La Fonda Restaurant

Thanks to Unilocal,we stopped by La Fonda for a quick dinner. Unfortunately, the kitchen was closed, but quite fortunately, the taco stand out front was open for business. Quick. Tasty. Incredibly fresh. Someday I’ll check out the restaurant inside, but I’ll definitely be stopping by the taco stand again. And again.

Gringos in Yamhill are missing out. It’s as simple as that.
You see, while Thistle and Community Plate and Nicks and all the rest are thriving off the wine touri$ts…someone still has to pick the grapes. And because of that, the two ends of McMinnville’s downtown are marked by neglected-​looking mercados that probably don’t even register with most locals, let alone the tourists.
Which is too bad. La Fonda is at the southwest end of downtown. You could drive past a thousand times and miss it – partly because it doesn’t even have an entrance of its own. You’ve got to walk into – and through – El Torito Carneceria. Past the meat counter is the «restaurant» part of the operation, where you’ll find three (!) different kinds of ceviche, entire barbecued butterflied chickens, carnitas, tortas, etc. etc… including a big ice chest full of warm tortillas waiting to be picked up.
BUT HERE’S THE BEST THING: on weekends, after 5pm, they fire up a double-​wide barbecue under a roadside awning. They barbecue on the spot, and everything is served with REAL handmade tortillas!
(One other tip: the hand-​lettered sign on the door says they’ll rent you a carro de tacos for any occasion… woohoo!)