Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Taqueria Garibaldi in San Antonio: Simple Tex-Mex Done Right!

I was on vacation in San Antonio, so I know very little about Taqueria Garibaldi, 5299 Walzem Road.  If you Google the name, there are several establishments with the same name throughout the southwest, but they don't appear connected-- it may be one of those common commercial names for a particular type of business, like La Posada for hotels or China Garden for restaurants. If my ignorance offends you, let me antagonize you some more by asking this question: Why is Mexican food so much better in San Antonio than in Indianapolis? 

I mean, there are Hispanic folks running most of the Mexican places in Indy, and I see Hispanic people eating in them, but why are Indy's joints so freaking cookie-cutter similar, and why don't they make food with the same rich flavor as in SA?  We had Mexican food 4 times the week we were there (because SA has so many other culinary options as well): twice from small taquerias, one finer-dining restaurant, and one large local fast-food chain.  All of them were better than any I've had in Indy, with the exception of maybe El Sol de Tala on Washington Street and in Union Station, both of which (I think) are closed now.  

I wonder if perhaps the places in Indy are more constrained by having to serve healthier food and eschew some of the tastier traditional ingredients, like lard, maybe?  Whatever it is that makes it better in SA, Taqueria Garibaldi has it.  It's a simple little free-standing building on the edge of a row of strip malls, and it has an Old-World kind of appearance with a tree-shaded outdoor dining area for the rare occasions the temperature drops below 90 degrees (this was not one of those days).  It may have even been a former Taco Bell that's been remodeled and had heavy carved Mexican style furniture and décor added.  The Little Woman and I had breakfast there-- I think she had breakfast tacos and I had the Garibaldi Omelet with refried beans on the side.  Both were DEEEEElicious:  the beans, especially, had a rich, smoky flavor that I've never experienced in Indy, where the beans and rice are usually very, very bland and seem to be an afterthought.  The crowning glory for this $$ guy is the prices at Taqueria Garibaldi were in the LOW $ category.  iINCREIBLE!

2 comments:

  1. Try Carniceria Guanajuato on Pike Plaza, you get to the restaurant by walking through the super market (which is interesting in itself) It's the best I've found since El Sol De Tala closed. Very authentic! Most of the time I'll get one of the daily specials,they are always reasonably priced and quite tasty.

    ReplyDelete