authentic mexican flavors that shouldn't be missed!. there's a good reason it's hard to find anything less than a five star review for señor taco on all of the customer review sites.
yes, it's that good.
simply said, señor taco is the place for authentic mexican food in pinellas county. there are just a few others that match up to it, in my opinion (notably la cabana del tio in clearwater). and as much as i like the others, i know that when i dine here i'm getting classic yucatan dishes, served up by a dear couple, cinthia and carlos sosa, that are passionate about bringing the authentic flavors of their homeland to the lucky folks here in the area.
and before i forget, in case you're in largo and need your taco fix, stop by their original taco trailer, la yucateca, located in a field at the northeast corner of starkey and ulmerton roads in largo. it's open 9 am to 4 pm monday to saturday.
but back to the carlos' full service restaurant, i've enjoyed every meal i've had here. it's located in a humble building, but it's very clean and well-kept. the service is very prompt and friendly.
everything i've tried here as been quite good, including the full assortment of tacos, served on fresh soft corn tortillas made right on site, and topped with the standard onions, cilantro and salsa. they have a good selection of meat fillings, carne asada (steak), puerco (grilled pork); pollo (chicken); picadillo (ground beef); carnitas (fried pork), chorizo (mexican sausage); and cochinita pibil (a greatmayanbbq, more on that later). i've tried most of them, and my favorites are the carnitas and chorizo. they're all about $2, worth every penny, and a great value for the quality.
but i'd also recommend trying the conchinita pibil, which is a classic yucatan dish (calledmayanbbq on the menu), which is unique and tasty in its own right. carlos makes it using pork shoulder, covered in a paste made from the seeds of the achiote shrub. these seeds are the main ingredient in the yucatecan spice mixture found as recado rojo, or "achiote paste." carlos add an orange juice marinade, then wraps it all up in banana leaves and slow roasts it for many hours. the tenderizing with orange juice and the slow roasting breaks down normally tough pork until its so tender it pulls apart easily. many taquerias in the tampa area don't offer conchinita pibil due to it's long prep and cooking times, so getting a very well-made example around here is a treat. it's served not only on their tacos, but their tortas (sandwiches) as well. it's topped with a pickled red onion, which i don't particularly care for, but many other folks seem to like it.
there are plenty of other classic dishes on the menu, along with some creations from carlos. the carne asada fries are great, with fries topped with steak, cheese, guacamole and crema (a mexican version of a sour cream, which i find richer, delicately sour, and just slightly thickened so it drizzles). it's the perfect topping for the combination, and you may find yourself giving up any sour cream for crema at home.
heads up: they offer both mild and hot salsa at the table, so make sure you know which one you want. others might like it, but the hot salsa was "burn the hair off your tongue" hot for me!
prices are very good for the quality. and since you can rarely find this level of quality around here, the value is outstanding. if you're over in tampa, it's definitely worth the drive. my rating, on a "pinellas taqueria scale":
atmosphere: 5
service: 5
food: 5
value: 5