Tacos El Calentano

No queso, but the food is fab! The place is clean and deceptively roomy size inside
100 restaurant score. Don’t let the shabby plaza keep you away!

I was lured in here last week to use my long dormant Spanish skills to help my mom buy some football-​sized pastries, and I thought this mini mart was pretty cool, very authentic, and super cheap. The baked goods are more bready than sugary, and they’re ginormous and run for only about 50 cents a piece. They also have a carnicería with everything from chicken feet to cow tongue (as well as other parts you’ll have to see for yourself). You can’t leave without checking out the fried pork rinds sold at the meat counter — each one is over a foot in length, and they’re the real deal.
In addition to a decent produce section, aisles of packaged goods, the bakery, and the meat counter, they also have some really cool spices and sauces, and I found some XXXX habanero sauce that will definitely clear up my sinus allergies. The prices are ridiculously cheap, and it’s hard to spend over $ 10 here, even with an entire basket filled with Mexican goodies. My monster jar of jalapeños for $ 1.59 will last me for quite a bit, and a bag full of plump poblanos rang up for less than $ 2.
Tacos El Calentano isn’t worth the trip out to Buford Highway, but it’s definitely worth checking out before or after a great meal at C’om next door.