Tacos El Chilango - Taqueria on 11th and V Street NW Run by Brothers Jesus and Juan Antonio Santacruz

[Tweaked]

City Paper reporting that Tacos El Chilango is now open. Run by Mexico City natives and brothers Jesus Santacruz and Juan Antonio. Apparently their food truck has been rocking the Yelp vote. Menu here

Tacos El Chilango, 1119 V St. NW; (202) 986-3030

[Food Nomad]

I didn't eat there but it's right beside Izakaya Seki (where I did eat) and it had quite a crowd. That corner's going to get pretty crowded soon.

[DanielK]

Wandered in late on Friday after a show at the 9:30.

It was ok. Tortillas are obviously bought, not made. Al Pastor was unbalanced - pineapple way overpowered the pork. Lengua oddly didn't have much flavor. Mixto (steak with sausage) was the best of the 3. Salsas were oddly muted in flavor - even the "hot" was not that spicy, and no depth of flavor.

My +1 ordered Al Pastor, Pollo, and Mixto with chicken. She thought the same of the Al Pastor, and said that while plain, at least the chicken was not dry. They did manage to get our plates mixed, though, and put one of my tacos on her plate.

Fine if you need a quick bite in that neighborhood, but far inferior to the taquerias in Little Mexico (Riverdale/Bladensburg).

We did not get guacamole and chips, but the serving at the table next to us seemed painfully small for $5.50.

[ad.mich]

Randomly in there last weekend as well. Gotta co-sign on the al pastor. Had high hopes but it was pretty off balance. I liked the mixto but thought the chorizo was the best of the three - that being said it's definitely not destination worthy. I wouldn't veto a return trip if someone else really wanted to go there but nothing I had was particularly inspiring. Weird how the hype for this place was so strong when they first opened. Did something change?

[thetrain]

Weird how the hype for this place was so strong when they first opened. Did something change?

Probably not. I've been a few times to his courthouse outpost, and I've always thought its inferior enough compared to the nearby el charrito not to warrant another visit unless someone insisted. But it was decent, and there are not a lot of 'authentic' taco joints in the highly trafficked areas of DC, hence the buzz.

[Mark Dedrick]

I stopped in last night, looking for a relatively fast and inexpensive dinner before another engagement. On that front it succeeded. Overall, however, just meh. Everything was fine, but nothing really stood out. I got Al Pastor, carne asada and legua. I didn't have the same overpowering pineapple problems that others did on this thread, so perhaps they've fixed that. It was probably my favorite of the three, but it wasn't spectacular. The lengua was surprisingly flavorless. And I agree with the comments upthread on the tortillas, they were not a good base on which to build these tacos. And, DanielK, you're right, the guacamole was an incredibly small serving for $5.50.

In conclusion, I'd return if I were looking for a similarly cheap and quick meal, and I wouldn't veto it if somebody else really wanted to eat there. But I certainly won't travel out of my way to get there.

I'd also like to ding them for getting Macklemore's "Thrift Shop" stuck in my head. This is nearly unforgivable, and persistent, and I caught myself humming it just now in the elevator.

Edited May 14, 2013 by DCDuck

[zurich]

Interesting. I frequented their food truck and really enjoyed what I felt was authentic Mexico street food. Based on the yelp reviews and pictures it appears they are sticking to the same menu and adding a few items. I'll have to check out their new digs if I'm in the U street area.

[MTPeter]

My friend Jim wrote a long and poetic essay on the topic of "best tacos in LA" in which he articulated, for me, the central questions pertaining to taco evaluation: Did it taste good? Did you eat another one?

Yes to both at Tacos Chilango. This is a solid place- good tacos, well crafted and tasty. Definitely worth a stop by when you are nearby. Not a destination trip, but I'm glad to have it.