"Los Taquitos de Puebla is open! Craig LaBan wrote it up in his offal article last Thursday, for their tacos de cabeza and tacos de ojo. I wasn't up for trying those, but I had their tacos al pastor and they're by far the best I've had in Philadelphia. They do have a trompo. It wasn't on this afternoon when I went, but the tacos tasted like they had been cooked that way--dry-ish (rather than the saucy meat you get elsewhere) fatty, flavorful slivers of pork, with cilantro and onion, on doubled little tortillas. Two delicious salsas, a red one made with dried chile and an especially delicious green one of tomatillo and avocado. They brought out a "salad" plate as soon as we sat down, with fiery onions marinated with habanero chile, nopales with onion, a little pico de gallo, cucumber and radish slices, and lime for the tacos. Delicious. No chips, so you know it's authentic (maybe they have them if you ask). The owner (?) said they're open from 11 am to midnight every day. He told me they have barbacoa de borrego (ram) on Sundays. So guess where I'm going this Sunday? It's on 9th just below Ellsworth (about a block below Washington).

Also at that corner is a new-ish Mexican butcher shop. I got a gallina, which the very friendly owner cut up for me, and chicken feet for soup. He also had very good looking beef and pork, as well as rabbit, tripe, and other stuff. The owner told me he sells borrego, so I just might try making my own barbacoa sometime. He has good-looking bags of dried avocado leaves just for that. Also a small selection of vegetables and groceries.

It's so great to see those blocks of the "Italian" market below Washington filling up again with new businesses. There's another little restaurant across the street that advertises barbacoa de borrego on Sundays too. Groceries, a barber shop, music stores. All Mexican. I guess the Geno guy would prefer the street the way it used to be, virtually abandoned, rather than hear the sound of Spanish. What a jerk."

Peter // www.chowhound.com/topics/318681