Taco El Jaripeo is a very popular taco stand in West Valley. I saw carloads of people come and go in the time I ate my 3 tacos.
El Jaripeo
Taco Stand
3500 S. 3892 W.
South side of 3500 S, in the parking lot west of Rent-A-Center
3 out of 5 stars
I had never been to Tacos El Jaripeo but I recently heard about it from an article from Xris Macias in chicano\latino student newspaper Venceremos. When I saw this I immediately thought of the reviews Noyen and I recently did of the Oaxacan restaurant of the same name. I asked a very nice guy working the stand (whose English was muuuuch better than my Spanish) if there was a connection between the stand and the restaurant. He told me that the person who owns the restaurant on Redwood Road also owns this taco stand. He told me he was surprised that I knew of the restaurant since it only recently opened. I myself have been surprised that other Salt Lake publications have heard of El Jaripeo the restaurant. Just last week, Salt Lake’s IN Magazine wrote an article on it (this link is just the dessert portion — couldn’t find the rest) and I couldn’t help but wonder if they had been tipped off by slctacos.com? Possibly? But I digress…
In keeping with my guidelines with my TACO SHOWDOWN with “Tacos Alex” across the street, I decided to order 1 al pastor and 1 lengua. Then I asked which of their tacos they felt I should add for my round 3. They said their carne asada was particular delicious, so I told him it was time to get the TACO SHOWDOWN on the road. He went to work and served me up a warm champurrado while I waited. This hit the spot while I waited on a cold February night.
Itemized deliciousness (from top to bottom) : 1 lengua, 1 al pastor, 1 carne asada, 1 super warm cup of champurrado hanging out near my feet
While I waited, I snapped a few photos of the stand and a few of its clientele with permission of all. I couldn’t believe how many people went in and out of this stand. Trucks and cars were pulling in and out at a constant rate. At least 2 families were staying warm in trucks eating their tacos while they watched me in the cold with my champurrado to keep me warm. One after another latino families came and went. My hands started shaking from excitement not the cold as I surmised from the stream of people that this must be a great stand.
Then I heard some English as the guy called to me to grab my 3 tacos. Being predictable, I dug into the al pastor first. Medium. Medio. I already started worrying that the tacos would not be as good as I was hoping. Then I tried the lengua. The lengua was good, but a bit still not as good as I was hoping. Then I tried the carne asada that was recommended to me. Once again, it was good. But it did not live up to my hopes. There was nothing bad about the tacos. In fact, these were better than most of the tacos in the 800 S State area. Especially at the price of 3 tacos for $3.00. But overall, my tacos were medium.
A thirsty gentleman picks out a beverage to chase his tacos with. When asked if I could take his picture he replied, "No me importa". So I did it.
I definitely want to head back another time and try a few items I didn’t have time or room for this time (I was in a TACO SHOWDOWN!!!). I saw huaraches listed on the menu and I would like to try those out new time. If I do I will hold my oath of taco journalism and share what I thought. But for now, there are other tacos I must try…
SLC Tacos 