Jamal’s Convenience Store

This is the definition of a hole in the wall. We drove by one day and completely judged a book by it’s cover. When I got home I looked up its Unilocal and saw that it had amazing ratings, so naturally I had to try it. These are some of the best street tacos I’ve been able to find in Dallas and I absolutely love them! If you are even thinking about getting tacos near Plano or Richardson, I urge you to go here and get the al pastor tacos! 5 or so should do the trick.

Loved the tacos. Had beef fajita with salsa verde. Will eat from there again in a heartbeat!

They now serve more than tacos and take cards instead of just cash. They do, however, charge a credit card fee based on the amount of your purchase. I had 3 barbacoa tacos on corn tortillas with cilantro and onions. They are quite tasty with the sauce, but without it, they are a bit bland. I have yet to try anything else but I will soon! Drinks must be purchased on the convenience store side before drinking at the restaurant.

(Full disclosure: I wrote about Jamal’s for Plano Profile… this is an edited version of what ran in print)
Located in East Plano, Jamal’s Convenience Store is just that – a small, quick-​service market with cold drinks, check cashing and wire transfer services, foodstuffs and Taqueria La Paisanita, a grill-​on-​demand street taco counter.
Street tacos are known for their simplicity: Flavorful meat, onions and cilantro wrapped inside small steamy corn tortillas. Because the corn tortillas are small, usually 3″ to 4″ in diameter, the tortillas are usually doubled and tacos are sold in multiples. Street tacos are truly designed to be eaten on the go.
The parking lot at Jamal’s is small, truly designed for you to get in, grab what you need and go. For those who don’t want to eat on the go, there are two picnic tables inside the building for convenient seating. The staff keeps big squeeze bottles of red (rojo) and green (verde) salsa on the table, along with extra napkins.
The menu offers five types of tacos: Fajita, pastor, lengua, barbacoa and pollo. At the counter, simply indicate what type of tacos you want and how many of each particular type.
Prepared in front of you at a small grill, each taco comes with two small corn tortillas, warmed and nicely blistered on the grill, plus freshly chopped sweet onions and cilantro, unless you request for them to be left off. A small portion of grilled onions and a lime wedge are provided on the side. If you want to take your tacos on the road, you can pay for small to-​go containers of salsa. Tacos were $ 1.49 each (plus tax), making for a very affordable and filling lunch.
Lengua: The idea of eating tongue may be slightly disgusting, but trust us, tongue can be incredibly flavorful and is a very lean cut of meat. The meat is served finely chopped.
Barbacoa: Barbacoa is mostly tender cheek meat (cachete), tongue (lengua) or «mixta,» which is all the various bits left after a cow head is slow-​cooked and the meat pulled off.
Pastor: This tangy boneless pork shoulder is thinly sliced and marinated in adobo, a sauce made with chilies, garlic, vinegar and other spices.
Fajita: Perhaps the most familiar of fillings, fajita is a grilled marinated skirt steak. Jamal’s fajita beef was tender and not at all chewy, a common problem for tough cuts of meat like skirt steak.
Pollo: Tender, slightly spicy, shredded chicken. Steve declared this was his favorite. Salsa enhanced the flavor but certainly wasn’t necessary.
The tacos themselves are not spicy. Use the salsa to bring the spice level up to your preference. The rojo and the verde both pack quite a punch and can cause even the spiciest food lover to break a sweat.
Good to Know:
Jamal’s accepts cash only and no outside food or drinks are allowed. A wide selection of beverages are available for purchase in the drink cases. Pay at the main counter – also cash only. If you’d prefer to eat your taco with a fork, make sure to grab that at the counter, too.

Yes this place looks like hole in the wall but Omg it has some of the greatest street tacos! Try the green salsa but be careful it’s kinda spicy. my favorite tacos to get is the fajita ones. Bring cash for this place because that is the only payment they take. Red salsa is not as great.

It’s in a multiuse great tacos, tasty and the red hot sauce is yummy. I had the barbacoa, al pastor and fajita. The tacos are on the small size for $ 1.49 each. Friend had 7 and was still hungry. 4 did it for me but I could have eaten 2 more.
Wish they offered a burrito option

Yes this place is phenomenal. Really hard to find good street tacos in Dallas area. This place is absolutely foots the bill. Five different types of meats choose from strictly street tacos nothing else. Chicken, fajita, lengua, barbacoa and the star of the show is the pastor or pork. Trust me if you like good pastor street tacos just order those. $ 1.49 each cash only!

The taco’s are very good. If you sit and eat at the tables inside, don’t bring you own drink.
The convenience store part, wants you to buy there drinks. And they are priced way higher than a 7 – 11 convenience store. Best way to go is order your tacos to go.

The area surrounding this gas station does look a little ghetto, like Oakland or Compton, but it is worth stopping here. Yes, the parking lot is very small here, but getting the tacos more than makes up for it. I promise.
I ordered three chicken tacos, and you can see them make the tacos in front of your eyes. The tacos are filled with onions and cilantro and whatever meat you ordered. The cooks give you salsas and a lime for you to spice up the tacos. This store seems very clean compared to its surroundings. Makes me feel like I’m back in Oakland.

The best barbacoa tacos! Very clean place. We sat at the counter. The employees cleaned non-​stop. We tried the fajita and pastor tacos too. Those are really good as well! $ 1.49 + tax per taco. Served with grilled onions, cilantro and raw onions.
They only serve tacos.

This place and fuel city tacos are my go-​to taco joints. The tacos here are consistently amazing and mouthwatering. They’re so good I always end up wishing I ordered more to eat later. I typically get the fajita tacos but my boyfriend had the lengua the last time he came with me and loved it.
Their sauces are the best. I usually don’t like really spicy things especially if it only provides heat and not much flavor. Their sauces are packed with flavor AND spice. Safe to say it’s one of the few spicy sauces that I truly love.

Good street tacos. Some times they can be too greasy depending on how much orders are in. Cash only.

Best street tacos this side of town. (Plano area) everything was good except the lengua (beef tongue) which was too much make sure you don’t get it confused it with the tricky gas station next time

Such a hidden gem for street tacos! Parking is really tight and the menu is limited to five kinds of tacos – which is cool because what they do, they do well! A great substitute when Fuel City is out of range.
You might have to wait a few minutes because your order is made right there. OMG – The green sauce is THE TRUTH.
Please add a picadillo taco to your menu!!!

Their tacos are the bomb, and the green salsa has the right spice. Mix that with some grilled jalapeños and you have yourself a couple of tears coming out of your eyes. Not from the spice, but from the pleasure and joy these tacos brings to senses of smell, taste and sight.

Very Good Street Tacos!
I picked up two lengua and two barbacoa. The meal tray contained four tacos, which were topped with typical chopped onions and cilantro, lime slices and red hot sauce. Grilled Onions were $ 0.50 extra. Worth it.
I first sampled the hot sauce and it was plenty HOT. Caution. I used it sparingly on the tacos. Both types of meat were seasoned flavorful, very moist and the grilled onions and sauce complimented the overall taste. The barbacoa come out on top this time between the two.
I was disappointed that they did not offer Flour Tortillas nor Avocado slices.
That won’t deter me from returning.
CASH ONLY.

The tacos here are great. They’re cheap. They’re delicious. The fajita tacos had flavorful may and fresh cilantro and onions. The hot sauce is not too spicy but has very good flavor. We also bought and won on a lottery ticket scratch off that we purchased here while we waited on our food (which came out fast). Good place to try if you’re I the area.

Best street tacos around! I’ve been going here since 2005. I drive from west Frisco to enjoy these tacos at least three times a month! They have had a couple new faces added since 2005 but the original duo are still around! I have tired other street taco places (hole in the wall places of course or they wouldn’t be classified as authentic street tacos) and they don’t come close. This place is a gem… don’t let the exterior fool you!
The green sauce is my fav. Be careful sometimes the jalapeños are super hot!

We were headed home and had a taste for tacos, so I pulled out Unilocal to find a place in the area. These tacos are amazing! I had the fajita beef, bbq and 2 chicken tacos. The taste was authentic and I love how they weren’t loaded with cheese, lettuce and sour cream. The price point is awesome and I was satisfied. I’ll definitely be back!

Tried the Barbacoa, Pollo and and tongue. The Lengua was the best of the lot. Not much flavor to these. Didn’t like the tortilla (tasted old). The red sauce is super hot. This was a pretty bland meal. Sorry guys.