Rico's Tacos, street taco vendor in Tijuana Zona Centro

There is absolutely nothing fancy, or really remarkable about Rico's Tacos, which is actually a small taco cart that seems to be almost permanently attached to the sidewalk, in front of a farmácia, located just north of the busy corner of Articulo 123 and Niños Heros, in Tijuana's Zona Centro, just south of the fabled Zona Norte, Tijuana's red light district. Rico's is just another of the small, two-man restaurants that line the streets of downtown Tijuana, serving their particular variety of tacos to hungry pedestrians for a very reasonable price. Rico's is the sort of place that I love to visit, as I love the ambience and the atmosphere enjoyed while consuming a taco de carne asada, on the streets of downtown Tijuana.

Photo: Don Juan is busy preparing delicious carne asada tacos, as his puesto is set up on the sidewalk, along Ave. Niños Heros. Note the "working girl" at the extreme edge of the photo, as Ricos is located in Tijuana's famed Zona Norte.

I have to admit that I was a little confused about Rico's Tacos, as a banner facing the street labeled the place as Rica's Carnitas, yet both ends of the cart were stenciled with the name of Rico's Tacos. Note the "Rico" and the "Rica," as it's not a person's name, it's a pronoun in Spanish that means "rich" in the English language; e.g. that a person has a lot of money. That makes me assume that Rico's Tacos are rich in flavor?... Another confusing factor was that the menu advertised tacos de carne asada for the price of MEX $11.00, which is reasonable by Tijuana standards, yet no mention was made of carnitas. I asked Don Juan, who along with his sidekick Pablo own and operate the restaurant, and Don Juan confirmed my suspicion that I could have any variety of taco I wanted, as long as it was carne asada. However, he proudly pointed out to me the painted "added 1973" near the bottom of his puesto, and he claimed that he'd been operating in the same location since 1973! Let's see... did I start my own business back in 1973?... Not being particularly hungry, I bellied up to the counter and ordered one carne asada taco with all the trimmings.

Photo: Don Juan and his helpers prepare delicious tacos in Tijuana's Zona Norte. I especially got a kick out of Don's skinny helper, to the right of the photo, who spent more time lounging against a wall and smoking cigarettes than actually working the restaurant.

In true Tijuana street food vendor style, Don Juan slapped a couple of CD-sized corn tortillas on the griddle, and ladeled some meat from a pot that had been simmering on the side of the griddle, to join the tortillas. Many street vendors that call the streets of Tijuana home prepare their carne asada at home, before setting up shop, and marinate the meat in a sort of stew made from vinegar and chili peppers. The meat mixture simmers on a cooler corner of the griddle, and the vendor merely dips his ladle into the pot and places the marinated meat mixture on the griddle, and it cooks to perfection in only a couple of minutes. Like most seasoned street taco vendors, Don Juan's timing was perfect, as the carne asada was ready when the tortillas were. Pablo had already wrapped a plate with a plastic "baggie," which is very common among Tijuana street vendors, as they have, to say the least, minimal cleaning and sanitation facilities, so the rest was easy for Don Juan. Here's the sequence, mind you, while everything is on the griddle: Place the two corn tortillas on top of one another, scoop the meat from the griddle, with his large spatula, and place the meat on the tortillas. Scoop the filled tortillas from the griddle, and place the taco on to the plate that waits in Pablo's hand. Next, Pablo adds diced onions and chopped cilantro to the taco, and hands it to me, and its mine to enjoy, on a busy street cornor in downtown Tijuana.

Photo: Don Juan, in the center of the photo, wearing an apron, greets an old, grizzled customer, wearing a battered straw cowboy hat, and a tall lady, dressed in jeans, towards the rear of the photo. Actually the "she" is really a "he" as transvestites are quite common in Tijuana's Zona Norte.

So are Rico's Tacos all that rich in flavor? Most definitely. The meat is cooked perfectly, as it is tender and juicy, the tacos are soft, pliable, and are cooked to perfection so they don't break, and the cilantro and diced onions are fresh and tasty. Since the meat is already marinated, you really don't need to add anything to it, but Rico's provides bottles of picante sauce for those who want to give their tacos a bit of a kick.

Photo: Rico's tacos contain two corn tortillas, lots of juicy carne asada, and all of the trimmings. Simply, delicious!

Don Juan isn't particularly friendly, and Pablo seems to prefer to lean against the wall of the nearby farmácia, but together, the serve delicious carne asada tacos, although somewhat uninspiring, at a price that anybody can afford. During the 10 minutes that I shared with Don Juan and Rico's Tacos, I noticed lots of locals stopped by his taco stand, and during my early afternoon visit, Rico's Tacos enjoyed a brisk business. If the locals like a taco stand, that tells me a lot!

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