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J&R Tacos has an entirely new slant on Mexican cuisine: Healthy. If you've ever traveled in Mexico, and enjoyed true Mexican cuisine, you've probably noticed the lack of the heavy, cheesy, sour-cream labeled affairs that most north-of-the-border folks equate with Mexican cuisine. My sister, Bonnie, has been a vegetarian for 20+ years, and her husband is dialed into her number, so when Bonnie chooses a restaurant... Vegetarian cuisine is the "main" thing. J&R Tacos serves traditional Mexican food, but offers Mexican vegetarian cuisine, so they are a favorite of my sister. She invited me to lunch... so why not? Especially since she was paying... Photo: J & R Tacos is located on West Main Street, in Merced, and offers family-friendly dining inside, and comfortable, shaded patio dining on the sidewalk. In recent years, the City of Merced has done a lot to upgrade Main Street, and it shows, as now Main Street rivals Fresno's Tower District in boutiques, dining and entertainment. Photo: My brother-in-law, Greg, places our order at the counter. J & R Tacos is typical, in that you place your order at the counter, pay for it, and then your order is brought to your counter. Notice the young crowd that this restaurant attracts on this early afternoon on Saturday, October 29, 2011. Mexican cuisine, in the U.S., has been morphed into a heavy, meat-laden, sour cream garnished, gargantuan platter drowned in cheese, and smothered in watery salsa. It's not that way in Mexico, as real Mexican food is light, healthy, and delicious. J&R Tacos seems to focus in that direction... the healthy cuisine found south of the border. They also feature many vegetarian dishes, to cater to the tastes of those who shun meat. Photo: Our order is brought to our table by our smiling server, who graciously allowed me to take her photo, and who's name I didn't record. My carne asada taco is in her right hand, and in her left hand, she's holding the vegetarian plate of beans, tortillas tomatoes and avocado slices that my sister Bonnie and her husband, Greg ordered. Photo: Our Saturday afternoon group, from left to right: Greg Wilson, Bonnie Wilson, and Eric Rench, your photographer and author. Bonnie is my little sister, and Greg is my brother-in-law. Greg and Bonnie have been married 35 years... which is quite a milestone. Photo:
My order of one, cd-sized carne asada taco, garnished
with diced onions, cilantro and salsa verde. I only ordered
one taco, as I'd previously enjoyed lunch at the nearby Cinema
Café...
on a normal day, about three of these tacos would serve me well
for lunch. The perfectly cooked carne asada was placed
on two toasted corn tortillas, in the style of Mexico, and garnished
with fresh ingredients. Great taco! Fast forward to Tuesday, December 20, 2011, and I'm visiting my sister, again, and she suggested we enjoy lunch at J&R Tacos. No problema! Photo: My son, Matthew, enjoys a delicious Pacifico beer, and helps himself to a basket of freshly made tortilla chips that never runs empty. The kitchen staff can be seen, in the background of the photo, hard at work, preparing delicious food that makes J&R Tacos a favorite among the Merced locals. Photo: Matthew ordered two carne asada tacos, "con todo," and he managed to add some salsa verde and pickled slices of jalapeño peppers. Matthew remarked that his carne asada tacos were delicious. Photo: My sister, Bonnie, isn't a fan of meat, so she and I split an order of nachos, garnished with black beans, sour cream, diced tomatoes, and avacado slices. Naturally, we enjoyed salsa cruda and house salsa with the freshly made corn tortilla chips. When your basket is empty, all you have to do is ask, and one of the friendly staff members will bring you another basket of fresh, warm, tortilla chips. Mmmmmm good! Photo: My sister Bonnie and I toast to J&R Tacos and our upcoming trip to Mexico, over our vegetarian nacho plate, and our Mexican beers. The menu at J&R Tacos claims the mission of the restaurant is: "A healthy twist on Mexican cuisine." Twists and turns aside, the menu offers many vegetarian - read "health" - selections, and the carne asada taco that I enjoyed was delicious. My sister and her husband enjoyed a giant platter or beans, garnished with guacamole - why didn't I take photos??? - which was totally vegetarian. My carne asada taco was delicious, and very close to what you would expect if you ordered a taco on the streets of Tijuana. For authentic, yet healthy Mexican cuisine, J&R Tacos can't be beat... J&R
Tacos Copyright(c) 2011 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...
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