Friday, July 30, 2010

Laredo


I've mentioned Taqueria Laredo before. It's was a (big) hole in the wall kind of place to eat that specializes in tacos. You walk up to the counter and order tacos from what they have on hand. Such possibilities include breakfast tacos such as potato with egg, bacon with egg, chorizo with egg, spicy potatoes, etc. There is a menu on the wall that also offers some plates of food and bowls of menudo and caldo de res. However, tacos is where it was at. Back in the day, on the weekend, all tacos were $1 before 10a. The line would be out the door at 9:30a. The prices have gone up with the max being $2 for a fajita taco. Still worth it though. It is now part of the Washington Avenue corridor that stretches from downtown Houston to Memorial Park, which is a few miles. It's changed so much in a little amount of time. It once was made up of mostly low income families then known as West End that made my mom uneasy every time we spent the night visiting some cousins who lived in the area. But now, with so many bars and restaurants opening up, it's changed the landscape that it's barely even a shell of what it once was. So many condos, apartments, all seemingly out of place there, are popping up, pushing the people who've been planted there for decades out. And, to make it sting just a little more, a Wal-mart may be opening up soon. If that happens, it will completely stand out like a sore thumb and cause even more congestion than what is already there. A Wal-mart? What that area really needs is a grocery store but again, I'm just being biased since the HEB originally has proposed staking a claim there.

And even with some new upgrades, Laredo still stands. It's cleaned up the place, recently painted with pink and a yellow trim cause that's how Mexicans roll. And yea, their tacos still rock.

2 comments:

Ali said...

It pains me to see quaint little areas and the businesses that have been in them for years get over-developed. All the charm and history is lost.

Long live Taqueria Laredo.

Margie said...

I'm all for cleaning up the area but at what price? The rise in the property taxes alone is what is pushing out the people who've been there for so many years.

All this just makes me want a taco.