El Paisa

El Paisa, 4610 International, Oakland. East Bay Express declared it "the best tacos in town" back in May, so we decided to check it out.

First time we went there, we got seven different tacos. You can see we also got too much salsa. Notice that instead of chopped raw onions, they give you a couple of small grilled onions, larger than pearl onions, not quite full sized. A couple of these were highly seasoned, like the Chorizo tacos.

Having errands down there, we went back this afternoon. This time we got two Pollo (chicken), two Lengua (beef tongue) & two Cabeza (beef head or cheek, essentially barbacoa). They also served us a huge piece of Nopale (cactus paddle) on the house, as were all the radishes, cucumbers, salsa and lime. 

Without a doubt, this is the best Lengua I've ever had, cooked perfectly: luscious & tender. Cabeza was similar to Barbacoa I've had in the better places in Austin (like La Michoacana on E. 7th Street)--unctuous and intense. The Pollo was the big surprise--usually chicken tends to be dried out or without flavor in taco places, but not here. Stunningly good. Some guy next to us was getting a quesadilla that looked incredible.