Dos Gringos Locos - On tocos we opine

We are Joel and Bryah, a happy looking couple; and this is a record of our experiences at taco stands around the state of Florida

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It’s Moving Day...

Moving to Wordpress. All future posts (and past posts as well) can be found at Centralfloridatacos.wordpress.com

cilantro

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4 For $5!

Tacos Amigo at 105 Dundee Road in Dundee, has an interesting price point, 4 for $5. And as we found out on a lunch date last week, that is not to be confused with $1.25 each!

As usual we ordered the pork tacos, they have both carnitas and al pastor, we got the al pastor.

They come with the standard equipment of cilantro, diced onions, and lime. However, a fun uniqueness here was the addition of sautéed onions on the side. That together with the slight, spicy heat of the al pastor set these tacos apart from the fray. And yes, the spicy was so slight that neither of us minded.

It was a good lunch with great company!

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Epitome...Done Right!

Plaza Mexico located at the intersection of Rifle Range and Bomber roads in Winter Haven is the epitome of what taco stands are in this part of the world.

Screened in kitchen, weather beaten picnic tables under a carport, Jarritos...unless you just moved here from Canada, you know the type of place...

Now on to the food...what is there to say except that it is excellently average. Nothing stands out about these tacos except for their exceptionalism! At a dollar each, even their price is average but good.

The pork al pastor is crispy, non greasy, and delicious! Even without drippy grease, the tacos do come double wrapped. They’re served with a wedge of lime and a choice of red or green sauce; we opted for neither. They also, of course, come with onion and cilantro, both chopped very, very fine.

This is a very good and popular taco stand and most locals know it very well. In fact, Bryah’s family has been coming here for years!

And we plan to continue to come here for years to come!

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Tacos times two!!

Taqueria Mari & Taqueria Montes #2

Two different taco stands about fifty feet apart and located at the Sunshine Flea Market on US-27 in Lake Wales .

Both stands make very good tacos that come single wrapped with chopped onion, cilantro, lime wedge, and drippy, yummy grease (we recommend lots of napkins).

The difference between them seems to be the color of the sauce, Mari’s is green while Montes’ is red.

We ruined four otherwise excellent tacos with Montes’ spicy red sauce, and by the time Mari’s tacos came twenty minutes later, we were too scared to try their green...

The only other thing that differentiates them is that Monte serves his with a slice of avocado!

At a dollar each Montes’ are a quarter less than Mari’s, and with Mari’s 15-20 minute ticket times, Montes’ tacos are the clear winner! Just don’t ruin them with spicy red sauce like we did.

P.S. We also feel it’s our duty to let you know that fried cookie dough is also available nearby!

P.P.S. No, we do not know who the guy in the awesome hat is!

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And we’re back!

After our recent brief hiatus for weddings, vacations, and life we are back to eating tacos!!!

At 11am today I received a text from Joel suggesting we meet up for lunch tacos at a new taco stand recommend by his coworker Jimmy. Mi Terra is located at 219 Bomber Road in Winter Haven.

There we enjoyed delicious tacos featuring onions chopped into tiny pieces. They are the standard dollar a taco.

The weather was perfect with a nice cool breeze. We enjoyed their nice seating area with a pleasant view of dragonflies milling around above freshly cut grass. Our ears enjoyed a steady stream of music from the speakers overhead. It was en experience for all the senses and we highly recommend you go get yourself some tacos and stay for the atmosphere!

[tacogear]

It is the language of love. #tacos #tacogear https://www.instagram.com/p/BobowSSBTTU/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16owllb8jnsf8

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Happy nuptials to Mandy and Eric!

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Sterling reputation...

So Joel asked his coworker Dave, “where are the best tacos?”. “Down there on Wabash next to Wesco tire!” came the answer. So, after another evening with Lakeland West Coast Swing, Dos Gringo Locos went on another taco run.

The carnitas tacos were excellent in flavor, however this was overshadowed by the fabulous presentation! The bright green cilantro was beautifully completed by the red and white of sliced radish.

At a dollar and a quarter each, these tacos are pricier than most, but still a very good value.

“That extra 25c is so worth it... or maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t had a taco in four days!” said Bryah.

We’re not sure what this stand is called, but it’s in Sterling Plaza on Wabash, just North of George Jenkins in Lakeland.

We wanted egg rolls with our tacos, so we snuck around the corner to El Chino, and decided to try the beef tacos while we were at it! While we were waiting, Bryah said: “We’re eating tacos while sitting in front of a taco stand that is making us tacos!”

Life is good!

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We finally made it...

This is the taco stand that we apparently missed the other night.

Located conveniently across the boulevard from El Chino, La Michoacana is part restaurant, part grocery store, and all authentic! You order at the stand and then go inside the store to pay. (Drinks and ice cream bars are also available inside)

The dining room (a tent with picnic tables) is unique as it has a TV, and also a Found Nail & Disk (Civilsurv LB7805). Dos Locos feels for the surveyor who has to set up on this point.

The pork tacos were very good! They were double wrapped, and they come with what we think is a key lime. The pork is fall apart tender and seasoned just right. However... the oil, oh the oil! Unlike the grease at Don Chente, which was delicious, the oil dripping from the tacos at La Michoacana was just oily. It neither added to, nor detracted from the flavor of the tacos, it just made them messy.

Overall, we enjoyed this stop. But it would have been so much better sans oily pork!

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Confession time...

On our first two trips, we were not aiming for the friendly taco stands of Recker Hwy. We were in fact trying to get to Don Chente on Snively Ave, just East of Hwy 17. Well, we finally made it; which was quite a feat considering their hours! (They close at six on weekdays, and don’t bother to open at all on Sundays... actually, we can’t really fault them for that.)

Anyhow, on to the tacos... Grease is the word! But, oddly, not a bad word in this case. True, the pork tacos were greasy, but they were hot and delicious! They came with the usual onion and cilantro, with lime on the side; they came double wrapped witch is good in light of all the grease; honestly, these things could have been triple wrapped there was so much grease! But again, not a bad thing!

Now on to the bad... six for six dollars. Making them a dollar each. Not a bad price, until you consider that they used to be six for five dollars. Not sure what they did to deserve a 20% raise, but it must have been something! The chicken tacos are still the old price, but it is the suspicion of Dos Locos that that is only the case so as to keep the large 6 for $5 sign from being a liar!

Bottom line, we were disappointed in the price only because we were expecting something better, but the tacos were solid!

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Our good fortune…

Our first reader request! (Assuming of course that we found the right stand.) After spending the evening with the regulars at Lakeland West Coast Swing, Dos Gringos Loco set course for the other side of town. Our mission… Tacos! What we found? Chinese food… And tacos!

Located at 1818 W Memorial in Lakeland, El Chino Good Fortune is everything that a taco stand should be… The only snag is that the tacos seem to be an afterthought! The Chinese food takes front and center at this exemplary stand.

What can we say? Everything was excellent! The tacos were fresh. They came double wrapped, but this was hardly necessary as there was no grease in sight. They were slightly more costly than other stands, at a dollar and a half each, but they were bigger too. The tacos came with onion, cilantro, and lime on the side; and the tortillas we believe were corn, but had the feel and consistency of flour. All of the ingredients were very fresh. And the eggrolls were hot and fresh as well!

Overall, for 9:30 at night, in the driving rain, this was a very pleasurable stop! Thank you to the reader who recommended it!

Edit: Apparently we did have the wrong stand. The correct tacos are coming soon...

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Well My Friend...

When last we met on this, our humble Tumblr, Dos Gringos Loco took you to Tacos My Friend. This time we will take you all the way across the street to My Friend Covenience Store! Nope, that’s not a joke! And yes, they really are across the street from each other!

Now, on to the tacos... meh! I mean they’re good, but they’re not fabulous. We both agreed that the pork tocos were the best, but that said, they were a little greasy.

The pork was spicy, and just a little over cooked. We did appreciate that, like many stands, they double wrap the tacos. And we also liked that they come six for five dollars!

The takeaway is that unless you really need a dozen tacos, and you only have a ten spot, you might rather cross the road!

Bryah’s sister Leah joined us on this trip...

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After church this morning dos gringos locos struck out to our first taco stop... Tacos my Friend, located on Recker Hwy at Spirit Lk Rd in Winter Haven. We acquired four pork tacos, four steak tacos, and two grapefruit sodas! The tacos come with cucumber and lime slices, cilantro, and two types of onions (caramelized and raw). They also come with a cooked Serrano pepper which we both quickly ejected into the garbage. Tacos my friend has delicious food and was well worthy of our $11.