Pineda Tacos is a small chain of taquerias, with two locations in opposite suburbs and one location in the the middle of South Minneapolis, at a nexus of busy roads named Hiawatha-Lake. The restaurant is situated in a small strip mall island, with a mobile phone store to its left and a Subway to its right. I often see people going into Subway when coming or going here and I can't imagine why anyone would want to eat a cheap sandwich when this place is right next door. I used to go to this place long ago, for burritos with random meats. That was before I developed my taste for their wonderful pork served up on sweet corn tortillas.
The Place
The dining room has plenty of seating, in an arrangement that can accommodate a lot of groups. The booths are wide and the tables, put together, can fit 6 people. There is also a large circular booth towards the back left. The tables are usually kept clean. The booths have some wear and tear from age, some of them have big rips in the seat. They put some effort into decor but it's nothing special and it doesn't need to be. It's well lit, especially near the front which is almost all window. The bathroom is ok, can't complain much except you need to get a bathroom key from the cashier. I'm not a super germaphobe but I stay aware of bad ideas like that. There are TVs which are usually tuned to a Spanish language channel or Mexican music channel.
You order the food from the people making it. My usual order is three tacos, in some combination of al pastor and spicy pork. They'll immediately slap three pairs of tortillas on the grill, and if you're lucky, some fresh al pastor too. Meat options aren't limited to pork, there's a few varieties of chicken, a few varieties of beef, and some more interesting stuff like lingua. The rest of the menu is fairly diverse and you can get dishes like alambre, asada, huevos rancheros, and some seafood, in addition to the burritos, chimichangas, and tacos.
Arturo, the best taquero in town, damn photogenic too
Come up to the counter in the evening and you'll likely find Arturo, who is great at making tacos al pastor! And probably everything else. I'm always happy when he's there.
Once the tortillas are warm they'll ask what you'd like on the tacos, and from here you can go American or Mexican style if you want. I like cilantro and onions but I also like getting some pickled jalapeño slices most of the time. I skipped them today. You also have the option of free red or green salsas, plus pico de gallo and guacamole for a little bit extra. The salsas are your standard Mexican red and green ones, I usually skip them, though the green is pretty good. They used to offer a sliced and fried jalapeño and onion mix which was amazing but they stopped making it. The tacos are served on a doubled paper plate with lime wedges for each taco, on a plastic fast-food style tray.
The Tacos
Spicy pork
Spicy pork taco in the foreground, presented as served
Both the spicy pork and al pastor tacos are so good here I almost always get both. The spicy pork sits in a spicy chili sauce until it is lucky enough to land on your tortilla. The chunks are big and they're always super tender. The texture is lovely even when there's a bit of fat in it. The flavor is beyond good. It's savory, it's a little bit smoky, its got chili flavor and the heat to go with it. It's even got a little sweet too. Combined with the onion and cilantro it's scrumptious.
Al pastor
Tacos al pastor, left and middle.
Sometimes al pastor from Pineda is out-of-this world great, and sometimes it's only good. Today was a good day, I was distracted by the (cutely camera shy) cashier asking me to pay as the tacos were being prepared, but I don't think my pastor meat hit the grill. When it's cooked fresh on the grill though, there is no better taco to be found in the entire metro. I squeezed some lime juice on these tacos and they were gone before I knew it. The corn tortilla and al pastor marinade flavors work really well together. Speaking of the tortilla, the grill is always seasoned well and just the right amount of oil gets soaked into them as they warm up to yummy fragrant taco shells. On a great day the al pastor is heaven, but on a good day you still won't be disappointed.
Conclusion
Another great meal from Pineda, easily one of my top Mexican restaurants around. I bring first dates here, believe it or not. Value during most hours is ok, tacos are $2.80 but most of the time are served with a lot of meat. If you noticed from the photos above, there's a taco happy hour at the unexpected hours of 6-8 PM, when tacos are $1.80, and they don't skimp on the meat! It's a great value if you find yourself hungry for some delicious tacos around then.
4 Pineapple Piggies out of 5
Would have been 5/5 if the al pastor was great-status today. There are none better when the meat's cooked up fresh and crispy.
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