Taco Impressions: El Camino
Posted Monday, March 14, 2016When the popular Mount Lookout breakfast and brunch restaurant Annabel's closed up shop last year and owner Annabel Stolley retired, two former BrewRiver GastroPub employees decided it was time to take the space and fulfill their lifelong dream of opening El Camino, a Latin American restaurant emphasizing the best of the culture's street food.
Tacos and Tostones
Owners Sean Morgan and Chef Brad Johnson offer a cozy, divey nook of an eatery that's able to squeeze in about 25 people. And while the place is often quite busy juggling both dine-in and takeout orders until the wee hours of the morning, its seat turnover rate is quick enough that diners shouldn't be too concerned about having to wait too long for a spare table.
We arrived on a Sunday evening and noted several seats available. A menu board above the counter displays El Camino's more stable menu items, while supplemental chalk boards behind the counter highlight the daily specials. The regular menu includes a number of sides, tapas, bocadillos (sandwiches) and tacos. Notable items are the Cubano, with braised pork shoulder, thin-sliced ham, Swiss cheese and house-made mustard and pickles on crispy, pressed, Sixteen Bricks bread; pulled pork, "El Jefe" tacos topped with pickled tomatoes, caramelized onions, sweet corn salsa and cilantro; and Caribbean-style empanadas.
Ordering at the counter, my girlfriend chose one of the daily specials: three Ropa Vieja tacos ($9.75), braised beef topped with seasoned black beans, sweet plantain fries, cilantro and drizzled with sour cream. I chose the El Jefe tacos ($9.75) along with a side of the tostones from the daily special menu ($4.75). Tostones are twice-fried, thin slices of crispy plantains served with a side of garlic mayo ketchup.
El Jefe taco
Ropa Vieja taco
The food arrived fairly quickly given how busy the place was, and I was pleased to see the workers keeping close watch on diners' water glasses, ensuring they were ever filled. When the tacos arrived, I was initially disappointed that they'd employed flour tortillas instead of corn, but given the saucy, juicy nature of the ingredients, it ultimately proved a wise choice: corn tortillas would never maintain their structural integrity under such conditions.
The El Jefe tacos were a celebration of rich, pork flavor, the meat's richness elevated with a smart, acidic pairing of delightfully tangy pickled cherry tomatoes. The surprise hit of the evening, however, was my girlfriend's Ropa Vieja tacos. The richly complex flavor of the braised beef offered deep, dark chocolate notes. The wisps of plaintain added another layer of heartiness to the tacos, cut nicely by the refreshing hit of sour cream.
The tostones were crispy, hot and pleasantly seasoned, starchy morsels of goodness amped up when dipped into the mildy spiced garlic mayo ketchup sauce.
We were quite pleased with our first El Camino experience and look forward to our next street food fix.
1004 Delta Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45205513-376-8328
Rating: 3.0 out of 4
= Outstanding
= Fair
= Poor
The best TACO joint in the city. I go there as a treat to myself every Monday. TEX MEX TACOS are delicious culinary treats that look beautiful and taste great. I'm so impressed with this place that I never explore the other items on the menu. If you don't get your taco fix here, you're losing in life.
posted: Tue., Apr 27th, 2021 @ 2:37 PM
My Wife and myself dined at Ferrari’s on Saturday and the Food and service was great/ I had the Butternut Squash Ravioli with misc nuts and sauce and it was the best meal I’ve had there/ My wife had the Fish and Vegetables and was very happy/ I also got a couple of their pizza and olive loaves of bread/ The bread is always a hit at work.
posted: Mon., Nov 23rd, 2020 @ 1:14 PM
@Rick: Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have to remember to give them a try.
posted: Sat., Nov 21st, 2020 @ 9:06 AM
Try Joe's Pizza located at Airway and Smithville Rd. You might like it...That's one of favorite haunts. I definitely think it beats Cassano's.
posted: Fri., Nov 6th, 2020 @ 4:19 PM
Hands down the best Indian in the area. I have yet to find their yellow Punjabi dish anywhere. It is my favorite, and what keeps me coming back time after time. I think I have been here over 100 times. I love this place.
posted: Thu., May 28th, 2020 @ 12:03 PM
I found a gyro I keep thinking about
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tazikis-mediterranean-cafe-cincinnati
their lamb gyro is about 2-3 bucks higher in cost than a gyro elsewhere - B U T - it is made with whole pieces of lamb meat, not the lamb and beef loaf that all other Gyro joints in Cincinnati seem to do
it is a chain. A minus for me, and I suspect for you as well.
But its good.
really, really good
one caveat: skip the baklava as it is not made in-house
posted: Mon., Dec 9th, 2019 @ 12:43 PM
I'll take your word for it, then.....it is fairly close to work so it'll be an upcoming lunch
I also need to try out this little taco wagon near Quatmans in Norwood
posted: Mon., Sep 9th, 2019 @ 6:21 PM
Hi @TJ - We were pretty impressed with the quality of the items, which I think justifies some of the pricing. I really liked the house-made tortillas and their salsas. Chilero offered some extra little touches that were a pleasant surprise. :)
Just by way of comparison...that same week we'd tried the new Mazunte location downtown...and our experience at Chilero beat them out.
posted: Thu., Aug 29th, 2019 @ 10:18 PM
Great food and fantastic atmosphere
posted: Wed., Aug 28th, 2019 @ 8:29 PM
Seems very pricey for a mostly carryout/counter-service joint
posted: Wed., Aug 28th, 2019 @ 5:51 PM