Taqueria La Paloma
multiple locations
Dude Factor: 8, or company Christmas party, on a scale of 1 (kids' birthday party) to 10 (bachelor party)
My first trip to Taqueria La Paloma was mostly the result of accident and misfortune. I'd just attended a baby-centric event where the "food" consisted of things like cupcakes and those little pinwheel sandwiches--sure, cupcakes are cool, but little pinwheel sandwiches are bullshit. Have you ever seen a restaurant serve pinwheel sandwiches? No. Why? Because they suck. People only eat them if they're a) stuck somewhere and starving (at a baby shower, in a cave, in a downed airplane in the Andes, what have you) or b) pregnant and hormone-crazy, but I digress.
Leaving the party in the middle of the afternoon, I decided to check out a nearby taqueria I'd read about in a Dallas Boring News feature, only to find it closed. That's when I remembered: "Hey, didn't I see a cool looking taqueria with a chicken on the sign when I was on my way up here?" Using my iPhone in a parking lot during a pouring rainstorm, I was able to confirm that my vision was not, in fact, failing me.
Taqueria La Paloma was nearly empty when I walked in, save for one
family and another solitary dude, who would later ask me if I knew
where he could score some weed. Numerous leaks were dripping water
through the corrugated metal ceiling, but I was able to find a dry
table and chow down. I ordered both barbacoa and al pastor
tacos sans onions (it's a thing...) and poured on some of the tangy
green salsa. I must be spoiled by the barbacoa tacos at El Si Hay,
because these were rather bland and unremarkable in comparison, but the
al pastor tacos were a different story, spicy with great texture and
flavor.
I kept thinking about those al pastor tacos for a couple months but
never made it back up to Spring Valley and Central again to eat them,
until I noticed a closer location near Walnut Hill and Central while
running an errand yesterday--jackpot.
Unfortunately for this hungry dude, they were all out of al pastor. The
carnitas and pollo tacos I sampled instead were also awesome,
however--many local taquerias punt on their chicken offerings, but this
pulled pollo was moist and delicious--and the Mexican soap opera on the
lone television was muy intersante. There were also no leaks
present in this La Paloma location, though the dim spot lighting in the
bathroom did make it seem as if the toilet was being interrogated.
Considering I've only sampled approximately 1/15 of the menu--seriously, check this shit out--I'll definitely be back.
