{"id":3848,"date":"2017-06-12T08:52:02","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T13:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/?p=3848"},"modified":"2018-08-20T14:34:23","modified_gmt":"2018-08-20T19:34:23","slug":"taco-tour-best-damn-carnitas-la-rosita-latina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/taco-tour-best-damn-carnitas-la-rosita-latina\/","title":{"rendered":"Taco Tour: The best damn carnitas at La Rosita Latina"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m a taco freak. I’m on a quest to eat as many tacos in Madison as I can, then tell you about them all. Know of a secret taqueria with the best cabeza or homemade tortillas? Tell me<\/a>.<\/em><\/span>\n

La Rosita, a Mexican grocery store and taqueria in Monona, has been on my radar for a long time, thanks to a few glowing reviews from people I trust and photos on Yelp<\/a> that confirmed it was totally my jam. It was a bustling place on a Saturday afternoon, and families filled about half the booths that are plopped between the canned goods aisle and the produce section.<\/span>\n

Fillings: 4.5\/5<\/h3>\n

Asada:<\/em> The asada here is chopped steak, like most taquerias. This version was perhaps too finely chopped, giving it a texture a little too close to ground beef, but at least it was full of beefy flavor \u2014 and very little fat or gristle. Solid.<\/p>\n

Al pastor:<\/em> This is one of the greasiest al pastors I’ve encountered. In fact, there was much more bright orange grease dripping from my taco than from the chorizo my dining companion had, which is an unusual twist. Nevertheless, grease is tasty when it’s full of achiote and chiles, and this one had tender pork to boot. I’m guessing I got the bottom of the container where the grease pools and wouldn’t expect it to be as greasy every time.<\/p>\n

Carnitas:<\/em> If I were forced to choose a religion, I’d choose to worship La Rosita’s carnitas. This is the best pig I’ve ever had in a taco \u2014 and that’s coming from an avowed al pastor lover. It’s clearly the favorite of just about everyone, as the hot case was busy selling piles of it by the pound. The pork was soft and supple, not stringy. There were just enough crispy bits. It all was coated in a sheer layer of sticky, amazing pork fat. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to eat this taco every day.<\/span>\n

Tortillas: 5\/5<\/h3>\n

These corn tortillas (doubled soft corn, as a proper taqueria should do) were fresh and warm. They had obviously come straight off the griddle as evidenced by the their puffiness, almost like pita bread. The corn flavor was pronounced with just a hint of char from the griddle. Wrap these babies around anything and you’ll have a great taco.<\/span>\n

Toppings: 3\/5<\/h3>\n

The woman at the register asked me if I wanted “everything” on my tacos, to which I asked what “everything” consisted of. “Onions and cilantro.” That’s all I wanted anyway, but I was a little baffled as to why that was called “everything.” No matter, the crunchy chopped onion and fragrant cilantro was the perfect foil for the porky goodness. One fat lime wedge comes with every taco. Ask specifically for toppings like avocado or crema.<\/span>\n

Salsas: 4\/5<\/h3>\n

There are three squeeze bottles of salsa at each table. The winner was a creamy, slightly chunky verde with a nice searing heat. Its base was fresh tomatillos blended with other veg and what may have been a bit of avocado for creaminess. A cooked verde just didn’t pop the way the fresh version did. A deep red salsa was fruity and slightly smoky, but I kept going back to the creamy verde.<\/span>\n

Value: 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At $2.50 a pop, these tacos are worth every cent. If you’re the kind of person that requires table service regardless of how good the food is, this isn’t the place for you. (You should really evaluate your life choices if that’s the case.)<\/span>\n

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Lacey Muszynski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/span>\n

Overall: 4.5\/5<\/h3>\n

Go here. Do it now. Get a million carnitas tacos. Then grab one of the insanely colorful homemade paletas on your way out.<\/span>\n