Carniceria y Taqueria 2 Hermanos

If you're one of the folks that think Fiesta has gone too far from its Mexican style roots, then you'll love this place. The carniceria portion is a small mexican grocery store with a ton of items you can't find in Fiesta stores. The Taqueria portion is a fly tourist trap with some delicious taco plates and ice cold glass bottles of coke.

A recent trip to the Taqueria involved the realization that very little (aka, none) English is spoken. So prepare yourself to order in Spanish or Spanglish. Here's your handy guide on how to make it work. When you walk in, head to the left and you'll see three small booths, a drink fridge and a counter with some stools. There are a few brightly colored sheets of poster board on the wall above the cook with the options. One is in English. That's all you'll get.

It wasn't exactly clear how to order so I just approached the counter and told the lady what I wanted. I asked for tacos al pastor con frijoles y arroz. You can say exactly what you want and add "con/y frijoles y arroz" and you'll get something with rice and beans. Or you'll get laughed at like I did. The lady asked what I wanted on my tacos and when I asked what she had. I swear she said lettuce, onion and cilantro. I asked for cilantro and onion and was told there was no cilantro. Understandable right? Not many taquerias have cilantro... To be fair though, I walked through the produce section and there was no cilantro there either.

The food and glass bottle of coca cola came quickly and I prepared to dive in. Except there was a new problem. On the table there will be three bottles of hot sauce. And none of them are labeled. I decided to sample all three before dousing my tacos in them. I can't remember what they were, but the light green one was really good and the sauces ranged from mild to hot so test them before you use them....unless you want to play a game of taqueria roulette (may require later use of tums). I would recommend testing them first. Plus, taqueria roulette sounds really dangerous.

The tacos al pastor (pork cooked by a Pastor) was delicious and tender. The meat was not overly greasy and the tortillas were soft and warm. The plate also came with beans and rice which were surprisingly delicious for a taqueria. The beans were a quasi refried bean and the rice was a typical mexican style rice. If you go, make sure to get this on your plate. They'll also work to help cool your mouth down if you get the wrong salsa on your taco...because you forgot which was which.

If you're planning on going to the Taqueria 2 Hermanos please take heed of this warning. Be careful about who you take because not everybody will enjoy this place. It's definitely a hole in the wall and you would be better off with a little Spanish. Save this place for your more adventurous lunch mates. Or, take the less adventurous ones and help them order a basic beef dish. Then try to convince them they ordered pig ear. Or just keep pointing out the flies.

I want to thank Smokehopper for the heads up on this place. He highly recommends the carnitas burrito. Smokehopper's gift of this recommendation is now my gift to you. Merry Christmas.

Carniceria Y Taqueria 2 Hermanos is located at 8633 Camp Bowie (580 West). It's in a strip center right near Las Vegas Trail and Camp Bowie.

Go and let me know what you think, If you've been give me some more stuff to try.