Taqueria Talavera

The older kids are off at cousins camp this week, which means that we have been going out to eat much more than usual. Tonight we chose Taqueria Talavera mostly because it was not Asian food (have you ever noticed how many Asian restaurants are on Solano? The majority are Asian and we had Thai last night so we needed something different) and it was still open after 8pm.

I remember reading reviews of Taqueria Talavera a few years ago on and they were not favorable. Very negative in fact and mostly about the extreme rudeness of the staff. But I am happy to say that we did not have a negative experience.

Baby A got the child's bean and cheese burrito. He loved it. He ate two thirds of it and it was a good size for a child's burrito. It was just black beans and that yummy mexican cheese but it was very tasty. Yes, I took a few bites, mostly when I needed a break from eating the spicy burrito Theric ordered.

Theric and I each picked a different burrito and then split them so we each got a half of each burrito. We had planned to eat in the restaurant but Baby A started throwing a fit so Theric went and changed our ordered to go, which they kindly did. So, our experience with service there was positive. The cashier was very friendly and even answered my question of "Which do you prefer" when I was trying to decide what kind of mole burrito to get.

Theric ordered a burrito made with lamb meat. This burrito had a fancy name but we can' t remember it, but it was the only item on the menu with lamb. Inside was roasted, shredded lamb, rice, black beans and supposedly some tomatillo salsa. The salsa application was very light, too light in fact. The only way that I knew that some salsa had been put on this burrito was because I kept seeing large pieces of cilantro and little tomatillo seeds. The cilantro was appreciated though; it added a nice contrast to the super spiciness. This burrito was fine, just not amazing or even that interesting, which was what I was expecting since it had lamb--the lamb flavor was not strong and the overall flavor of this burrito was just spicy with hints of cilantro. Very spicy. Theric however thought it was very very lamb-y tasting and thought the chunks of lamb were too large. I would not recommend this particular burrito.

(The issue might, of course, be that sometimes one half of a burrito is not the same as the other half of a burrito. If you've ever been to a taqueria, you know what we mean.)

I would recommend the burrito I ordered which was a pork mole burrito. There were two moles to choose from and I went with the not-sweet one. It was so good, I loved it. That burrito was filled with pinto beans, rice, shredded pork, pickled onions, and the mole, of course. It was delicious. The onions were a nice addition--they added a nice crunch and a tang which complimented the mole flavor. Theric thought the mole burrito was very good, great in fact and he doesn't even like mole. We both agreed that when we bit into it we thought "Oh wow, this is something new and delicious--let's put more in our mouths!" Yum yum! Order this burrito when you go.

As for cost, it wasn't super cheap but not too expensive. I think the burritos were around $8 and the child's burrito was $4.75. It also came with some really delicious tortilla chips, freshly made and we took home a little bit of each salsa from the salsa bar. All were good, but our favorite was the avocado salsa. Overall a satisfying meal.