Mexican.
Uptown: 5932 Magazine St. 504-897-3974. Map.
Harahan: 1827 Hickory Ave., 504-738-6722. Map.
Metairie: 3535 Severn, 504-885-5088. Map.
Lunch and dinner seven days.
Very Casual
AE MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Like all ethnic restaurants, Taqueria Corona has drifted in the direction of American tastes over the two decades it's been around. But its food remains much more like that of the interior of Mexico than in most other Mexican restaurants. It was the first true taqueria here, with a menu and cooking style that was very exciting back then. Now other taquerias riddle the market, but the TC--particularly the Magazine Street original--still stands out.
WHY IT'S GOOD
Unless you're from Oaxaca or San Luis Potosi, these are not the tacos you grew up with. Instead of crunchy corn tortillas filled with salad and meats from a steam table, the tacos here start with flour tortillas and a hot grill covered with chunks of meat, searing away while green onions get semi-charred,and beans are brought to bubbling. Unusual meats like beef tongue and fish add further variety and interest to the menu.
BACKSTORY
Long before the post-Katrina swell of taquerias around town, El Salvador native Roberto Mendez opened up a minimal joint on Magazine Street. Even with parking scarce around there, the food was so good and so cheap that it was an immediate hit. The other locations (one in Metairie, one in Harahan) have never been quite as good as the Magazine Street original.
DINING ROOM
The old place has been fixed up a few times over the years, but it's still a spartan environment, dim and long, with the grill dominating the attention of diners. And making the place smell good. The suburban locations are made intentionally rustic, but can't escape entirely from their strip-mall locations.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Cebollitas (grilled green onions).
Guacamole
Pico de gallo and chips
Queso fundido (melted cheese with beef or chorizo)
Black bean chili dip
Black bean soup
Gazpacho
Cheese quesadilla (options: chicken or shrimp)
Tacocado salad
Grilled tacos with pico de gallo and beans, plus choice of ribeye steak, chicken, pork, beef tongue, chorizo, shrimp, or fish
California burritos (with beans, rice, guacamole, cheese and cilantro, with a choice of meats or seafood)
Combination platters (taco, burrito, flauta, rice and beans)
Carne asada (grilled beef ribeye)
Pollo asado (grilled chicken breast)
Enchilada riviera (soft corn tortilla with a choice of meats or seafood)
Mexican pizza
Flauta dulce (banana and cheesecake in a fried tortilla)
Flan
Arroz con leche (rice pudding)
FOR BEST RESULTS
Don't wear clothes you'd like to keep free of cooking aromas. Go early in you don't want to wait. The place seems to get busier as it gets later. Don't even think of getting in even a minute after closing time at either lunch or dinner.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The servers could throw the food down with a little less gusto.
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
- Dining Environment -1
- Consistency +1
- Service -1
- Value +2
- Attitude
- Wine and Bar
- Hipness +1
- Local Color +1
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Quick, good meal
- Easy, nearby parking (Metairie and Harahan only)
- No reservations
This review was updated with new information on 6/8/2010.
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