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The Carne Asada Taco
contains moist chunks of
beef topped with onions
and cilantro.
Beside the chalkboard
menu are shelves and a
case filled with a smor-
gasbord of mostly Mex-
ican-made products like
candies, phone cards,
and remedies and oint-
ments.
The easygoing Seaside restaurant
offers more than just tacos and burritos
I was in a bit of a bind. I’d been working
outside with two friends in Seaside and owed
them a meal. It was after six o’clock, and we
were hungry. I had to feed us quickly, well,
and without breaking the bank. Furthermore,
with the Fourth of July
rapidly approaching, tour-
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the streets and at the din-
ner tables. I circled the
city and spied Guadalaja-
ra Taco Shop, whose din-
ing room was relatively
unencumbered.
Just two blocks north
from the tourist vacuum
of Broadway and Holl-
aday, Guadalajara Taco
Shop is a world unto itself.
It is calm and easygoing
with large, west-facing
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dining room with natural
light. Dressed with soft
tones and mis-matched
posters, sculptures and
memorabilia, the de-
cor is akin the walls of a
10-year-old’s bedroom —
unpretentious and charm-
ingly inconsistent.
A teenage girl oper-
ated the register. Beside
the chalkboard menu are
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mostly Mexican-made products like candies,
phone cards and an array of pills, cremes, rem-
edies and ointments I’d never seen at Safeway.
I ordered for the group, getting a bit of ev-
erything to share — a burrito, enchiladas, ta-
cos and pork ribs. I paid just over $30 and left
with a cache of leftovers. Of the smorgasboard
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and lengua tacos.
The Pork Ribs ($9.50) came with Spanish
rice, refried beans and four corn tortillas. There
were two ribs, each thick, about 8 inches long
and topped with cilantro and diced onions. It
was a solid, but not overwhelming amount of
meat. That meat, though, was tender and just
Guadalajara
Taco Shop
is a world
unto itself. It
is calm and
easygoing
with large,
west-facing
windows that
fill the deep
dining room
with natural
light.
14 | July 16, 2015 | coastweekend.com
falling off the bone. Lightly seasoned with a
(not at all spicy) red sauce, the pork partnered
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wonder: Why were pork ribs a rarity at Mexi-
can restaurants?
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($3) and Guadalajara has made them its own.
The cod is breaded, briskly fried and noth-
ing in particular to write home about. But the
creamy white sauce, with a pinch of pickle or
dill, affords the dish its singular character.
The Carne Asada Taco ($3) too was a
little different than the norm. Topped with
onions and cilantro, the chunks of beef
were plentiful, moist and contained almost
no chunks of fat — fine for not biting into
a piece of chewy gristle, less so for rich
taste. Overall, it was a little dull.
Much more satisfying was the succulent
Lengua Taco ($3). Like the ribs, the beef
tongue was slowly, achingly cooked, ready
to pull apart thanks almost to gravity alone.
It was salty and juicy, almost like it had
been stewed.
The Chicken Burrito with a smoky red
sauce ($6) was serviceable, though hard-
ly memorable. For an empty stomach (or
wallet) it’s a substantial amount of food
that, filled with rice, beans, meat and a few
onions, satiates without distinction. To be
clear: Guadalajara Taco Shop has better
tastes to offer.
I returned a few days later in hopes of
discovering another. From the Shrimp sec-
tion of the menu I ordered the Ala Diabla
mouth
OF THE COLUMBIA
COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW
Story and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com
Guadalajara Taco Shop
Rating:
65 N. Holladay Drive, Seaside
503-738-4338
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Sunday.
Price: $ – Entrées run from $5 to $14.
Service: Order at the counter. Takeout available.
Vegetarian / Vegan options: Vegetarians should
do well, though vegans may struggle.
Drinks: Soft drinks including Mexican Coke, Jarritos
soda, juice and more.
(aka, the Spicy Shrimp, $14). Served again
with corn tortillas, Spanish rice (pret-
ty standard) and refried beans (lardy in
the best way), the dish proffered an array
of vegetables. With the buttery, garlicky
(though not very spicy) shrimp were sau-
téed onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower
and mushrooms. The fibrous ruffage was a
welcome edition to the shrimp, which were
small but numerous.
As I noshed during this second trip to
Guadalajara, the ambiance shifted, becom-
ing a bit more lively. It was still peaceful,
not bustling, but again seemingly even fur-
ther than two blocks from the strip of vin-
tage Americana and tourism that is Broad-
way. Spanish speakers came both to eat and
do business. Some wired money using the
red Internex phone on the counter next to the
cash register. Others had tacos and caught
up over non-alcoholic, sparkling sangria.
Indeed, alongside a few gems in the
menu, the culture and auxiliary business
orbiting Guadalajara’s kitchen have buoyed
the 13-year-old, family-owned restaurant.
The ambiance benefits too.
KEY TO RATINGS
poor
below average
good & worth returning
excellent
outstanding, the best in the
Columbia-Pacific region
