Baby's Got Sauce: Juanita's Tacos

christopher_robin | 7/17/2007 5:05 pm | Christopher Robin's Fresh Foods

Juanita's Tacos
2510 Rimrock Road
(608) 274-6231
9 am-9 pm daily
$

The orange-and-red plastic and formica decor inside Juanita's, situated in a depressing strip mall in a nearly random stretch of suburban outlands, is wholly the purvey of the native Spanish speaker. The newspaper is El Universal, not Isthmus or even The Onion, and the wail of police sirens punctuated by rapid-fire, gruff, tough-talking Mexican cops on the TV (or the agitated exclamations of a Chilean football sports announcer) powers the soundtrack to some of the best authentic Mexican food in Madison. As you gaze out the window on a hot summer day, you realize how easily you could be in any one of a thousand restaurants in Mexico City--or southern California.

It helps if you know a little Spanish.

El Yuateco chile habenero sauce graces the table in a small plastic bottle, and suddenly the homemade tortilla chips arrive, warm and nearly gleaming from their dip in hot oil. Two salsas accompany the chips: a rich roja and a rather hot avocado verde, a concoction I've not tasted since dining at El Farolito on 24st and Mission in San Francisco's sprawling Mission barrio. This dip is nearly a guacamole: a smooth, spicy, and decadent ramekin of heat-infused pureed avocados. A basket of freshly quartered limes arrives with the complimentary chips and salsa. A Negro Modela ($3) completes the preparation for the main courses.

In an unusual inversion of the norm, you'll be sorry when the waiter promptly arrives to take your order, as those chips and salsas are so delicious. But, true to form, the server won't be put off long and indeed may view any delay with increasing suspicion.

We'll help you decide: Start with a variant of the house specialty, seafood cocktail. This enormous dish is comprised of either camarones (shrimp), ceviche (marinated fish), or pulpo (octopus). You don't want to miss the octopus, but you probably don't want all octopuses either since even the smallest size is huge, so perhaps try the "Medium" gigantic shrimp cocktail glass filled with shrimp and octopus ($10) with soda crackers and more homemade chips. Get some fresh-squeezed limes going on over this action and prepare to eat mightily or, more sensibly, share with friends. This is truly a far-out experience and not to be missed, even at the expense of the excellent tacos. But at these prices, why not get both, and more?

Tacos al pastor, chorizo and tripe ($2 each) are outstanding, layered with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and the case of the al pastor, minced pineapple all stuffed into a pair of corn tortillas. These are remarkably different from the Tex-Mex variety recently imported from Austin by Tex Tubbs' Taco Palace on Atwood (soon to open a second location on Highland and University). A comparison is fun and instructive.

Enchiladas ($7) are served with rojas, verdes, or mole sauce. The mole is rich and languid, saturating tightly packed tortillas of chorizo or shredded beef, all of which is smothered in Mexican cheese and garnished with red onion. The enchiladas are optionally served with a large and well matched asada (beefsteak) to complete the plate. A layer of crisp lettuce makes the plate crackle.

A Pozole ($8) is rich and nearly chewy; the Menudo (tripe soup) is exquisite; Barbacoa Chivo ($10), barbecued lamb, is usually available on the weekends. Chilaquiles ($7) and Jaibas ($14), crabs with spicy sauces, are also worth sampling.

The bill is going to be low by any possible analysis, as the dishes are abundant. It's an unfortunate location, and you must pay with cash, and the service is aggressive (though friendly) but none of that matters, true food aficionados are always up for a bit of an adventure, no?

One last comment: we were unable to determine the origin of the founders, but the cuisine most strongly resembles that of the state of Veracruz with strong influences from the northern regions of Mexico. It's important, and unfortunately unusual, to flag geographic origin when making a claim that such-and-such restaurant has the "most authentic Mexican food" as the styles of so-called Mexican food vary greatly by region. We are not making such a claim here, but certainly Juanita's deserves a visit from anyone who thinks that Qdoba or Laredo's is Mexican food at all.

Fresh Foodie Rating: 4 of 5.

Neither personal checks nor credit cards are accepted. Cash only.