Jalapeno's Taqueria ~ Keller, Texas

Last visit: Jan 2018

First visit: Nov 2009

A long time ago we mentioned this small taqueria in a post about what we thought might be - or not, never was sure - of a related restaurant. That restaurant later became Las Pinatas in far north Fort Worth and is now gone as well.

According to my personal database, my last visit to Jalapeno's Taqueria was in November of 2009, about a year and a half into this blog. It didn't leave much of a mark, and we forgot about it. Well Mrs. RJG and I were in the mood for some tacos, and it's not that far from where we reside, so we thought we'd try it again.

And now I remember why it didn't leave a mark. It's pretty average fare for a taqueria. It seems to be popular though, and it's a small family run business, so I guess it's just a matter of personal taste. I tried four street tacos: Ground beef, chipotle chicken tinga, al pastor, and carne asada. That's the order I ate them in. The ground beef was just flavorless mush, and I didn't like the look of it, so I ate it rather quickly to get it over with. The tinga wasn't much better in that category, again not very strong in flavor, and way too much grease. The al pastor, on the other hand, was excellent. One of the better attempts at the famous Lebanese/Mexican dish I've tried in DFW. I didn't see a skewer of meat with pineapple, but the flavor was superb. The carne asada was certainly cooked properly, and was tender, but again not exactly a burst of flavors. Mrs. RJG stated she thinks that's because they don't grill their meats, but rather cook them on a stove. All tacos were garnished with chopped onion and cilantro, and I had them wrapped in a corn tortilla, but flour is available for a few cents more. Perhaps if I just order a pile of al pastor tacos, I would have been more happy. So there's a silver lining in my black cloud. And another silver lining is that Mrs. RJG ordered the huevos con chorizo with rice and beans. Her impression was far more kind than mine. And being that she is actually from Mexico, perhaps she's a better judge for the local populace than myself. But all opinions needs to put on the table accurately, or you won't know where we stand. Because we ordered more than $5 of food, chips are complimentary. Only a handful though - in a cardboard to-go box. But it was enough to sample their 3 salsas. To be honest, I can be swayed by a salsa bar. And Jalapeno's doesn't do enough. The red arbol sauce was the hottest and best, and certainly was quite delicious. Typical of a taqueria red though. I did also enjoy their more traditional chipotle and onion sauce as well - though it was a tad watery. I do like green sauces, but not a big fan of the lime green avocado based salsas, and that's their verde variety

You'll find Jalapeno's tucked away in a all roadside strip mall, on the east side of US 377, just south of Keller parkway. There's very little parking up front, so if you see it full, just pull over to one of the side streets and walk. We did manage a space in the front, but it was a major PITA getting out, so perhaps best just to shoot for the side street when going. It's a real hole in the wall, and ambiance is not why you go here - unless looking for a hole in the wall of course...

I'm not exactly sure when Jalapeno's opened up, but if memory serves, they were here when we first moved into the area in early 2003. And on our visit, there was a small line. So obviously they know what they're doing and the customer base they serve. Which tells the RJG that perhaps there's a magic dish he needs to be trying here!

11/6/09; 1/27/18 (new entry)