Day 4: Yucatan Taco in Roslindale

No… I didn’t do a good deed for the dudes over at Yucatan taco…  But I DID eat dinner there Friday night.

But first… Friday’s Mitzvah. Well, it was almost a wash. I picked up some fliers from my son’s old preschool — which I cannot say ENOUGH great things about. They are having an open house on Saturday and I wanted to help spread the word.

1. I emailed my connections at Parkway Boston and asked them to post a story on the open house.
2. I drove to Whole Foods market in Dedham to post a flier. I hung it up as I walked in…but when I was checking out, I saw that it was gone. Annoyed, I went to the customer service desk and they informed me that the flier was too large (8.5 x 11″), so they had to take it down. Bummer.
3. So I drove to the Starbucks in Dedham and hung it up. Hopefully it remained there and encouraged folks to visit.

It’s the thought and intention that counts, right? I believe so…

So… onto Yucatan Taco. I had a hair appt in South Boston at my favorite salon, Shag (free plug — that counts!). I had to bring the 5-yo with me b/c the Husband had an after-work commitment. I would normally NEVER bring the 5-yo with me… to any salon… but especially this salon. It’s not what I would call “kid friendly”.

In any case, he did a great job for the entire 2-hours we were there… so on the way home, we decided to stop and pick up some dinner. Being the incredibly picky eater that he is, the options were slim. At first I considered Chipotle, as he loves the quesadillas and I love their burritos. But it was way out of the way and it was still rush hour traffic.

Then I remembered Yucatan Taco…

I have been driving past Yucatan Taco for 7 years… wanting to stop, but never finding the inspiration. There is a sign in the window that catches your attention… in a humorous way: “Mexican Food, Made by Mexicans”. How had I not stopped before you ask? Blame it on a bit a cautious hesitation.

Then, a few weeks ago we had dinner at a friends house and ordered takeout from them, only to find out the food was quite tasty. So when I remembered we would be passing by, I figured it was beyond time to pay them a visit. I knew they had quesadillas and burritos, so it was a done deal.

The place is sort of a small hole in the wall. The outside of the building has a Mexican-themed mural and the inside has authentic Mexican textiles and clothing hanging on the wall. It’s mostly a takeout joint, but there are plenty of tables to dine-in. It was about 6pm on a Friday and the place was very quiet… only one other guy dining. That said, they deliver, so I’m assuming they get a fair amount of call-ins.

The menu is broken out into apps, salads enchiladas, tamales, chimichanga, plates, quesadillas, tacos and burritos — with a fair selection of each.  When we tried it the first time, I got the Chicken Mole Plate ($10) and the Husband got the Carne Asada (also $10). They were both pretty good, though I found the mole at Tacos el Charro more to my liking.

This time I was hell bent on a burrito, so going WAY out of character for myself, I ordered Chicken Burrito ($5) and a Cheese Quesadilla ($4) for the boy. Why way out of character? Because I never order chicken in my burrito… I always get a vegetarian version.

The burrito was very good. Filled with Mexican rice, pinto beans, sour cream, cheese and homemade salsa. Speaking of homemade salsa, I also grabbed an order of Chips and Salsa ($3). The chips were ‘store’ quality (not homemade), but the salsa was very good — chock full of fresh cilantro, which I love.

The burrito wasn’t as big as Chipotle… but whose are? The chicken was tender, all-white, breast meat. The rice was very nicely seasoned and the general taste combination was very good. I’m glad I stopped and will definitely be going back again. As you can see, I couldn’t even control myself from taking a bite before I took this photo!