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First Times: El Tapatio
November 3rd, 2009
El Tapatio is a taco cart set up in South Nashville right on the corner of Nolensville Road and Northcrest, near Haywood Lane. It’s right near our house and if the hill wasn’t so steep to get down to it, we might ride our bikes. Walking is certainly a possibility, too. All good things.
Husband has been going to El Tapatio in Nashville for about a week and is totally addicted; he’s been about three times in seven days. It’s not just the price that sways him (about $1/taco), it’s the amazing flavors and “authentic-ness.”
We have long been tired of the Americanized Mexican food available in this neck of the woods (not that margaritas and baskets upon baskets of chips and salsa are a bad thing all the time) but it’s nice to know that we can get something this good this close to us.
We rolled up to the place around 6:00 p.m., only a few guys milling around in the parking lot. One of the waitresses met us in the parking lot and gave us a menu. We ordered three tacos apiece: Pork al pastor, Carne Asada (seasoned chopped steak), and Lengua (you guessed it, tongue). All of these meats are roasted on-site in large roasting barrels positioned near the road.
You can have a seat in the annexed dining room at El Tapatio (seems the taco cart business went so well that they bought out a tire store they were sitting in front of so patrons would have a place to sit) but we took the tacos home and chowed down.
The tacos were simple: corn tortilla, warmed on a griddle, meat dressed with chopped onions and cilantro. They gave us a side of something green and something red (both with plenty of punch to ‘em).
I started with the carne asada taco: I’m a pork-lovin’ girl so I knew I’d love the al pastor and wanted to save it for last. The steak was tender and delicious: a little dry but a little of the hot sauces made it damn near perfect. Next was la lengua, a meat that, if you didn’t know what it was, wouldn’t look much different from any other beef. The texture was chewy, the flavor more complex than beef: I liked it. And finally, the favorite, pork al pastor: tender, juicy, amazing. I could eat five of those things and probably would have gone back for another one or two if we hadn’t done the takeout thing.
In short: try El Tapatio. Hell, try any taco cart you see in your area. I bet it’s tasty. And don’t be afraid to try something you can’t pronounce: a smile and an open mind goes a long way.
Find El Tapatio on Google Maps
Tags: first times, mexican, nashville
This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 10:15 pm and is filed under Reviews. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
I’ve been wanting to try this cart for a while now. You’ve pushed me over the edge! I’ll comment again when I do. Thanks for the review.
Okay, so I tried it last night and was not disappointed at all. Got two tasty chicken burritos and a side of tacos al pastor, the latter being so simple yet so flavorful. The pork tacos reminded me of the old school ones from the original La Hacienda of days gone by.
It was a nice touch to have the waitress (carhop?) greet me at my car and take my order. I didn’t have to stop listening to NPR while waiting on my food!
The only thing I miss from the cart farther out Nolensville Road (”Tacqueria Mexico Lindo” I think it’s called–corner of Nolensville and Brewer) is the side of roasted jalapeno peppers and onions they give you with the burritos. I’m sure they would slide me some if I ask next time.