Tongue & Cheek: Authentic Mexican At Taqueria El Taco Maestro

If you don't need a cocktail and don't fear an extremely modest dining room, you're in for some of the tastiest slow-cooked meats available on a paper plate.

The term Offal came from "off fall," pieces that fell off from the major butchery cuts in ancient England. It often came down to a matter of sustenance. But in the world of “everything old is new again,” parts are not just parts. Now carefully selected and prepared, once widely discarded pieces of animal are the star of "nose to tail" dining, fetching top dollar at the hands of top chefs.

I've made note of this bustling Taqueria every time I shop at the Renton Highlands Saar's Marketplace. And finally the day arrived when I signed up an adventurous carnivore for a review lunch, hitting the road for tacos and sopas at Taqueria El Taco Maestro. Dios Mio, Maestro! Your name is worthy.

A table full of tacos, $1.10 apiece, were first on our agenda: Al Pastor (Marinated Pork), Carnitas (Slow-Braised Pork), Lengua (Silky-Textured Tongue), Cabeza (Robust Beef Cheek), and Chivo (Earthy Braised Goat). A sampling of all of these succulent meats added up to a miraculous $5.50. You can't go wrong with any one taco from El Taco Maestro, but you won't be able to stop with one.

My favorite first: Al Pastor tacos, seasoned chopped pork tenderloin draped with soft, sweet grilled onions, a defining touch I haven't been offered before. I've never enjoyed Carnitas more — Maestro's incredibly tender shredded pork converted me.

Go ahead and expand your horizons with an order of ultra-tender cubed Lengua, slow-roasted braised threads of Cabeza, and exotic ally perfumed allspice-flavored Chivo. I love taco trucks, but the flavor of the meat here truly stands apart. That, and the salsas. Even the more adventuresome items are hard to resist, as if a mother spooned something unfamiliar into your mouth. You can't refuse in the house of Taco Maestro.

Being a reviewer, I'll try just about anything, but I'm extra discerning. Okay, picky. I seriously doubt Taco Maestro utters the word organic in their kitchen. But the plates and bowls floating out of their kitchen taste as if prepared by the Mexican Mama I never had...

I rarely order a bowl of Pozole outside of Mexico, as I'd rather make it myself than pay for a Gringo-ized version. At $7.99 a bowl, you're better off eating El Maestro's, for the broth and salsa alone. I've never been offered a twin tower of squeeze bottles of salsa for tacos in addition to a distinct accompanying sauce for Pozole, and another for a bowl of Birria. This modest kitchen is full of diners for good reason.

My lunch adventurer served to be a connoisseur of Birria, and he was happy to find it made with actual chunks of goat meat, recounting the flavor of extraordinary local meals enjoyed in Oaxaca. A bowlful of richly-colored Birria ($8.99) served as a Proustian Madeleine, bringing back memories. Maestro's Birria comes with a bottle of allspice-infused salsa, which makes this Guadalajaran dish a heady affair. Plus soft tortillas, chopped onions, cilantro and lime — apparently one authentic way of eating the dish is to spoon meat into your tortilla, top with onion, cilantro and salsa, roll and dip into the broth. This dish is traditionally sold by street vendors and said to have aphrodisiac powers that come from, well, the goat!

My bowl of Pozole ($7.99) was filled to the brim with plump kernels of hominy, chunks of falling apart braised pork and pork bones. This comes accompanied by a side of shredded cabbage, diced onions and tostadas. The broth was spicy in and of itself, but also comes with a chili sauce with charred smoky flavor.

Next time I’ll explore the shrimp dishes, such as the Camarones al Mojo de Ajo ($10.99), which I first ate by the aquamarine surf of Playa Zipolite. You can't stick your feet in the sand under the table at El Taco Maestro and have a margarita, but you can fill up a plastic cup of cinnamon-laced Horchata without fearing the dreaded revenge of 'La Turista.’

Taqueria El Taco Maestro
Monday - Sunday
10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

3172 Sunset Blvd
Renton, WA 98056

(425) 235-5700