#46 of #52 El Paso Taco Shop/Campo, California/Taco Rating Scale

Nearly everyone today is, or wants to be a food critic. Let me be perfectly clear, that’s not Bike Bro’s goal – our goal is to ride! And ride we did, The El Paso Taco shop is now more 150 miles away from our homes. Four of us started the ride with one turning back soon after our visit to Josie’s Bar and twisties ride. 

Our goal of sampling 52 Taco shops within a riding radius of the greater Riverside/Los Angeles area now stands at 46 of 52 tacos sampled. We’re not exactly getting close to finishing our quest as we’re counting down, not up.

Behold! The new Bike Bros Rating System. One star is considered poor; two stars is good,three stars is very good, four stars is great, five stars is excellent!

1. Scenic Historic Location – Fairly subjective and a wild card rating

2. Value – value for your money

3. Food Flavor and Texture – uniqueness of the food and ingredients

4. Food Presentation – picture is worth a thousand words here.

5. Service, Setting and Cleanliness – cleanliness is also considered a strong factor as we are in a Covid year

Now that the taco rating scale is all cleared up. Exactly how unique are taco places? You would be surprised. The tacos at El Paso are about the size of a plate folded in half and delicious.

Kevin and I each sampled the same meal, three tacos, one fish, one shrimp, and one shredded beef. Our third rider David, the fire fighter sampled three as well. I called his white boy tacos, two ground beef and one chicken taco.

Here is my ratings for El Paso Taco in Campo, California

1. Scenic Historic Location – 4 stars

2. Value – 4 stars

3. Food Flavor and Texture – 5 stars

4. Food Presentation – 5 stars

5. Service, Setting, Cleanliness- 4 stars

There is no such thing as a copycat taco restaurant. Even if a new place tries to borrow the themes or concepts that are already successful, it always turns out different.

“I love the sheer weirdness of the kitchen life: the dreamers, the crackpots, the refugees, and the sociopaths with whom I continue to work,” he wrote in the essay. “The ever-present smells of roasting bones, searing fish, and simmering liquids; the noise and clatter, the hiss and spray, the flames, the smoke, and the steam.” RIP Anthony Bourdain

It’s been more than two years now since Bourdain moved OTFA (on the final adventure) of life. He taught me a few things with the most important being that a good riding experience and a good taco meal does not cost much.

Another is: If a lot of people are eating at a taco place, it’s probably a safe bet that the food is not making them sick.

It is often said that we eat with our eyes first, and that certainly holds true for any type of Mexican food. The presentation of a dish is the first thing that we notice – since we photograph every dish before we taste it – and it will likely play a major part in our review process.

The variety of all the colors, the textures all add to the experience. However, the most important part is taste.

How to duplicate this ride? To be continued.