La Acapulquena Taqueria

La Acapulquena Taqueria
5695 E. Clark Lane (just off the Lake of the Woods exit)
Sept. 15, 2007

Oldboy: 6 1/2 stars - REAL Mexican food
When you see the people to whom the food is indiginous hanging out outside and eating inside, that's usually a good indication that the food served is the real thing. The times that I've visited this restaurant, about the only people I've seen there have been members of Columbia's Mexican and Hispanic population. The place is in a small strip mall just off the north side of the Lake of the Woods exit on the east side of Columbia. The location is the former Dragon Sea Chinese restaurant (which I liked). Good prices, the amount of food we got for $20 was two meals with lots of leftovers. Not much of a decor, basic tables and booths with some Mexican decorations and two tv's tuned to the Hispanic channel. But what makes this place special is the food. This isn't your Taco Bell fast food, or the pseudo-Mexican or Tex-Mex you find at most other supposed Mexican restaurants in the area. Yes, they have all the usuals: fajitas, enchiladas, burritos and tacos. The things that make this place REAL Mexican is the ingredients and how they are made. For instance, you have a number of choices for the taco meats, including chorizo, beef intestine, beef tongue and pork intestine. The tortillas are homemade. Real corn-husk wrapped tamales. Baracoa with goat meat. I especially like the variety of sauces available; the standard red salsa, a tomatillo green salsa, a hot jalapeno salsa, guacamole, and a spicy smokey chipotle sauce. If you want REAL Mexican, this is the place to go.