Nomday - Akron Taco Tour
Xoua and I love eating authentic Mexican tacos, so when he asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, it was a no brainer that my first response was to... *drumroll* ...do a TACO TOUR in Akron!!!!
We went to five different taco places around town and focused on customer service, cleanliness, overall taste of tacos, tortillas, and of course, the red and green sauces. To make it fair and avoid getting extremely full, we agreed that we would order only 2 tacos at each location and would focus on al pastor (marinaded pork) and lengue (cow tongue).
As a disclaimer, we are, by no means, taco experts - but we are, however, taco lovers. Also, this taco tour is primarily our way of having fun and we decided to record the entire experience as a fun way to document our memories together.
For our taco tour, here are the places we visited:
1. Taquiera La Loma - https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-loma-akron - 4.8 on Yelp
2. Mr. Trompo - https://www.yelp.com/biz/mr-trompo-akron - 4.5 on Yelp
3. Ranchero's Taquiera - https://www.yelp.com/biz/rancheros-taqueria-akron - 4.4 of Yelp
4. Taco Baja Fresh - https://www.yelp.com/biz/taco-bajaa-fresh-akron - 4.6 on Yelp
5. Taquiera El Paso - https://www.yelp.com/biz/taqueria-el-paso-akron-2 - 4.9 on Yelp
Now before you read any further, if you have not watched our YouTube video here. Go on, take a peek.
I know most of it is sentimental to us so I don't blame you if you skip to the end to see our favorite taco location. Which.... if you did, then you will know that as a final verdict, our favorite taco location in Akron was..............
LA LOMA!!!
Are you surprised? Don't worry, we were too.
Here's the breakdown:
Marinade. First thing I noticed at La Loma was how balanced and delicious the al pastor tasted. The marinade was perfect and somehow, they were able to pack a lot of flavor into the small taco bites that made my tastebuds sing. I will admit El Paso's al pastor is delicious as well since they add a slice of fresh pineapple, evening the playing field for La Loma and El Paso.
Tortillas. The tortillas at El Paso and Taco Bajaa Fresh were so yummy that they almost kick La Loma completely out of the running altogether, however, after eating at El Paso and Taco Baja Fresh, I was definitely able to feel the the greasiness of the lard-toasted tortillas in my body. Perhaps it is just me getting older and my digestive system not being able to handle the lardy yumminess anymore... but that alone made La Loma the front runner as I did not like the greasy feeling afterwards. In hindsight, it also gives me an excuse to down a few extra tacos from La Loma without feeling as guilty. Perhaps if I did this taco tour a year or so ago, El Paso would have won. Being aware of my limitations, the playing field was once again, even for La Loma and El Paso with Taco Bajaa Fresh close behind.
Sauces. As a final deal breaker, the sauce at La Loma was really fresh and made it stand out as the #1 taco spot in Akron. The green sauce has the perfect consistency and I can literally taste the layers of flavors whereas the red sauce has just the right amount of spice without the strong chili scent. In comparison, the sauces at Taco Bajaa Fresh were mediocre and has a slightly strong smell while the sauces at El Paso were very close to La Loma, however, they were slightly more runny. The sauces at El Trompo were ridiculously spicy that they were really hard for me to eat and the sauces at Rachero were a true disappointment.
It was a close call between La Loma and El Paso, however, based on a few minor details, La Loma beat El Paso by a hair, making it stand out as Buzzfeed's claim to the #1 taco location in Ohio (or at least in Akron, Ohio). At the end of the night, my tastebuds were still singing acapella to Lo Loma,
Hope you enjoyed this Nomday post, even though it's Tuesday.
Till next time everyone...
Nom nom,
Cathy
We went to five different taco places around town and focused on customer service, cleanliness, overall taste of tacos, tortillas, and of course, the red and green sauces. To make it fair and avoid getting extremely full, we agreed that we would order only 2 tacos at each location and would focus on al pastor (marinaded pork) and lengue (cow tongue).
As a disclaimer, we are, by no means, taco experts - but we are, however, taco lovers. Also, this taco tour is primarily our way of having fun and we decided to record the entire experience as a fun way to document our memories together.
For our taco tour, here are the places we visited:
1. Taquiera La Loma - https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-loma-akron - 4.8 on Yelp
2. Mr. Trompo - https://www.yelp.com/biz/mr-trompo-akron - 4.5 on Yelp
3. Ranchero's Taquiera - https://www.yelp.com/biz/rancheros-taqueria-akron - 4.4 of Yelp
4. Taco Baja Fresh - https://www.yelp.com/biz/taco-bajaa-fresh-akron - 4.6 on Yelp
5. Taquiera El Paso - https://www.yelp.com/biz/taqueria-el-paso-akron-2 - 4.9 on Yelp
Now before you read any further, if you have not watched our YouTube video here. Go on, take a peek.
I know most of it is sentimental to us so I don't blame you if you skip to the end to see our favorite taco location. Which.... if you did, then you will know that as a final verdict, our favorite taco location in Akron was..............
LA LOMA!!!
Are you surprised? Don't worry, we were too.
Here's the breakdown:
Marinade. First thing I noticed at La Loma was how balanced and delicious the al pastor tasted. The marinade was perfect and somehow, they were able to pack a lot of flavor into the small taco bites that made my tastebuds sing. I will admit El Paso's al pastor is delicious as well since they add a slice of fresh pineapple, evening the playing field for La Loma and El Paso.
Tortillas. The tortillas at El Paso and Taco Bajaa Fresh were so yummy that they almost kick La Loma completely out of the running altogether, however, after eating at El Paso and Taco Baja Fresh, I was definitely able to feel the the greasiness of the lard-toasted tortillas in my body. Perhaps it is just me getting older and my digestive system not being able to handle the lardy yumminess anymore... but that alone made La Loma the front runner as I did not like the greasy feeling afterwards. In hindsight, it also gives me an excuse to down a few extra tacos from La Loma without feeling as guilty. Perhaps if I did this taco tour a year or so ago, El Paso would have won. Being aware of my limitations, the playing field was once again, even for La Loma and El Paso with Taco Bajaa Fresh close behind.
It was a close call between La Loma and El Paso, however, based on a few minor details, La Loma beat El Paso by a hair, making it stand out as Buzzfeed's claim to the #1 taco location in Ohio (or at least in Akron, Ohio). At the end of the night, my tastebuds were still singing acapella to Lo Loma,
Hope you enjoyed this Nomday post, even though it's Tuesday.
Till next time everyone...
Nom nom,
Cathy
