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| - It's 3am on the Las Vegas strip. You're tipsy from all the free booze. Stumbling down the boulevard, you squint and make out a sign over a busy store front. Tacos El Gordo appears. It's chaos inside with a security guard out front. Hmm, why do they need a uniformed security guard for the entrance? Which line do you get in? No one's saying where to go and the alcohol causes some indecision. You read a sign for the adobada (al pastor) line. Lucky choice but you've been winning at blackjack lately and your streak continues with food. While waiting in line, you ponder what the old mafiosos would think about their little playground in the desert, if they saw and smelled the tasty meats.
The price is right for the little flavorful tacos. If it were Mexico, they'd be super cheap, like $0.50, but it's Vegas at 3am. There are different lines for different taco meats. Adobada (al pastor) tacos and fries are the best. I tried the others (asada, cabeza, chorizo, buche, sesos, tripa, and lengua). All are good. But the adobada stands out. They slice off pieces of seasoned goodness, like those middle eastern shish kabob/gyro places, into a couple of small steamed corn tortilla soft shells. The tacos are around $2.20 a piece. They are about 3 savory bites full and well worth the money, considering I was staying at the Palazzo, $25 minimum for something decent to eat at this time of night at the Grand Luxe Cafe (also very good). The setup inside is strange and a bit of an honor system for payment. It's cheap, busy, tasty, and a great value with guacamole and salsa. Grab it to go. It's great to prevent a hangover. Maybe it's 3 or 4 stars in the daytime but it's absolute street taco heaven in the late night/early morning twilight of the neon strip before the long island iced tea hangover arrives. Rock on El Gordo!
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