#28 My Faith is Restored in the Hole in the Wall

Ernesto's Taqueria
Ft. Worth, TX

My friend Lupita swears that Ernesto's has the best menudo anywhere in the DFW area. She has the proper foodie credentials (growing up with Mexican parents and grandparents who love to cook). Plus she never lies. We pack the car with a few artist friends and take a road trip to Ft. Worth to see some galleries and gorge at Ernesto's. I am a bit nervous about eating menudo, but Lupita's enthusiasm is contagious.

Unfortunately Ernesto's only serves menudo on Sabado and Domingo. We are there on Viernes, so we are out of luck. The taqueria is a bit intimidating. I walk in and see vats of mystery meat. No veggies in site. Without Lupita, I would have bailed immediately. I'm not a big meat eater, as evidenced by my prolific posts about spinach enchiladas and fish tacos.

I deferred to Lupita who ordered for me--barbacoa, carnitas and chorizo with papas (potatoes). The lunch special included 3 tacos with rice and beans for $4.85.  You can't beat that price. I'm glad I didn't know what barbacoa was or I definitely wouldn't have eaten it. COW HEAD. Slow-cooked cow head, but still. The cowhead was mighty tasty. Actually all of it was tasty. I didn't even feel guilty about eating Babe. (For those of you too young for the reference, it was a 1995 film about a pig with a personality).

The tacos were served with double corn tortillas (I hate flour tortillas) with cilantro, onions and tomatillo salsa. The only thing missing was guacamole. I'm sure the crew would have pulverized an avocado for me if I asked. They were very friendly and accommodating.

I stayed away from the really scary dishes==Lengua (tongue) and Tripas (which Wikipedia defines as edible offal--not to be confused with awful). This is not a restaurant for vegetarians. There were NO veggie options on the menu. Meat and more meat.

For drinks, we had horchata; a rice drink with sugar and cinnamon. Although I lived in Mexico for a short time, I never tasted this before. It was delicious, although I didn't need 32 ounces of it.

The taqueria is located on the southside and there are no shortage of Mexican restaurants on this city strip. This gem doesn't look like much from the outside--actually it resembles a bail bond office. It's worth the trip. Lupita's sister goes every Sunday after church for their menudo. I have to go back--when  I'm feeling adventurous.

Proprietors/Chefs--Ricardo, Ruben and Jacinto