When it comes to tacos, I’m not much of a snob. My favorites run the gamut from the crunchy-shell Ortega versions I assembled on taco nights at home as a kid, to the exquisite versions I ate on a decidedly adult food tour of Merida, Mexico, with my wife about a decade ago.
Those Merida beauties came to mind recently when I tried the tacos at Tacos el Joven, located on Queen City Avenue in Westwood. They're served out of a bright yellow food truck in the parking lot of an Ethiopian grocery store (if you go, be sure to pop in for some of their Ethiopian and Eritrean-style breads).
The hand-painted menu includes a wide variety of fillings, including tripe (I love tripe), tongue (I don’t much like tongue), and huitlacoche, a fungus that grows on corn and tastes sorta like smoky, earthy mushrooms.
While I was intrigued by that last one (and will definitely try it next time), I ended up ordering the trio I almost always get when I happen upon a promising taco joint: barbacoa, pastor and chicken. All were fantastic, served on greasy-in-a-good-way corn tortillas with plenty of meat and fresh radishes, cucumbers, chopped onions and cilantro on the side.
The barbacoa was melt-in-your mouth tender and smoky. The pastor (grilled pork and pineapple) was citrussy with the complex flavors of the restaurant's tried-and-true variety of chile peppers. And while some chicken tacos tend to be dry and flavorless, these were juicy and perfectly seasoned.
No doubt, these are some of the best tacos you'll find anywhere near Cincinnati. I'd go on more about them, but I think the picture here speaks for itself.
Tacos el Joven, 2157 Queen City Ave., 513-208-1713
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