File - Britney Castilleja

Taste of the Town: Authentic
Mexican Taco Edition
By:
Britney Castilleja
Miguel Cazarez
Aaron Buescher
Table of Contents
iii
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... v Methods .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Results ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Taqueria Guanajato.................................................................................................................. 9 La Milpa ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Taqueria La Sabrocita ............................................................................................................ 12 Taco Lady ................................................................................................................................ 12 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 13 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 15 Index ............................................................................................................................................. 17 Introduction
v
Introduction In North Texas, we love tacos. At the University of North Texas, most have eaten at Taco
Bell, Taco Bueno, and many other Mexican chain restaurants. Our group decided that all
students should give independently owned authentic Mexican restaurants a chance. Six
independent restaurants are sampled and given a rating to create an ultimate guide to the best
taco in town. The goal of this Feasibility Project is to find which taco restaurant serves the
tastiest tacos in town.
Methods
Methods The methods used to rate the criteria are based on an A, B, C rating for each
category. Three group members will visit a list of six authentic and locally owned taco
restaurants. Each member will have at least one pork and one chicken taco to keep the
ratings consistent. In our results, we will make specific comments regarding each
restaurant along with our grade letter scale.
The results from each members experience will be compared to see if they are
consistent over time and account for any discrepancies. We will select the best tacos of
Denton based on the establishment that has the most A’s, and in the most categories.
7
Results
9
Results The group sampled these four restaurants based on authenticity. Shown below is a chart for each
of the four with a rating and comments for each of the criteria. Two out of the six restaurants
were left out of the report. One restaurant was always closed and had no available hours of
operation, leading the group to assume it had recently been closed down. The other restaurant
was not serving authentic tacos.
Taqueria Guanajato La Milpa 10
Taste of the Town: Authentic Mexican Taco Edition
12
Taqueria La Sabrocita Taco Lady Taste of the Town: Authentic Mexican Taco Edition
Conclusion
13
Conclusion The taco restaurants the team visited all had different characteristics. Taqueria Guanajato
had the most variety, tacos are made to order, and have good service. La Milpa has good deals
on Tuesdays, with great service and the great tasting tacos. Taqueria La Sabrocita is the closest
to UNT campus, but suffered with greasy tacos and
subpar service. Taco Lady had little variety and
average tasting tacos, however they were
inexpensive.
We based our grading of the taco restaurants on
eight criteria. The criteria that weighed the most
would be price per taco, taste of the tacos, and the
service of the establishment. Variety did not weigh
as much because we only sampled chicken and pork
tacos to keep grading consistent. Although the
study is based on UNT students, distance from
campus is not a big factor because most restaurants
were more than a mile away from campus. Hours
of operation did not weigh much since all the taco
restaurants were open for lunch and dinner.
Presentation and cleanliness did weigh in a
significant amount for grading.
Taqueria Guanajato 1
Recommendation
15
Recommendations Based on our conclusion, if you want to try the best taco place in town, we recommend visiting
Taqueria Guanajuato. It is a relatively small place that lacks a fancy ambiance that other
restaurants possess, but it makes up for that with its excellent customer service. They are always
on top of your needs and often times the employee taking your order speaks Spanish. It makes it
feel as if you are in your own little slice of Mexico. The salsa is served in a “molcajete”, a
Spanish stone tool which is equivalent to the American mortar and pestle. The restaurant hand
grinds their own chile, tomato, and onions to create a salsa that stands out above the rest. The
tortillas for the tacos are also handmade and the meat is cooked when you order, a step above
having it under heat lamps like some taco joints we visited. The tacos also come with tortillas
that are double stacked, ensuring the meat stuffed inside will not rip through one tortilla and
create a big mess.
If you would like a bigger restaurant environment fully equipped with a bar and mariachis on the
weekend, we recommend visiting La Milpa. La Milpa is a family owned restaurant that serves a
wide variety of Mexican food, and while tacos are not its main entry, it came in second on our
list. The service was excellent and the vibe throughout the restaurant made you feel happy. The
brightly colored walls and Mexican music playing in the background created the feel of a
Mexican cookout rather than a little restaurant nestled in the middle of Denton. The tortillas for
the tacos were handmade and the meat was fresh as well. The only big difference between the
first and second choice was the salsa choice. Often times, a salsa can make or break a taco,
adding a spicy kick to the taco and zesty after taste can really add to the experience of a taco. La
Milpa used the same salsa which was handed out with the chips to serve to the customers.
Usually, a thicker salsa is sued for tacos and you are given the choice between a green spicy
salsa or a red mild salsa. If La Milpa were to adopt a thicker salsa for its tacos, we might have to
reevaluate the two taco joints because they could give Taqueria Guanajato a serious run for its
money.
Index
17
Index
authentic, v, 7
best taco in town, v
cleanliness, 11
distance, 11
Hours of operation, 11
La Milpa, iii, 9, 11, 13
Presentation, 11
price, 11
recommend, 13
restaurant, v, 7, 13
results, 7
salsa, 13
service, 11, 13
Taco Lady, iii, 10, 11
Taqueria Guanajato, iii, 9, 11
Taqueria La Sabrocita, iii, 10, 11
variety, 11, 13