33 Tacos: The flamingo strikes again

What is the deal with tacos and flamingos?

Just over 5 miles from Redwood City's El Grullense there is a taqueria in Palo Alto, CA called - you guessed it - El Grullense. The flamingo. Are people that unoriginal nowadays? Pretty soon they're going to start just calling taco joints "La Taqueria." Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Palo Alto yuppies often stop by El Grullense en route to the Whole Foods a mile or so down El Camino.

Being in Palo Alto, one of the more affluent towns in the Bay Area thanks to nearby Stanford University, this El Grullense attracts quite the yuppie crowd in contrast to its Redwood City counterpart. Many local well-to-dos occasionally embark on a short recumbent bike ride over to El Grullense in search of a delicious stuffed corn tortilla of one form or another. Consequently, while sitting at El Grullense, you will probably have the pleasure of hearing Blake and Vivian at the table behind you discussing enthralling topics like frisbee golf, the comparative merits of the pastries at Starbucks and Peet's, and the environmental impact of the taqueria's operating procedures. Modest, down-to-earth, "keepin' it real" taco fanatics like myself are somewhat of a rarity.

Where are the flamingo tacos, El Grullense?

Without further ado, the tacos. On top of the four I ordered, I was able to taste two other tacos from people I was eating with. The rundown, worst to best:
6) Tripas. Much better than the other El Grullense's tripe. Crispy and tasty without an innardy off-flavor. 7/10.
5) Carnitas. Juicy and tasty but a little too much fat for my tastes. 7/10.
4) Pollo asada. Flavorful grilled chicken, smoky and delicious. 7.5/10.
3) Bistec. Tender cubes of steak, which can really never be bad. 7.5/10.
2) Carne asada. A little juicier than the bistec, so it gets a slight edge. 8/10.
1) Al pastor. An absolute knockout. Fresh and juicy off the pineapple spit. 9/10.

All tacos come with onions, cilantro, and a green or red salsa as appropriate. In addition to the tacos, the chips are free, they're good as hell, and they come with a metric shitload of fixings.

Yup, I'm "fixin" to eat all of this stuff too! (Note the extremely clever pun)

4 tacos consumed.
33 total tacos.
Current pace: 344 tacos.

23 Tacos: Tacos and gas - a bad combo?

On Sunday I found myself in Redwood City, CA around 1 in the afternoon with tacos on the mind. I remembered that a friend had recommended a local joint called El Grullense (literally "the flamingo").

WARNING: If you do not enjoy really bad gas station-related humor, do not read the next paragraph.

I had my doubts about this taco joint because it didn't look like much and it was situated in a gas station, but based on my friend's recommendation, I was pretty "pump"-ed to try it. The tacos were fairly small, not much bigger than Taqueria Latina's in Sunnyvale, but despite that, they were surprisingly "filling." The meat was well-cooked and packed Vin "Diesel"-sized flavor. These were not the best tacos I've ever had, but they definitely didn't "tank." Best of all, even though I expected some unpleasant after-effects, these tacos did not give me "gas."

Surprisingly, El Grullense only gives you one kind of gas: the unleaded variety.

Ok, now for the obligatory taco rundown. Of the 7 tacos I shared with one other person, I ate the lion's share (5 tacos +) because the other person had eaten non-taco foods for some strange reason shortly before.
7) Tripas (tripe). Not bad, but the calamari-like rings did little to hide the fact that I was eating digestive organs. 5/10.
6) Lengua (tongue). I wish I wasn't so squeamish about these weird cuts of meat. Hopefully getting a lot more taco-eating experience will fix that. Not bad for cow tongue. 5.5/10.
5) Cabeza (head meat). Like steak, very tender, but a little too much fat for my liking. 6.5/10.
4) Carne asada. A consistent bet at any reasonable taco joint, this place is no exception. 7/10.
3) Al pastor. Nicely done and well-spiced. 7.5/10.
2) Pollo. Very flavorful chicken. Not gamey or off-tasting at all. 7.5/10.
1) Carnitas. A winner, quite tasty. 8.5/10.

I would like to add the the green tomatillo/chile sauce at this place is excellent. The carrots on top were an odd choice however.

5 tacos consumed.
23 total tacos this year.
Current pace: 300 tacos.