tacotopia

I’d intended to review the Grandma’s Gorditas on Morgan this morning but found it closed. Damn. So I pointed my truck down port and drove around in circles for a few minutes because I was sure there had to be a good taco to be had on this street.  Morgan is not the prettiest street in Corpus Christi, and it is lined with dilapidated garages and shops – many boarded up, and fenced lots with barking pit bulls guarding rusted cars no one would bother stealing.  I used to travel this road at least twice a day to go to trade school and had never felt especially uncomfortable there – pale though I am – but this morning when I stepped into Los Regios it was quite apparent I was not expected.

The place was dingy. The TV blared tejano. The cook peeked through his window from the kitchen and had the look of a recently escaped inmate interested in not being seen, and he’d have had little trouble as the joint was about empty, with the one other patron old and nearly blind.  The lady behind the counter barely understood my english, and when I started ordering in spanish she understood less.  I don’t know if this reflects on my language skill or her cognitive ability.  I asked for a cafe grande, and she replied ‘fajitas?’ I accidently refused the offer of coffee fixings and sat and drank it black from the oilcan.  It was pretty good.

The tacos were cheap, the coffee giant – like a big gulp for caffeiniacs.  I hurried out before being set upon by an angry parole officer, or caught in a drive by.  I got to my shop and opened up the sack half expecting to find a severed human hand but it was only tacos.  They looked puny next to the coffee.  I think the tortillas were homemade, but so that they tasted like store bought.  But get this:  they were both pretty good.  The chorizo & egg had a good rich flavor, though it was a little soft.  The carne guisada was even better, and as I finished them off I considered going back for another.