Taco Nazo

I don't know why the formatting is going haywire on my last post. It really bugs me, but I'll leave you with a new post, and come back to fix that one later.

Across the street from Mt. SAC, on Amar and Grand Ave, is a place called Taco Nazo, next to Starbucks. Posted on the door is a sign that says "best fish tacos in LA," which was quoted from some magazine. The fish tacos are nice and soft in texture, and you also get a good piece of fish, which fills you up. But my main reason for coming here that day was to try out a soup that was not on their menu, but instead posted on a sign outside their door, saying "Rico Caldo de Albondigas," meaning rich meatball soup for $4.99. I also ordered a fish taco and a drink, and the total came out to be around 8 bucks...If you are a Mt. Sac or Cal Poly student, you get a very small discount...I think it's around 5%.

While I was waiting for my food, I loaded up on the hot carrots, jalapenos, and radishes. They also have yellow chiles on request, which I got on another visit (sorry no pics on that one). Huge fire roasted chiles with some oil, salt and pepper. There was no hotness to it, and it was pretty good. Their salsa bar is meager with your standard pico de gallo, and another salsa, which I'm not sure as to what it is. Maybe a roasted type of salsa? I prefer the pico de gallo. I do like the fact that they offer hot carrots, but these carrots got nothing on rigobertos (formerly known as robertos on miramar) or codis. I like my carrots crunchy.

Here is my feast that I treated myself to after a long week of school. The soup came with some corn tortillas, rice, and a plate of onions, cilantro, and a lime. A quick side note on the tortillas. I never knew what to do with the tortillas when I ordered menudo. I just tore them up and put it in my soup, or ate it plain. When I told my Mexican coworker this, she told me that she likes to roll up the tortillas, and dip it in the soup, or I could use it as a sort of fork/spoon. Something to note in the future.

So how was the soup? It came with four big meatballs, and some big pieces of squash, carrots, and potatoes. The good: The soup broth was very rich, and the meatballs were good. However, while the soup was hot, I wish it came out piping hot. It also seemed like the soup had been there for a while, meaning there was a big pot of it cooked in the morning (hopefully) or the day before. I knew this because the state of the squash was disgusting. It had soaked in the broth completely, leaving it in a semi turgid state. I would really enjoy this soup here if it was fresh and hot. The rice was okay. I just put some pico de gallo on it and ate it. But still a bonus because I wasn't expecting to get any.

The fish taco was a nice piece of fish with your standard shredded cabbage, pico, and white sauce on your corn tortillas. This did not disappoint, and the several other times I got it, I was satisfied, giving them an A in consistency.

On another visit this week, I got their potato tacos, which were 3 hard shell tacos, filled with pureed? potatoes, which suprised me because I always thought it would be like the chunks of potatoes you get in a california burrito. It was very good, and the potatoes were very soft and smooth. I also got the ceviche tostada, but like the soup, the shrimp did not taste very fresh, and it was too limey, as it seemed as if the shrimp had been sitting around too long.

I will have to try some other stuff there, but it seems like what most people order are the fish tacos. I haven't seen anyone order the carne, al pastor, etc, but it is something in the future that I will get.

This damn blogger....I had to "edit" html because the font size for this thing would not change if I used their tool bar. But now it's good. Happy lazy Sunday!

Taco Nazo
1267 N Grand Ave
Walnut, CA 91789