Today we went to get quality tacos from a 41 year old taco stand.
Hello, again. My dad and I, and sometimes my mom comes along too, have been going out on the town to find some of the best not so popular cheap eats, mostly family-owned, restaurants that we can find. We go out almost every day, finding some new little place, or big place, to tell you about and review the food and prices.
Today my dad took me to the place where I ate my first solid food, 13 years ago. I wasn’t given any solid foods until I was one year old, and when that day came, my family just happened to be on a two week vacation in PV, and they took me to a little taco stand where my dad had been eating since the 90’s. I don’t remember this at all, but I’ve been told many stories. I was wearing a little onesie, and ate about 4 buche tacos with spicy salsa, though I only ate the meat and refused to eat the tortillas. After a bit I started to sweat really bad, so my mom unzipped my onesie and my belly was huge! I was a really small child, and 4 tacos worth of meat was a lot for me! My dad said I looked like Buddah! A year after that we moved here, and ever since then I have memories of going to this place. It’s been a few years, and as we were walking up to it I asked my dad if he thought the old man would remember him, though sadly he wasn’t there, as he was home resting. The place is called Tacos Mario, and is located on Playa De Oro 109-111 in Zona Hotelera, and the longitude latitude location is 20.651543486910857, -105.24214276600942. Also, they do delivery to all around town.
Tacos Mario is known for cabeza, birria, chicharon, carnitas, and aldilla, but they also have so much more. And, the thing is, that you’ll never know what their “more” is. It could be buche, lengua, labio, tripa, or even something else. There are so many different possibilities, that you have to ask them what they have. It’s never a good idea to assume at Tacos Mario. Though, no matter what they have and what you get, it will always be very good, because these may just be the very best tacos in Puerto Vallarta!
I got two carnitas tacos and a small water of the day, which was pineapple. The carnitas are kept in chunks, and whenever someone orders them one of the chunks are pulled out and put on a big wooden stump, and with a giant butcher knife are quickly chopped. Though the meat is so tender it kind of just pulls apart, and even though they’re cutting it, it seems more like they are shredding it. After that a spoonful of sauce is put on every taco, especially for carnitas, because the fat is completely rendered out of them, and the sauce makes the meat juicier while staying extremely lean. And the flavor is always so good.
My dad got four carnitas tacos, as well as a large pineapple water. He says the carnitas are full of flavor, and cooked so nicely. They are never fatty or greasy; they’re just the pure flavor of pork. There is very minimal seasoning on them, yet they never need anything added, except maybe a little sauce. If you wanted some extra fat for added richness you could ask for some chicharon to go along with it, or there are other more fatty meats such as the cabeza, which is also quite rich. Now they don’t have a whole lot of salsas and sauces, and my dad really likes his salsas, but these tacos are truly delicious, and don’t even need any type of sauce! So, even if the place had none, we’d still come here. And so should you.
Tacos Mario is a 40-some year old taco stand, and it is rusty, the paint is chipped, and they don’t even have a place to set your food, other than on your own lap. But that doesn’t take away from how good the food is. They have a few chairs, though it’s quite hard to get one of them when you go. The place is always crowded, which only means its popular and well-liked, and you may have to stand and eat, or sit on the sidewalk, or sit in your car. And even though this place isn’t anywhere near fancy, they are always very sanitary. All the food is always covered, except for a couple seconds when the workers are making a taco, so there are no flies landing on it or in it. And there’s a little washing station, which was there long before Covid, so you can wash your hands with soap before eating.
Tacos Mario's Phone Number: 322 229 1747
If you enjoyed this article, and would like to recommend a place that you know about, then please let me know. Or, if you are an owner yourself of a place that you would like to see written about, contact me.
And to see the rest of my food reviews go to the Dining Out section here in Vallarta Bay Times.