La Estrella Mini Market

The whistle of the A-Train blew seconds before the lady behind the counter called to us: “Quieren cebolla y cilantro?” Do you want onion and cilantro? My brother and I both responded with a childish “Si” and returned to our table, each with a plate of three corn tortilla tacos.

 La Estrella Mini-Mart serves up the taco basics: barbacoa, chicken, carne asada, lengua and al pastor.

At $1.25 for a single two-bite taco, La Estrella’s tacos may seem pricey. But what the tacos lack in size, they more than make up for in quality.

La Estrella’s meats are seasoned just enough to allow for the natural flavor of beef, pork and chicken to poke through to the taste buds.

For my first round (because I did go back for another round of tacos), I ordered one chicken, one carne asada and one al pastor.

The carne asada, the standard of any taqueria, is tender, lightly seasoned and contains almost none of the annoying bits of chewy fat that sometimes get in the way of fully enjoying a carne asada taco.

The chicken meat is cut into even little squares that seem to blend into the cilantro and onion and, when covered with the house salsa verde and lime juice, the taco undergoes a refreshing transformation.

My favorite was undoubtedly the tacos al pastor. The succulent pork almost melted in my mouth. With or without salsa, the tacos al pastor significantly stand out because of how well the taste of pork is delivered via the corn tortilla, onions and cilantro. Even when covered in either the green or red salsa, none of the taste is lost.

Needless to say, the texture of the tacos is not exaggerated in any way and the simplicity only adds to the taste by not raising expectations.

Unless you grew up eating in dark but colorful taquerias, you may find it difficult to appreciate the cozy atmosphere at La Estrella. Seating inside is limited, with only three small tables and beat-up chairs.

The best taquerias aren’t always pretty. What the best taquerias do is serve the superlative tacos above all else.

Seeing as how this is my first review of a Denton taqueria, it is too soon to give the “Best of Denton” title to La Estrella. But this colorful convenience store/taqueria certainly set the bar substantially high for future reviews.