Taqueria La Mexicana
Somerville, MA
| Overall Score based on 2 reviews |
8.8 highly recommended |
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Score: 9.5 / 10 Reviewed by: tulrich
I haven't been there in years, but when I lived in Boston this was my other standby (besides Anna's). It's more homey and laid-back than Anna's, and they usually had tamales -- yum!
The "pork burro" was always delicious, though in my experience the integration was somewhat variable -- when it was good, it was peerless, and when it was bad, it was merely great. Expect a steamed tortilla + cheese, rice, red beans, moist carnitas, pico de gallo and optional other stuff. Apply drips of hot sauce by yourself as you eat.
I've also enjoyed a few tortas here; pretty much the above burrito on a fresh sub roll instead of tortilla.
Score: 8 / 10 Reviewed by: birdahonk (Somerville, MA)
http://www.lataqueria.com/
This is a great little hidden gem at Union Square in Somerville. Being a native Californian, I have pretty high standards in Mexican food that all too often go unmet on the east coast. But this little taqueria actually does a great job. It's not modern, but it's not old-school either. The order takers are pretty fast and the food is great. I'm a fan of the pork burro (note: I don't know the nationality of the workers in there, but they don't speak perfect English and they don't seem to know the term carnitas, so order 'pork'). The pork is a little on the greasy side, but it still tastes fantastic. A standard burro comes with pinto beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, salsa (not spicy, more like pico de gallo), rice, and a nice mildly spicy chipolte-type sauce on the side--sour cream and guacamole are 40 cents extra--overall price is $5.00 before the extras. They are pretty large so that will definitely fill you up--they are a little bigger than the burritos at Anna's, and comparable in taste in quality). The integration of ingredients is pretty good, but I've never had a burrito that was flawlessly integrated so I'll give them a little slack. Burritos are wrapped in foil, ensuring that the structural integrity of the burrito remains in tact throughout the eating process. I eat with the California method, peeling small strips off the circumference of the burrito a little at a time--maintaining that structural integrity. They do a pretty good job sealing one end with a tight twist (the bottom) and the other end with a slightly less tight twist to open with--I seldom experience any leakage, but it does happen on occasion, usually with the grease from the pork.
There are some other good items on the menu too. The guacamole is fresh and tasty, they have some 'spicy' sauce that isn't very spicy (at least by west coast standards), and the chicken is fantastic (more of the shredded style rather than the chopped breast--and it's seasoned really well). I sometimes get the chile rellenos with pork--awesome. The chicken quesadilla is awesome as well. They have many other fairly authentic dishes as well including several plate options with mixtures of tacos, enchiladas, flautas, and tamales. The enchiladas and flautas aren't that great but the tamales and tacos are--not the best ever, but still really good. My wife and I like to get dinner in the evening and pick up a couple of tamales for breakfast the next morning--whip up some scrambled eggs, heat up the tamale, top with Tapatio hot sauce, and BAM!--quick and tasty Mexican/American breakfast for cheap.
It's located right in the heart of Union Square behind the S.C.A.T. building on the corner. There's a metered lot in front and it can be a pain to get in there during rush hour because the interscetion of Washington, Prospect, and Sommerville Ave. is just a general cluster f#@& anyway.
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