For the next x number of weeks, on each Tuesday I will be trying tacos from each of the various taco restaurants in Longmont, scrutinizing and likely enjoying each of them. Taco Tuesday. This week I went to Blue Corn Tacos.

As promised, the tortillas are blue corn. I ordered three tacos, two regular sized, one street: a chicken mole taco, an ensalada de nopal taco, and a carne asada street taco, as well as a large horchata. Carne asada taco is my baseline for a mexican restaurant. If they can pull it off, they can usually pull everything else off. It’s the OG mexican ranchero taco. Of course, some places specialize not in beef but in chicken or pork. These places often have exceptional aspects of their menu, but they do not do everything equally well.

The restaurant is clean and simple, with booths and tables. They were listening to upbeat latin music, appropriately. The menu was on a screen, easy to read, excellent flavor combinations. I really wanted to eat their chicarrones taco, but I knew I wouldn’t have enough room. I noticed they don’t serve a fish taco but they do serve a shrimp taco, which is probably wise: fish in Colorado is going to be subpar, whereas shrimp keeps frozen and defrosts much better.

My first sip of the horchata was stunning. It was the second best horchata I have ever had, only second to the homemade horchata made in bulk from rice by a mujer down south of Tecate at the Amor Ministries housebuilding camp. She made rice for dinner, then strained off part of it for horchata, part of it for arroz con leche the following mañana. The horchata tonight was rich and robust, not too sweet, a touch of spice. The full body of the rice really comes through, a dark creamy tan.

Then the tacos. The blue corn came out, soft. Black beans and mexican rice (excellently tomato-soft to the teeth and tongue), real crumbly queso fresco, really good hot salsa, which was a touch orange and smokey flecked (a sign of excellence). Guacamole pretty good, a little smooth for me. The nopal was soft and sweet, not too slimy. The product could have been a little fresher, but it was in no way offensive. I added some lime. It was delicious. Then the chicken mole, drizzled well with a smokey, rich, thick, almost sweet taste and sesame seeds. Succulent chicken, the best mole I’ve had thus far, and portioned well. The tortillas were perfectly moderate, albeit a smidgen cooler than the perfect warmth: not too wet, not too dry, not too flexible, not too stiff, not too flakey, good corn taste. It was all so complementary. The asada street taco had what I expected and hoped for: just onions and cilantro, how it oughta be. Each taco came with a few slices of grilled onion and some kind of mildly hot pepper. I dropped one pepper wedge on the tile floor, to my chagrin. The steak was very well cooked, medium, and tender. However, it was in little third inch cubes, rather than the more traditional thin steak. That’s okay though, it was good quality.

Very good tacos. I’m pleased it’s within walking distance of my house. Authentic San Diego mexican food is in Colorado. Too bad I have to try other restaurants now.


February 20, 2024
Longmont, Colorado