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| - Bummed that Silver Dragon was closed, we had to think fast about where to head for lunch instead. That's when El Gran Taco occurred to me.
I pass it every day, to and from work. It's cute little exterior, newly-paved, big parking lot, and well-maintained patio always seemed so out of place in this somewhat rundown, industrial stretch of Hatcher Road.
Inside, it's bright, and the walls are decorated with bucolic murals. At the counter, we looked over the menus, which are in Spanish on one side, and in English on the other. Listed are the usual Mexican food items, along with others you might not see as often, such as tacos containing brain or tongue.
We placed our orders, grabbed our can sodas, and took a seat. We snacked half-heartedly on some cold tortillas chips and bland salsa. Besides us, the place was pretty empty. Just a couple of firefighters, and later, a local worker. At this point, my hopes weren't too high.
After a about 10 minutes -- just about the right amount of time to actually MAKE our food -- the counter woman brought us our dishes. One of my companions had a HUGE honkin' burro ($3!) and the other had the huevos rancheros. I got a ceviche cocktail.
According to my mates, the carne asada meat in the burro tastes "just like it does in Mexico!" and the huevos were "eggalicious." I could see that the yolks were bright yellow. Mmm.. fresh.
My ceviche (just under $8) was composed of a huge schooner, full of about a dozen shrimp, diced onions, cucumber, and avocado, swimming in a simple, limey broth. As an avid cilantro-hater, I was overjoyed to see that only a few bits of that nasty green weed topped it off. All it needed was a several dashes of Tapatio and some salt.
No, it's not innvovative or mind-blowing. It's just good Mexican food, in a pleasant environment, and gringo-friendly. I'm actually a little glad that Golden Dragon was closed.
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