El Mariachi Loco
17 12th Street
Hammonton, NJ 08037
For
my buddy and I, the thought of dining out in the delicious Mexican food scene
in Hammonton, NJ was almost becoming an obsession. This time around we went to a
sit down restaurant called El Mariachi Loco right in the heart of downtown
Hammonton. It was very plain on the inside, almost looked like a cafeteria, but
the smells emanating from the kitchen were dreamy. We sat down and looked at
the menu, and were ready to order almost immediately. Before we got to order
though, they brought us out a basket of chips and three different cups, each
with its own delicious concoction. One
had a creamy refried bean dip, another a smoky and spicy chipotle salsa, and
the final one a supremely spicy salsa verde. The chips were clearly made fresh
just before they were brought out. The dips were outstanding. I continued to
eat them all throughout the entire meal. The flavors were deep and rich and the
spice level was incredible. We both loved this touch.
I
tried to order a tamarind jarritos, but they were out of them, so I decided to
try the lime one. I also ordered a taco de chorizo, a taco de carnitas,
and a sope de carnitas. I
wanted to compare the sope that I had at Tacos y Tortas to this one and see if
it was up to par. We talked for a while and enjoyed our sodas, chips, and
salsas. We actually had to have another basket of chips brought out because we
demolished the first basket. The tacos and sopes came up quickly, so we dug
into them as well. When you order your tacos there, they ask if you want them
the traditional way or the American way. The traditional way is cilantro, onion
and lime wedges, while the American has tomatoes and cheese in addition to the
other ingredients.
My
tacos were fantastic. I would love to eat some street tacos in Mexico to see
how authentic these are, but I can say that’s what they made me think of;
walking through a busy street in Mexico with a taco in my hand. The corn
tortillas were fresh, definitely made in house; the meats were seasoned to
perfection and perfectly balanced by the cilantro, onion and lime juice. I
especially loved the carnitas because of the texture that they provided. These
were the best carnitas I have ever had. While others I have had were very
flavorful, these had texture that was unmatched anywhere else. It was just
crunchy enough on the outside to give it the perfect amount of crunch yet still
juicy on the inside. Everyone knows how much I like chorizo, so it should be no
surprise that I loved the chorizo taco as well. Unfortunately, the sope was not
nearly as good here as it was at the other food truck. It was much smaller, and
the texture was a bit different. It was overly crunchy, I think because of the
size of it, but it was not fluffy on the inside like the other was. I preferred
the tacos.
Three
solid pints for El Mariachi Loco. Excellent tacos for a really good price is
the draw here, and it would be foolish not to check it out. I have been back
once since and it was just as good the second time. Check it out and let me
know what you think! Cheers!
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