Taqueria Veracruzana

Following a lead on the best Mexican food in Philly, I wondered in here for lunch on New Years Eve with my friend Rickey and his sister, Ashley. I expected it to be a tiny hole in the wall that had only enough room for a table or two and served mostly take out. And while the atmoshpere isn't much, it's better than I expected. There are about ten tables in a small dining area, and we seated ourselves. After a few moments, a waitress came over with chips and salsa. We looked over the menu, which was larger than I expected. From what we ordered, and seemingly everyone else, the tacos seem to be the obvious choice.

Three tacos are priced at $6. There are several different choices on kinds, and mix-and-match is no problem. I had a hard time narrowing it down, but finally went with chorizo, stuffed jalapeno, and pork. They are all simple tacos, with the meat sitting atop small steamed corn tortillas and garnished with raw onions and cilantro. The pork was simple, unmatinated, but flavorful. I would order it again. The jalapeno taco was interesting. It contained one large jalepeno stuffed with cheese and then breaded and fried. It was a good option, and has a decent amount of heat to it as well. The chorizo was served in crumbles, and left something to be desired. It was my lease favorite choice.

Rickey and Ashely had steak and and chicken tacos, and they both enjoyed their choices as well. When we recieved our food, the platters looked quite small. I didn't believe that it would fill me up, but we we all left satiated thanks to the surprisngly filling tacos. Veracruzana also offers imported Coke products (glass bottles and real sugar) and this is a plus.

Bottom Line: This is great Mexican, hole-in-the-wall food. Still, I have my preferences for other places that are closer to me. I don't think it's worth going out of your way, but you certainly won't be disappointed either. The price is right, and it's a BYOB with a six pack store four doors away. Still, an hour after much lunch there was the distinctive flavor of Taqueria Veracruzana lingering, and I loved it.