Pineda Tacos - West St Paul

Pineda's decor screams dive in my book. I love dives and there were promising signs that I was in for a treat. All the employees spoke Spanish, the menu was a combination of English and Spanish, and the offerings appeared authentic. Two booths were occupied by Mexican customers. Yup, definitely promising.

Being that they offer selections well beyond the standard Taco Bell fare, I had some difficulty trying to decipher parts of the menu. I ended up ordering a special posted on the counter, the Combo Torta Sencilla ($6.49 tax included). I know torta is sandwich but what is sencilla? The combo included a small brown bag of tortilla chips and a large soda.

I had a difficult time understanding the gal who was preparing the torta. She asked a number of questions and I had to ask her to repeat her questions. Maybe I need my ears cleaned out. She asked if I wanted everything on it. Sure. I didn't know what "everything" was but why not. She asked if I wanted beans on it and I said yes. She asked me what meat I wanted and then she told and showed me what the 5 or 6 options were. I chose the shredded beef.

The torta as you can see was huge although not Dagwood gargantuan. The shredded beef was moist and juicy with a moderately spicy deeply infused flavor mix with either allspice or clove standing out. I couldn't quite taste the beans as the jalapeno peppers had numbed my taste buds. Biting into the avocados seemed to cool the bite a bit.

The food tasted more mom and pop home cooked rather than slick commercialized restaurant prepared. Although my experience with authentic Mexican fare is limited, I have to believe this is the real deal prepared for the Mexican customer as well as the Midwest customer.

I look forward to returning soon to try their other offerings. It's definitely better than El Taquito located a block south . Pineda's parking lot was pretty much full. On the way back, I noticed only one car parked in the El Taquito's lot. People know.

1304 S Robert St
West St Paul