My Taco Mexico

Authentic Mexican Food

The fact that I ever tried this restaurant is a testament to how much I love my wife.  I rarely eat Mexican food to begin with and even more infrequently do I eat in buildings that look like shanty homes in third world nations. She was insistent, however, and I was persuaded to go on a Sunday afternoon adventure that surpassed my wildest expectations.

As I said, My Taco Mexico’s appearance is, well… unique. It is an odd side street near downtown Anderson that borders on “alley-esque.”  The building itself is the size of my living room and looks more suited for illegal exchanges of goods than a provider of quality food.  Once you step inside, though, you realize that the old cliché about the book and its cover applies here in a big way.

When it comes to Mexican cuisine, I am accustomed to your standard chain restaurants with El, Al, or La in their name.  These are the places where you are overwhelmed in free chips and salsa and drink specials in oddly shaped, oversized glasses. They are as Mexican as Carlos Mencia.  My Taco Mexico is another experience entirely.

The restaurant is small. By small, I mean that if you have a big family order takeout because I would bet that your dining room at home is larger. In fact, so is your Suburban.  It is clean and quaint and you get the sense that you are eating in someone’s home as much as you are eating at a restaurant. The kitchen can be viewed from the dining room (since they are basically all one room) and you have a front row seat to a couple of people that are obviously putting their heart and soul into your meal, not to mention their culture.

Pastore Tacos

My Taco Mexico bills itself as a “taco restaurant/stand” with food cooked “exactly like in Mexico City”. I have never visited Mexico City so I am unable to speak to the validity of this but I can say that My Taco Mexico’s offerings are unlike anything I have ever tasted. It makes my wife long for Mexican taco stands during her former life in Texas. It makes me resent every previous restaurant that I visited that fueled my misguided belief that I simply did not care for Mexican food.  

I had a lot of misconceptions about what defines authentic Mexican cuisine. Apparently a taco is not a hard shell filled with every meat, cheese and vegetable you can stuff in without it shattering. The stench of chips and salsa is not supposed to permeate every pore in your body. You do not need to have a half a dozen Corona’s to stomach your meal. 

Instead, a taco is a soft corn masa shell composed of your choice of meat with the simple addition of a mild white cheese, cilantro and onions. It is not just simple, it is simply delicious. Further, it only costs $1.50. The same goes for the quesadilla. On one of our more recent trips there, my wife had the sope which was completely new to me and a real out-on-a-limb treat at $2.00 each.  This was a thicker soft shell covered in refried beans, lettuce and your choice of meat. The refried beans are homemade and use black beans which are a nice deviation from the pinto variety you may be accustomed to.

My wife is in love with the pastore (pork) tacos and the homemade sauces. I am just happy to eat at a Mexican restaurant that I can enjoy and feel like I am making up for years of lost cultural flavor. We both enjoy having a quality restaurant within walking distance of our house where we can fill our bellies for less than $5.00 each.  The next time you find yourself in Anderson craving some Mexican flavor, do not judge a book by its cover and trust me on My Taco Mexico… I promise you will thank me later.