Tourism

Tijuana’s Xolotacos dazzle with their condiments, but their marrow overwhelms the palate

Though the marrow’s size was impressive, it didn’t really help the taco

By Redacción 2022-02-18T02:00:00+00:00

In this episode of Una Mordida Tacos Tijuana, our host, Chef Danny Betancourt, visited “Xolotacos” located in Otay, at Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Campos Deportivos, 22430. He ate two tacos here: a traditional birria taco priced at $1.2 dollars (24 pesos) and a birria taco with marrow priced at $1.3 dollars (26 pesos).

Birria Taco

The first thing that Danny noticed was how fried the two grease-drenched tortillas were. When he held the taco, he heard them crunch and like any traditional taco it has beef birria, onion, and coriander. When he bit the tortilla, he realized that it was at the exact fried point that he loves so much.

The birria had a lot of condiments and a lot of flavor. Its saltiness levels were a little bit high, which reminded the chef of Guadalajara-style birria which has a special condiment that one notices quickly. The taco had some broth and birria grease, which gave it more taste. Our host would have liked more meat because the tortilla is bigger than usual. This is why this taco gets a rating of 8.1.

Price: $1.2 dollars (24 pesos)

Birria Taco with Marrow

This taco has the same ingredients as the previous one such as birria meat, onion, coriander, and two fried tortillas drenched in grease. What makes this one different is that it has two pieces of beef marrow, which surprised the chef because their size was quite big.

When he bit the taco, the chef confirmed that it had more meat. By having more protein, the tortilla detracts less from the flavors, which makes the contrasts quite good. This taco is ideal for those who enjoy marrow and jelly-like textures because this is what one feels when eating it.

The tortilla failed this time, however, because it started to break. The onion and coriander could not be perceived in this taco, but the marrow could. Due to its rubbery texture and the grease, our chef didn’t really like it, and he didn’t get to bite the taco a third time because the marrow overwhelmed his palate. This is why this taco gets a rating of 7.2.