ahahahahahaha!!!! Ahhhh hahahaha!!! C'mon, I love my Latino brothers and sisters!!! I had these shrimp quesadillas that were the special of the day... I hadn't eaten anything for hours and I was famished after a long day of work. With an empty stomach and delirium spewing from my essence I bit into the shrimp quesadillas and was sent in to another reality!!! It was as though I was sitting naked in the desert at Burning Man and some stoner dropped an acid pill on my tongue!!!! But the acid wasn't a pill, it was these shrimp quesadillas from Tacos Jalisco!!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! I mean good God these things were tasty!!! They were filled with stringy melted cheese, fresh shrimp, and covered in a golden crispy fried tortilla!!!!! These shrimp quesadillas very well may be the greatest Mexican food dish in the entire Orange County area!!!! In all the area!!!!!! Now, I'm not talking about the high end Mexican restaurants with master chef's working in the kitchen, I'm talking about the greatest in terms of down home, ma and pa street food!!!! They are the greatest!!!! The greatest!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Actually, there's nothing funny about that statement!!!! It's true!!!!!
But while I was sucking down those shrimp quesadillas I realized they weren't enough for me!!! It was like I was sipping a cocktail after a long week of work and had just captured a beautiful feeling buzz and I needed to nurse it and intensify it as best I could!!!!!! Something snapped inside of me upon devouring my shrimp quesadillas and I felt as though I may never have another eating moment like this again in my life!! I walked back up to the counter and ordered a carnitas plate with rice and beans and extra tortillas, 5 carne asada tacos, and a chicken quesadilla!!! My friends were like, "Damn dude, that's a lot of food." Hey! Mind your own business!! I will eat guilt free and with reckless abandonment!!! Ahhhhhhh hahahahahaha!!! If you're like me and are passionate about Mexican food, then get your arssss over to Tacos Jaliscos in Orange!!! When you're there, make sure you feel the hunger, and to eat passionately!!! Tacos Jalisco is the perfect place for that kind of eating attitude!!! Viva Mexico!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Chronic Tacos: No Place Better for Tacos!!!!

The Tecate Beer Battered Fish Tacos done Baja Style are so pleasurable to eat that I felt as though I was sinning against God Almighty with each bite I took!! Had 4 fish tacos, 2 carnitas tacos, 2 chicken tacos and 2 carne asada tacos and it was easily a top 50 all time eating experience for me!! There is no place better on the planet for tacos than Chronic! Go to Chronic! Eat hard or don't eat at all!!! Ahahahahahaha!!!!!