Tacos Don Memo

By -
Jeff's Take:
One of the great advantages of city living is the concept of the food cart. A good food cart can offer a quick, convenient, cheap, and delicious meal, and the best food carts can even be deserving of a special trip. In Philadelphia, the best place to go searching for good food cart cuisine is West Philly’s University City neighborhood. Dozens of food cart vendors congregate there every day, offering a variety of options to the thousands of students in the area. How successful are the University City food carts? Just look at Greek Lady, which started out as a cart and now has a permanent storefront nearby. Thanks to a recommendation from my brother Erick, who lives in the area, I recently discovered a cart that could end up being just as successful—Tacos Don Memo, located at 38th and Sansom.

A trip to any food cart carries with it a range of possibilities in terms of quality. Some carts clearly haven’t been visited by the health inspector in quite awhile (if ever), and are either dirty in appearance or using ingredients that aren’t so fresh. At Tacos Don Memo, you can take comfort in the fact that all the food is freshly prepared in front of you. The chicken burrito I ordered was carefully assembled with fresh-sliced avocado, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, Mexican rice, beans, chicken, cheese, sour cream, and salsa verde. The rolled burrito is then grilled, which is a nice touch, helping the burrito maintain its shape and adding a nice crispy texture contrast to the softer inside. This almost ritualistic assembly may take a few minutes longer than the average food cart order, but it’s a mouth-watering wait.

The best part about the burritos at Tacos Don Memo is that the ingredients meld together perfectly. At a fast-food burrito chain like Qdoba or Chipotle, the flavors just don’t “marry” well—it often seems like the ingredients are just unhappily stuck in the same tortilla. A major reason for this difference is the rice. Tacos Don Memo uses real Mexican rice, and its mild tomato, onion, and garlic flavor brings the other tastes together well. Qdoba and Chipotle use white rice, which is much more bland, and is like a brick wall for flavors—it just doesn’t allow the other ingredients to mingle like they should. Finally, the meat at Tacos Don Memo is also much leaner than you’ll find at the chains. A good burrito shouldn’t be greasy, and Tacos Don Memo follows this maxim well. However, the chicken in my burrito, while tender and juicy, was a little too salty. The saltiness wasn’t overwhelming, but some other Mexican spices would have been a welcome substitute.

If you’re around the University City area, Tacos Don Memo is a great option for a fresh, authentic, tasty burrito. And at $6, it’s cheaper than the chains, too.





Tacos Don Memo
38th and Sansom Sts.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beau Monde Creperie

By -
Image
This authentic French creperie is located just a block from the lively South Street shops and bars in Philadelphia , and offers both elegant indoor and outdoor dining. Beau Monde’s crepe menu is divided into two categories: savory and sweet. For either type, you can either order from a list of house recommendation crepes, or you can get creative and build your own crepe from a bevy of filling options. The savory crepes, which generally run for about $12-14, are served in a thin buckwheat pancake and can include fillings such as cheese or sauce and meats such as ham, chicken breast, andouille sausage, or fish, and vegetables such as tomatoes, mushrooms, or roasted leeks. The sweet crepes, usually from about $8-10, are made with wheat flour and also feature numerous options, such as flavored butter, chocolate, fresh fruit, ice cream, or custard. Jeff’s Take: For my savory crepe, I went with the coq au vin—a classic French dish that’s slow cooked with chicken, red wine, baby onions, mush
Read more

Taqueria Moroleon

By -
Mike's Take: Taqueria Morleon is a little hole in the wall Mexican Restaurant on the outskirts of Kennett Square. It is in a shopping strip next to a Capriotti's. My work colleague and I were debating on eating at the Capriotti's or trying this "quaint" Mexican restaurant. Let's just say we made the wrong decision. Taqueria Moroleon's atmosphere was adequate, having all the typically bright painted walls and Mexican flair. The lighting is a bit dim, but the atmosphere and facility is not where Taqueria Morleon stumbles. Let me start off with the highlight of the meal - The tortilla chips and salsa. Chips were good and there were 2 salsas to choose from: a mildly fresh salsa and a waterier spicy salsa. That's pretty much where the positives end, so let's move onto how this was one of my worst restaurant experiences of recent memory. The chips were ok, but the iced teas we ordered were pretty awful. My colleague described them, as "Dirty Waters.
Read more

Food Country: About Us

By -
Image
The idea of Food Country came up almost by accident. When arguing with a vegetarian friend in high school, one of us remarked that she was “a disgrace to our country.” “And what country is that?” our friend replied. And Food Country was born. Food Country has since stood as a symbol of our food ideals. We love meat (or as we sometimes call it, “slaughter”) in its many forms, and believe it should be incorporated whenever possible. We’re not saying that other food groups should be excluded—in fact, they often complement meat well or can even stand on their own. But meat serves as the foundation of Food Country. In addition, we have high standards for our food in general. But we’re not snobs about it. We believe that good food doesn't have to cost a lot. For that reason, we plan to review everything from food carts to upscale restaurants. We started this blog because we love food, and because we want to provide a trusted resource, honoring the values of Food Country, on where to get
Read more