This is a an appreciation of Mexican food written by San Diego native Greg Laswell, who seems to be able to sniff out an authentic taqueria anywhere in the US. Laswell shares his favorite Mex food finds.


It happens all the time.  Someone says, "How about Mexican food?"  And someone else responds with a lazy and obviously thoughtless "Eh, I just had Mexican food yesterday." It never ceases to astonish me.  In fact, during the time it took me to write this, such a conversation occurred some ten thousand times in this country alone.  And there are no consequences.  People are just walking around and bombastically mouthing off, loudly mind you, that they "just had Mexican food yesterday," and trying to pass it off as a reasonable argument against having Mexican food today.  Interestingly enough, the very same offenders are probably wearing pants..... they aren't standing there naked from the waist down because of an "Eh, I wore pants yesterday" way of thinking.  You see my point.

In an effort to halt this apparent pandemic from spreading any further, I have comprised a list of my favorite Mexican food restaurants from coast to coast.  I am omitting MANY, but for the sake of brevity, here are 10:  

La Posta
3980 3rd Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
(Hillcrest)

There is no inside dining in this establishment, only tables wrapped around both sides of the counter under an awning. This is USUALLY a good tip-off that you are about to have a really good taco, but not a rule to be applied everywhere. Their red sauce is better than your mom and their plain chicken taco is better than your dad. There will be a decent wait after you order so get some chips.

Adalberto's
1868 Rosecrans
San Diego, CA 92106
(Point Loma)

This was an old college favorite of mine.  My instructions are to walk directly to the counter and order a carne asada burrito with only guacamole (or "con guacamole solamente"), three rolled tacos and a bean and cheese burrito (yes, a plain bean and cheese burrito).  You do not have to finish everything... perhaps take a friend with you to help you.  Oh, and I should have mentioned this before, but if you do not like guacamole then please stop reading this.  I have nothing to offer you.

El Toro Taqueria
598 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

If you are on a first date with someone in San Francisco, take them here.  If he or she does not like it, then drop them off at their house and never call them again.  If you have never had a Manchaca burrito, then have your first here; it's scrambled eggs, shredded beef, grilled peppers and onions.  I wanted to buy it flowers and take it to dinner and a movie, instead I just ate it.

Por Que No?
3524 N. Mississippi
Portland, OR 97227

After my last show in Portland I met a guy who lives in Portland and claimed to love Mexican food but had never been to Por Que No.  For a split second I pictured myself performing a mixed martial arts combo move on him.  All of their tacos are amazing... On your first visit, try the carnitas taco and their "Porque Tinga" taco.  Their guacamole is first rate.

El Vaquera Mexican Restaurant
3230 Olentangy River Road
Columbus, OH

I've been to Columbus 3 times now and each time asked someone from either one of the radio stations or the venue I was playing where the best Mexican food place is in town.... I got the same answer 3 times:  El Vaquera.  This is a full-blown, sit-down restaurant, not a stand.... I know this makes some of you seasoned connoisseurs a little nervous and I understand your initial hesitation, but don't be scared away so quickly. They put their homemade salsa in milk glasses on every table so that you can refill your own salsa bowl. Their homemade chips are my first choice anywhere.

Carmela's Taqueria
1206 West Lawrence Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640

I found this completely by chance.  It was across the street from a venue I was at.  I didn't expect much from a Chicago-based Mexican place, I have to be honest.  It is as authentic as anything I have ever had.  I went back twice over the course of 4 hours. My favorite was the carne asada tacos with onions, cilantro and red sauce.  

Cactus Tacos
950 Vine St
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(Hollywood)

Everyone who lives in LA has their favorite go-to taco stand.  This is mine...

Mole
205 Allen St
New York, NY 10014

New York has just about everything you could possibly want in every cuisine.... but 98% of their Mexican food is rubbish.  I once ordered a taco from a place that will go nameless because I am a born-again Christian (no I'm not), and what I got was something similar to hamburger helper wrapped up in a store-bought, rubbery tortilla. That being said, a place on the lower east side makes my list and it is Mole.Table-side prepared guacamole and excellent chicken burritos make up for the crimes the rest of this great city does to Mexican food.  Oh and if you want a jalapeno in your margarita, go ahead and ask for it....

Phoenix Ranch Market
1602 E. Roosevelt St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006

This is basically a super market dedicated to Mexican food.  Put another way, it is Disneyland.  They have an entire aisle dedicated to salsas, okay?  Along the back it feels like an indoor farmers market with stations for fish, seasoned meats, vegetables and Mexican spices.  And yes, if you just want a burrito or a taco, you are STILL in the right place. Head towards the back and look for the huge menu signs.  

Taco More
9400 Parkfield Dr.
Austin, TX 78758
They have goat tacos here.  So there's that.  And the chibo tacos will make you question your faith.  You will simply quit believing in EVERYTHING except these little things in front of you. 


So there it is - a short list of some of my favorite Mexican restaurants across the country. I realize that a lot of them are on the West Coast.  What can I say?  Oh and I didn't include tex-mex which I do not enjoy as much. 

Laswell is currently on the road for his new release Take A Bow. Recorded in a remote cabin in Arizona with his dog for company, Laswell wrote, performed (he plays all the instruments) and engineered the songs, making his "band" the studio and the studio his laboratory. The results are lush without being slick, textured while still maintaining an organic feel. His songwriting draws comparisons to writers such as Martin Sexton and Jeff Buckley and his sonorous, distinct vocal style (not unlike Stephen Merritt of Magnetic Fields) is haunting and has made him a top choice of film and TV licensers.

The video for the first single, "Take Everything" is filmed backwards. Says Filter Magazine, who is premiering the video: "In the video for "Take Everything", California singer/songwriter Greg Laswell, is taking a cue from the film <Memento and running through his bouncy ball, pillow fight, guitar fire and party filled afternoon in style. Check out the video, by award-winning director Otto Arsenault (Matt and Kim), here: