This place has the best taco I’ve ever had. It’s the Al Pastor and it’s packed with the perfect blend of sweet and savory flavors that literally melt with the perfect tortilla on bite. It was only $5.95. I’ll tell you this though: Gringo’s Taqueria – that’s the name of this restaurant – could charge $15.95 for that one taco and I’d still get it.
I’m definitely going back to Gringo’s just for that taco. But there’s a lot more to this place.
My boyfriend and I ended up spending $32 on lunch at Gringo’s, which is located on the first floor of the Harmon Loop Motel building (cross section of Route 16 and Harmon Loop Road, Dededo). That accounted for my two tacos, chips and salsa, and a Carnitas Bowl.
The service was wonderful. We tipped $10, if I remember correctly. Every person, from the host to the server, to the other server who just wanted to be sure our 90-percent-filled glasses didn’t need a top off of water… all of them were friendly and outgoing, but not the obnoxious type.
Gringo’s, like most Mexican restaurants I’ve been to, has a warm and charming atmosphere with a modern edge. The music wasn’t loud. I hate when I’m eating with someone and struggling to hear what they have to say because of some hostess’ love of Taylor Swift or Nine Inch Nails.
I didn’t recognize the music, but it was some kind of beat that made me excited to get right into whatever aroma was wafting through the restaurant.
The host sat us as soon as we walked into the restaurant, which was three-quarters full at the time. He asked us what we wanted to drink, and within seconds of that order, brought our free glasses of water. They don’t have one of those ‘we only have bottled water’ policies.
Our server showed up almost exactly after we figured out what we wanted to eat.
Two minutes later came the chips and salsa: $5.95 for a generous amount. The salsa was tasty, but not as spicy as I prefer it to be. I like when the salsa engages my mucus membranes. Oh, and by the way, I have no idea how they fried those chips, but we took the leftover half of that plate of chips home and three days later, they were still crunchy.
My boyfriend’s Carnitas Bowl came out next, and it smelled really good. The server recommended we get the bowl with something called cilantro-lime rice. The other choice was red rice. His suggestion was on the money. That slightly-tangy rice mixed with the heavy and tender carnitas, strings of cheese, sauces, and beans to a fat boy’s delight.
That bowl, priced at $14.95 (I think the most expensive thing on the menu was $17.95), could feed two people.
My Al Pastor taco came out just as I was taste testing the bowl, which was the only reason I put my fork down and didn’t eat more of it. The fragrance alone of the taco as the server sailed it to a setting under my nose was distracting. It was the perfect complement of slight pineapple sweetness to the savory blend of spices and tender pork The tortilla itself was soft and the kind I could order and eat on its own.
Then the Birria taco came out. If you like cheese, you’ll love this taco. It was delicious. It was crispy on the outside, and doused with meat, cheese, and some concoction of goodness that oozed from the inside. My lone criticism of this place would be that its Birria taco is just too heavy. Not my cup of tea.
The service provided at Gringo’s needs to be taught at other places. Not just restaurants either. I’m not sure if the management of Gringo’s has some training course on service, or if they just hired intelligent, courteous, eager, and urgent workers. If it’s the latter, then Gringo’s cornered the market. We came in the midst of the lunch rush, and those workers didn’t skip a beat.
I had no idea this restaurant existed until that day, when a friend told me about it. She said I had to try it. That’s all she said. So, I wasn’t expecting much except that I’d be mildly impressed.
Gringo’s is way more than that. It’s now one of my favorite places to eat. I’m definitely heading back there soon.
