| Taco Adobe #2 121 N. Lemon St. Orange, CA 92866 (714) 628-0633 Review in OC Weekly Review in Orange County Register's Food Frenzy Blog Official Site |  |
Coming out of my one-month break from actively seeking out new Mexican restaurants to review I knew I had to pick a good place to go to get back into the swing of things. Numerous places came to mind but the matter was settled when I found out from the OC Weekly that a second Taco Adobe had recently opened near the Orange Circle (CLICK HERE for information on the more well-known Mexican restaurant in the Orange Circle). Having always intended to make it to the original one on Main St. in Santa Ana I knew it was time to finally give Taco Adobe a try. Housed between an auto repair shop on the north and a radiator shop on the south Taco Adobe #2 serves up big, bold flavors from its small and humble edifice.
The chips were good; almost but not quite too greasy and almost but not quite too salty. And they have several varieties of Jarritos soda to choose from so I went with the bright red strawberry flavor:
Going by the OC Weekly's recommendation I decided to order from Taco Adobe's specials menu. The Quesadilla Arizona, according to the board, is, "blackened chicken breast, spinach, avocado, blend of cheese, grilled onions and tomatoes. Served with mango salsa," on a flour tortilla. This was easily the chunkiest salsa I have ever experienced and that's the way I like it. It also had papaya and red onion in it and after my quesadilla was finished off I scooped up every last bit of the salsa with some of my remaining chips. The blackened chicken was sweet and interacted well with the spinach and avocado. I also liked the fact that the quesadilla wedges were dry on the outside so that I wasn't obliged to pick up a greasy mess with my bare hands. Don't know if I've mentioned it before but quesadillas that are otherwise good but are greasy messes on the outside are a pet peeve of mine.
Their flan was extra custardy and also seemed to have a more pronounced caramel flavor to it than most flans . . . and lots of powdered sugar:
If you want to make your meal a little more international Taco Adobe also has tiramisu and cheesecake for dessert.
Taco Adobe earns a four and a half Speedy Gonzales rating:
That is a couple doors down from
ReplyDeletemy favorite cake bakery in OC:
Rockwell's Creative Cakes. I
don't think they have individual
servings, unfortunately.
My favorite cakes are with the white chocolate curls on the outside.
www.creativecakesbyrockwells.com
So, after you get your Mexican food for the day you can go and pick up a nice cake.
ReplyDeleteAh, nice new restaurant from your break. But I gotta say, you sure ate a whole lot during that break! :) Are you going to write the Merhaba review? I'm really interested in what East African cuisine is like since the only African cuisine I've had is Ethiopian.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back. Good starting shot!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think I'll probably write about Merhaba pretty soon.
ReplyDeleteMmm, that salsa looks great! I'm definitely with you on the "chunky" thing.
ReplyDeleteRE: Merhaba, C & I are hoping to go back and try everything "hot" next time, and hopefully get ChubbyPanda to join us since he missed out last time. Let me know if you want to join in. If so, you might want to put off the review until then.
Hmm, I think maybe I'll post the pictures I have then you and CP can do your review then we can link the reviews together. That's what I'm thinking now anyways.
ReplyDeleteHad a chance to stop by for lunch today. What a surprise given the location and modest outsides. I detect some hotel or high-end restaurant training in the cooks from presentation and the subtle hand in the preparation. Delicate, refined, sophisticated are words that come to mind. Not the usual adjectives for Mexican food. Ordered the Adobe Burrito with the blackened chicken. What a fresh mixture with cabbage, cotija cheese and their white sauce. The salsa they served with the chips was also full of subtle flavors, mild yet tasty. But don't think this is spa food. I certainly was filled up with my burrito and chips and salsa. Great find.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I would call it gourmet Mexican food disguised as taco stand food.
ReplyDeleteThe wife and I had lunch here today. Was going to bring the camera and get you some new photos but her batteries ran out. Had the a special carne asada burrito with the their really good red sauce. The steak inside was so good with a great grilled taste. The wife had the cheese enchiladas with avocado and she could not stop talking about how good the red sauce was. Their salsa is really good too. Very fresh with roasted peppers.
ReplyDeleteMmm, makes me want to get back there soon. Wouldn't it be great to have batteries that never ran out?
ReplyDelete