IS THIS REALLY MEXICAN FOOD?

One of the nice things about Tom working from home is that on my days off, we can go out and have lunch together. Such was the case one sunny day. I had to pick up something from Kiehl's on 4th street, so we decided to have lunch nearby. There aren't a ton of food options on 4th St., and certainly nothing you'd consider cheap, but we decided to check out Tacubaya, the Mexican restaurant on 4th St.
Tacubaya is a casual "taqueria" owned by a well known chef named Dona Tomas. Now despite living in California, we've yet to had really great Mexican food. Actually, I miss El Pelon. Apparently, I need to go to LA for the authentic stuff- or make a trip to the Mission or Oakland. So I had high hopes for Tacubaya.

Tom and I got in line to order. I got a chicken taco and guac and chips while Tom ordered a torta al pastor. Also, we both ordered Mexican Coke. For those of you who are unfamiliar, basically formulations of soda can be very different depending on where they're manufactured. For example, you may know about my love of orange Fanta, but only from Europe. The European one is much less sweet and a lot more like Orangina, while the American version is a lot more like Sunkist. Same thing with the Mexican Coke. Coke made in Mexico is made with cane sugar, while the U.S. version is made with high fructose corn syrup. Coke claims that the flavor is the same, but they're lying to you. The Mexican Coke definitely has a sweeter, more real sugar flavor. But I'm so used to the U.S. version that I prefer it.

Ok, onto lunch. Here's my taco:
Can you believe that this lone little taco cost me $3.50. What the hell? Plus, the chicken in it was overly juicy, which resulted in it soaking the shell and making it all soft and messy. And the chicken in it wasn't even that flavorful or great. I did like the seasoned spicy carrots on the side, though.

Oh right, and our chips and guac.
It was pretty disappointing. It was really watery and the flavor wasn't so great. Plus authentic Mexican guac DOES NOT CONTAIN TOMATOES. It was so watery that Tom claims that took salsa and mixed it in with the guac. The chips were ok, but I prefer the chips from El Pelon.

And lastly, Tom's torta.
I think he felt it was pretty good, but I also think he preferred the tortas at El Pelon. Overall, we're still looking for a good Mexican place. I know there must be some around, so I guess I'll just be making a trip to the Mission sometime soon.