El Sazon: The Ripe
"There isn’t a word like Sazon in the English language. In its romantic, dual meaning in Spanish, Sazon is both: “just the right taste”, and “the perfect moment” . . ." ~Sazon Chicago.
Back in my day, La Fama (The Fame) use to run the the taco scene, but times have changed. In a town were Taco Trucks and Taquerias run rampant, a new contender emerges. Enter El Sazón. The streets of Pasco are lined with Mexican restaurants, from Fiesta on 68 to Garibaldi's on Court.
But what makes El Sazon stand out among these power houses? Click on the thumb to read more, or to look at the rest of the pictures...whatever.
Down on Court Street, where the ole' Skippers use to be lies El Sazon. Yes you can still tell it was a skippers from the anchor sign. Classy. The off salmon orange and yellow trim combined with the dancing kids outside the main entrance should only forewarn you of how classy this establishment really is.
This is the interior. The colors are so bright it ruins any sort of character this place could have had. The color scheme screams fast food, especially with the tiled floor. I'm not sure why they bothered getting booths when the paint job clearly screams, "take your food and leave."
Jarritos for dayz. I've never been a fan, but do you see that at the back near the soft drinks. Yes. Horchata fountain. Hollah!!!!! As you walk in there will be an ordering counter, much like any fast food restaurant. Right next to the cash register are utensils, condiments, and fountain drinks. You place and order, they give you a number and you sit down. They will serve you the food when it's ready.
Behold the horchata fountain. It's free refills, but I must admit that it's not quite what I'd consider horchata. It's at best a watered down version of some instant mix horchata.
I ordered a lomo (pork tenderloin) torta with avocados. Don't do it. That meat was drier than sand. I have to say though, everything else in that torta was quite delicious. The copious amounts of Mexican cheese was appretiated, as well as the avocados and jalapenos. The bread was warm, slightly toasted, and soft to the bite. In fact, it was probably my fault for ordering lomo, I should have gone with adobada hands down. I guess I felt like being adventurous. Now I know better. I'm sure they make great tortas otherwise, especially for $ 4.99.
Great things come in small packages, and these tacos are just that. These are the adobada tacos after I've placed lime juice, radish slices, a bit of guacamole on top of them. That's just how I roll. They garnish their tacos with diced onions and lettuce and a bit of cilantro. I'm not a very big fan of cilantro, but I look the other way if its a small amount.
The adobada was well seasoned and moist with some caramelized onions mixed in with the sauce. It's a bit unfair to compare lomo and adobada since adobada sits in a sauce, but it really is the better choice of meat. Always. The tortillas were still warm when they were served, and you can tell they were hand made. I'm sure they must go through these quite fast especially when it's "happy hour" and its like 59 cents a taco.
I didn't mean to sound like a food snob, I just had very high expectations since I've been hearing a lot of hype about it. In truth, the prices match that of La Fama's and the quality is great (I won't say better, because it's not). The ambiance is awkward and uncomfortable, but hey you can't win them all. If someone asked me to go again, I'd reply with a "Hell yes, you had me at Mexican."