Never Judge a Restaurant By Its Cover

My parents, who live in Waltham, Massachusetts are totally open to trying new restaurants—except when it comes to trying an "ethnic" restaurant without typical "American" decor—what's often lovingly referred to as a hole-in-the-wall by more adventurous eaters.

In San Francisco we know these establishments well, and we take pride in being the one to find that restaurant that serves up delicious food, yet you would never have guessed it from the outside, or even from the inside for that matter.

My favorite restaurant in this category is Pastores on Mission Street at Cortland. I heard about Pastores from my buddies over at La Cocina. You could easily pass Pastores on the street and, although, with its tile floors and minimal decor, it would fit right in in Mexico, the interior (pictured below) doesn't exactly offer a lot of flavor. But trust me, it's worth the stop. Every time I visit Pastores, I pull up a seat at the counter and tell Irma, the owner, to give me a couple dishes that she feels like cooking up. I had my first tostada at Pastores made with melt-in-your-mouth lamb on a crispy tortilla and topped with queso fresco. Heavenly.

So, back to the parents and Waltham—a town that has its share of somewhat dubious dining options, one in particular that I've always thought might have great potential. It's called Taqueria Mexico and it sits a few blocks behind the main drag, which made it even more enticing to dare my parents to join me for lunch there.

My hopes were high, I was certain I had found the authentic Mexican restaurant option that my parents would continue to frequent, substituting their once a month visit to the Tex-Mex restaurant on the main street. I ordered three types of tacos: lengua, chorizo and carnitas, a carnitas torta and the pork tamales (pictured below).

I'm afraid the picture doesn't depict my lunch as well as I would have liked; the meat looked less than appetizing, especially their unique version of "chorizo." This didn't deter me one bit from digging in, keeping in mind my theory that looks can be deceiving. I was bummed to find out that my tacos tasted just like they looked. There was heat, but no depth of flavor. (And we're not going to even talk about the pink tomatoes and iceberg lettuce that would have Alice Waters screaming.)

Still, I'm glad I tried it. Because you know what? You just never know. I'm sure somewhere in Waltham, there's a gem in the snow. I'll find it on my next visit.

-Kelly