Shortly after arriving on Isla Mujeres, I was sampling my first taste of my new favourite treat. When I say “soon”, I mean within the hour! Yes I was hungry after travelling all day but I was also sensitive that 1000 Tacos does not keep extended hours like many tiendes on the island. In fact, if they haven’t had a customer in a while, they might just close up shop. This did happen on one occasion, but happily for us, when we entered their funky outdoor space, they fired up the grill again to make us feel welcomed.

On this first visit, I was also very thirsty and I was delighted that their variety of beer were ice cold. And what goes better with tacos than icy cold beer?

Our friendly servers Brenda and Rosa told us that they were sold out of a couple of items. This, I get. They are a small business with new found success and they try to ensure that their ingredients are at the peak of freshness. If you come from the hospitality business, as I do, you know that the line between freshness and running out of menu items is tricky to walk. Instead of being miffed, this encouraged me to come back again to try missed items. And return I did, at least three times during my stay. But I digress.

They have two sections on their food menu-one entitled Mexican Stews and the other Seafood. With a bit of consideration I realized that the Mexican Stew section meant that the tortillas or tortas could be made with meat or chicken.

We chose the Queso Relleno “stew” (pictured on the left), including ground pork seasoned with chunks of Edam cheese! The fried shrimp with Mexican sausage and

the Camaron Crunchy (in torta form)

(and on another occasion on a flour tortilla).

All were perfectly prepared, piping hot and oh so delicious, especially when a squeeze of garlic or cilantro sauce was applied. The other two sauces which we were cautioned were “picante”, we left alone.

A good friend of mine from my home town joined me on this evening. When she couldn’t indulge en par with me, I felt badly that she was missing out on the tastes! We ordered the two tacos and one torta and I ended up taking half of the torta back to the hotel mini fridge. I ate the the torta for breakfast the next morning and the shrimp were still crunchy and the pico de gallo still fresh.

The creamy Edam cheese showcased the ground pork and the spicy Mexican sausage was the perfect pair to the sautéed shrimp (on the right). You could choose between flour and corn tortillas. I selected the former on that first evening but corn thereafter.

But the secret weapon of the tacgueria  was the queso that was offered with every selection. Taco purists don’t typically have cheese on their tacos but this cheese had been grilled until crispy and elevated the already delicious taco to new heights.

You might say I am rambling on about very simple food and that is exactly the point. This is a small operation which serves very few items but every choice was A+!

As I said, I returned on a couple of occasions-once so my friends from Toronto could savour the fare (they loved the Fried Octopus Taco) and another time for my husband’s last meal on the island. We became more and more familiar to Brenda and Rosa who welcomed us warmly each time. I told every one who would listen about this special place.

They are located a bit off the main drag. Take Medina until Allende and turn left or Juarez and turn right at Allende. They also deliver. If you are on the island right now and they are still open-go. Do not hesitate, just go.

Kath’s quote: “In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection.”-Curnonsky

Love never fails.

 

 

 

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