Good tacos vs. good Mexican food

Until I moved to Colorado, I had never really been exposed to green chile. However, with the prevalent Southwestern influence evident in much of the Mexican food in Denver it didn't take long for me to give it a try. And, honestly, I really like green chile. My favorite is at the City Grill on Colfax. Thin and soupy or thick and saucy a good green chile can add amazing flavor to almost any dish.

As much as I enjoy a good bowl of green chile or a generous helping covering a burrito or some other tasty dish, I'm also learning that a good helping can also disguise an otherwise lackluster dish. Several of the places that have been suggested to me have come along with "and they have really good green chile" as part of the recommendation. However, every one of those places has turned out to have tacos that are just okay because the meat isn't well seasoned. When it's covered with green chile, that less than spectacular meat is camouflaged. But in a taco there is nothing to hide behind. The meat IS the taco and if the meat isn't good neither is the taco.

About now you're probably wondering where I'm going with this whole thing. What I'm trying to say is that when I'm talking about tacos, I'm looking for something very specific. While I may not like the tacos at one of the places I try, there may still be some delicious food to be enjoyed. The additional ingredients in other dishes can help make up for shortcomings that are unavoidable in tacos.

There are a plethora of delicous Mexican restaurants in this town and there are plenty of restaurants that will never get a rave review for their tacos. There will also be plenty of places that have outstanding tacos while their other dishes are less than remarkable... especially when I start getting into the taco trucks that dot our urban landscape.  So, if I don't like the tacos at one of your favorite Mexican places, it's not a reflection on the overall quality or tastiness of their food, it just means that they don't have what I'm looking for in my search for the best Mexican taco.

Now, back to the crusade...