El Beso Taqueria

5500 Doniphan Dr.
El Paso, TX
(915) 307-7374

El Beso

The country seems to be in somewhat of a taco upswing, and at least in El Paso, taquerias are popping up almost everywhere. A second characteristic of this trend is that all of these restaurants seem to be extremely popular.

The only way to truly discover what these restaurants are all about is to try them, finding out their differences as well as their similarities. The word “taqueria” implies that tacos are a prominent or the only menu item, but this still leaves a great variety of possibilities that make it worth exploring different restaurants. El Beso follows the pattern of the taco restaurants in Ciudad Juarez, with a Borderland flavor of the food and spicy salsa to go with it. All the drinks here are sweet–either sodas or aguas frescas. While I appreciate the authenticity, there is not much here for people who have purged sugar from their diet.

Judging from the crowd, this seems to be one of the more popular places in town.

The Tacos

Carnitas and carne asada tacos

Tacos are ordered individually, and there do not seem to be any “plates,” package deals, or discounts available on large orders. I have not been able to find a menu online to verify if this is the case or not. I do not think, though, that many people would complain about the prices. The Carnitas and Carne Asada Tacos I tried were both good. The carne asada does not rise to the very special status I find at Delicias Cafe, but the ones here are certainly not bad at all.

One of my dining companions had birria tacos which looked quite good, and are the only ones I saw that deviate from what I think of as traditional tacos.

Some very spicy red and green salsas are available to enhance the flavor of the menu items.

Additional Comments
This place is about as authentic Mexican as you can get. They do not have iced tea, but most of the world does not drink iced tea. When I was in college I had to get used to being called a “Tea Sip,” a derogatory name given to University of Texas students by our friends at Texas A&M. That’s okay–ice tea was a good accompaniment to Austin’s Tex-Mex food which was vastly superior to that which could be found in College Station.

Maybe those who move on from Tex-Mex to Mexican style tacos will also appreciate the Mexican Cokes made with real sugar (not corn syrup) that are served here.

RATING: 23

Mexican Food Details

Chile Index:
Cooking Oil:	N/A

 

Special Ratings

	Carne Asada Tacos
	Carnitas