Do you ever find yourself passing by restaurants or hear people rave about their favorite dishes, and as a result, start adding these names to an ongoing imaginary list in your head? Well, I certainly have lists in all sorts of places (probably a number of them duplicates, but that's besides the point) - from my iPhone notes, written pieces of paper, blogs, computer documents, and even my calendars and school notebooks. Of course I don't "check-out" during class to think of new adventures, but when they do happen to run through my mind, I take that opportunity to write my random thoughts down.
I'm lucky enough that a few of my friends also share the desire to find new eateries or simply just go on an adventure. We created a list of local restaurants and have been slowly working this quarter to check them off. Unfortunately, a number of them are on the pricier side, so we will leave those to special occasions or when parents come to visit and have the urge to take us all out to eat. You know that term, starving students? We could make that believable for a few days if need be. :)
So to preface this blog post, please refer back to the title of my blog. Did you read it again? Eating OUTSIDE the box. Ok, just making sure because this adventure was definitely a little bit outside the norm.
When I am at home, I can always count on my family to provide a few nights of Mexican or Tex-Mex related foods: tacos, Taco Joe's, taco salad, enchiladas, etc. But as I am forced to feed myself and don't have the capacity to keep leftovers, I find it difficult to create a single serving of enchiladas for myself, unless it comes from a frozen Trader Joe's aisle. I picked up some suggestions of cheaper places in the area and was left with La Vic's or La Victoria's Taqueria.
The business started as a hole in the wall taqueria about one block from the San Jose State University in '98. It has quickly evolved into a popular (and relatively inexpensive) destination for people from all over the South Bay. They offer everything from breakfast burritos (7-11am) to tacos, enchiladas, and of course burritos. They have two types of tacos and burritos - regular and super. The "super" simply means that it comes with the addition of guacamole or avocado, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and tomato.
Most people tend to rave about their orange sauce, which if you too find yourself in love with the creamy condiment, you can take a bottle home with you for only $6. It is a secret family recipe, but I'd have to say, it has the perfect combination of chipotle that adds a nice kick to the meal.
La Vic's also has a wide range of meats offered for each of the menu selections. This is where it gets interesting.
I apologize for the blurry quality of the photo, so I will list the options of meat out as well.
Meat: Carne Asada (steak), Carnitas (braised pork), pollo (chicken breast), Pollo Asado (grilled chicken), Buche (pork), Chile Verde (pork in tomatillo sauce), Lengua (beef tongue), Chorizo (Mexican red sausage), Al Pastor (marinated pork)
Did you catch something interesting up there? If your eyes caught the part about tongue, I am dead serious, that was what they served. Jose, one of the guys who came with us, is from the area and semi-knowledgable about the meat. He and Eddie ordered tacos with lengua (tongue) for use to sample. Liz had a more difficult time with the meat, and had to block out any sort of images. Eddie wasn't helping with that as he kept teasing her. I was up for the challenge, partly because it resembled nothing like its name and I told myself it would be just another piece of meat. The verdict? I'd have to say it was much better and certainly juicer and a more tender selection of meat than my carne asada. You may be grossed out at this point, but I'd have to recommend it to anyone up for the challenge.
Our roles as food experimenters were switched from when we when abroad and Liz was able to consume the seafood paella our house mom created and I refused to touch anything that was staring back at me, probably a majority of the dish.
It is a super speedy process (as long as there isn't too long of a line...it can get pretty crowded) where you walk up, order your selection and wait about 5-10 minutes for them to call your number. They offered a number of authentic Mexican sodas (Jarritos brand) as well as agua fresca (fresh fruit juices) and horchata. I sampled the horchata, which was more along the lines of the drink we encountered in Valencia, Spain, a lighter flavor of of milk. I preferred it because it didn't have as overwhelming of a flavor as the horchata I had from Mondo Burrito a few weeks ago. Not nearly as sweet or infused with cinnamon - both positive attributes to La Vic's creation.
I ordered my dinner before we tested out the new meat, so I had ordered a tostada with carne asada. Usually I have good luck with steak. It is often the most flavorful of the selections offered at restaurants, but today was not the case. It was on the dry and flavorless side, so note to self: stay away from the steak next time.
Tostada: crispy corn tortilla with refried beans, choice of meat, lettuce, avocado, sour cream, tomato, and lettuce
If I were to ever return to La Vic's I think the Chorizo, Chile Verde (pork in tomatillo sauce), and Al Pastor (marinated pork) are on my go-to-sample items.
Both Liz and Eddie ordered enchiladas, cheese and chicken respectively, and came with a massive layer of cheese solidified on top, alongside beans and rice. I sample the cheese and loved it, but agreed there was too high of a ratio of cheese to enchilada. Liz mentioned the lack of sauce on the enchiladas, making it not very flavorful. She was able to make it work by adding the orange and tomatillo sauce, but wasn't enamored by her selection. Eddie fared a little better by including chicken in the enchiladas, which did add a tad more flavor.
Overall, not too bad and we didn't break the bank, which I think we were all happy about. Parking can be sort of an issue, so take that into consideration when you make the trip. Also check out further reviews on Yelp - La Vic's to determine what your favorite meal might be. I've found browsing through past customer's suggestions helps me with my decision and reduces potential disappointment.
Any other suggestions for good Mexican food eateries?
