When you think of Mexican food you probably think of tacos and quesadillas. But often in fancy downtown restaurants the plates are expensive and the authentic flavor you seek isn’t even there.
To get good tacos most of the time you have to leave the tourist zone, and look for hole in the wall restaurants and stands.
One of the favorite taco stands of my family is Tacos Leo. It is located on Calle Puerto Tampico in the Colonia Jardines, right across from the Super Kiosko. The stand isn’t registered as a business, or even a place on maps, so it doesn’t have an address. But the longitude and latitude location is 20.632685571195033, -105.20814319343906 so you can find it by copying and pasting that into any map app or website. They'll also do delivery as long as the place isn't too far away.
Tacos Leo serves really delicious and pretty cheap food. They serve tacos, quesadillas with or without meat, and volcans. Volcans, if you don’t know, are a fried tortilla with melted cheese and what you would normally put in a taco goes on top.
Today I had three asada, or steak, tacos, my mom had the same, and my dad ordered five. To drink we ordered the water of the day, which today was pineapple. Our lunch bill for the entire family cost 200 pesos, or about 10 dollars, and we left very satisfied.
Something that I and probably many other people really like is the fact that you don’t have to stand up to eat your tacos, or sit on hot benches under the sun. They have a nice covered area with a couple of tables and chairs, which means that you get shade when it is sunny, and if it starts to rain you won’t get wet.
My dad’s favorite thing about this taco stand besides the delicious food or the shady area, is the variety of salsas. They normally have about 7 of them, but sometimes there are more or less. All the way on the right is the guacamole, and the further left you go, the spicier the sauces get. I like putting guacamole and the hottest one, which is habanero, on my tacos.
Another thing my dad enjoys is that all the tortillas are hand made and freshly cooked with your order. Not only do they taste much better than store-bought, but it ads heart into the plate of food.
And one thing that my mom appreciates is that the guy who cooks the meat, Leo, cuts all the gristle and fat off of the steak meat that he uses for the tacos, so there is no chewy-ness or hardness in the tacos. And what he does with the gristle and fat is quite creative. He fries them up on his charcoal grill until they become crunchy like chicharon. Sometimes he’ll hand them out to customers, but mostly regulars will just get up and grab a couple pieces to munch on while waiting for their meal.
Tacos Leo's Phone Number: +52 322 217 7934