SAN ANTONIO — This is Taco Tuesday - we're on the hunt for the best tacos in San Antonio, based on recommendations from the KENS 5 audience!
Our hunt for taco perfection starts with one of the most-recommended spots in town. Taquitos West Ave. This uptown spot, located at 2818 West Ave, emphasizes authenticity with their mini street-style tacos.
We tried the tripas, cabezos, and bistek tacos. Each taco was piled high with meat along with the standard street taco dressings - cilantro, onions, and lots of lime. Our plate came with a side of more onions, as well as cucumbers and radishes.
To judge whose tacos reign supreme, we've devised a rating system based on what we think are the most important factors for a tasty taco: FLAVOR, FRESHNESS, SIZE, SPICE, and TORTILLAS.
The first thing we noticed when we picked up our tacos were the tortillas. The street tacos at Taquitos are served on mini corn tortillas. They tasted fine, and while they were not made at the restaurant the tortillas seemed freshly-made and not store-bought. The tortillas were structurally sound and contained the ingredients without any seepage or breakage. We gave them bonus points for doubling up on the tortillas! 4/5
These tacos had a good flavor. The meat wasn't bland but didn't overpower the rest of the ingredients. Of the three slices of meat we tasted, we thought their cabezos were the best; they retained a lot of moisture and were packed with flavor!What put these tacos over the top were the salsas. Taquitos provides red and green salsas for their tacos, and we lathered ours with both options! 4/5
Where Taquitos really shines is their freshness! We could instantly tell that Taquitos cares about its ingredients. The meat didn't taste old or like it had been frozen. The onions and cilantro had been freshly chopped and prepared just before they'd been added to our tacos - nothing soggy or lifeless. These tacos sparkled with freshness! 5/5
While the tacos themselves weren't overly spicy, their salsas were on fire - just the way we like them! Our lips were tingling for several minutes after we had cleaned our plates. But the spice didn't drown out the flavor of these tacos; rather, they enhanced it. 5/5
The biggest negativity we could find for these tacos were the size. While Taquitos is sticking to their guns when it comes to authentic street tacos, these tacos still felt a little small to us. We've had bigger street tacos before, and would have preferred something a little more substantial. 3/5
Final tally: 21/25. If you're on the hunt for authenticity, Taquitos is the place to go! Flavor, freshness, and spice are what make these tacos shine.