Dashboard Dud?
You can't blame me for trying, just look at that sign. Doesn't it call to you? Taqueria, panaderia, restaurante, joyeria, carniseria! It's like everything you could want or ever need. I'm sure if you ask, they'll even fix your mofle and sell you a used troca.
This strange establishment on the corner of 40th and Tejon looks like it has been through many incarnations, and it is appears to have stalled in in the middle of its latest morphing. Some kind of moth that didn't quite make it out of it's cocoon and is already trying to serve carnitas while dodging moth-balls.
So in the interest of you, my dear readers, I decided to give the tacos a spin; and hope they didn't give my stomach a spin. To begin with, the kitchen was highly suspect. Though there were only three people sitting in the "dinning room", there were at least four cooks from what I could tell, and a slew of "ancillary service providers". Honestly, I think it was just that the kids weren't in school and all the tios and tias were killing some time with the family.
If you've feasted at any of the taco trucks in town, you'll know exactly what to expect on the menu. All the taco, burrito, and torta standards are represented. I ordered tacos de lengua and buche, but was shot down, "no hay, se nos acabo". I tried the standards: 2 tacos de carnitas y 2 de asada. I walked across the eerily empty old grocery space and found a fridge with Coca and Cidral and grabbed my drink. Then back to the hole-in-the-wall kitchen counter to pick up my Styrofoam treasure chest and on to the cash register at the front. $5.70 paid and out the door to my car's waiting dash board.
Here's what I found: 
Two tacos of beautifully cooked carne asada and two tacos of chopped carnitas on a double corn tortilla. Simply served with fresh diced tomato. Inexplicably, there was a little pile of shredded orange cheese in the middle of the tacos. A minor confusing distraction, let me get back to the meat. The carnitas were cooked just right, but had too much fat on them. Combine this with a tortilla that had been warmed on a greased comal (griddle) and watery salsa verde; WOW, what a mess.
The asada (pictured here), was a much better option. Except for needing salt, they were very well prepared. I'd prefer a salsa roja for these, but the green was just fine. Tender beef, perfectly grilled and then fried up for a very satisfying taco.
My conclusion? Rather mixed I'm afraid. If you are looking for some basic taco truck food, find yourself a taco truck! If your'e in the 40th and Tejon area and want this kind of food, then definitely stop in at the crazy Mercado Perez.
Mercado Perez III
40th and Tejon St.
Denver, CO
Two tacos of beautifully cooked carne asada and two tacos of chopped carnitas on a double corn tortilla. Simply served with fresh diced tomato. Inexplicably, there was a little pile of shredded orange cheese in the middle of the tacos. A minor confusing distraction, let me get back to the meat. The carnitas were cooked just right, but had too much fat on them. Combine this with a tortilla that had been warmed on a greased comal (griddle) and watery salsa verde; WOW, what a mess.
The asada (pictured here), was a much better option. Except for needing salt, they were very well prepared. I'd prefer a salsa roja for these, but the green was just fine. Tender beef, perfectly grilled and then fried up for a very satisfying taco.
My conclusion? Rather mixed I'm afraid. If you are looking for some basic taco truck food, find yourself a taco truck! If your'e in the 40th and Tejon area and want this kind of food, then definitely stop in at the crazy Mercado Perez.
Mercado Perez III
40th and Tejon St.
Denver, CO
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