Original Tacos El Lobo
211 North Saint Clair St
Painesville, OH 44077
440-352-3802
440-520-5160

El Lobo (means: The Lobo) is a small Tacqueria located near the Post Office in Painesville. Unfortunately, there is no parking lot for the place so on-the-street parking is the way to go. Gringos will feel more than a bit intimidated entering El Lobo as most (all) of the clientele is Hispanic and only one of the restaurant staff speaks English. Not only that, but Telemundo (means:Latin T&A) is usually blaring on the corner TV.

Fear not intrepid Gringo adventurer! The lady that speaks English might be one of the nicest people alive and she’s very understanding of the whiteman. She was a bit apprehensive when I presented her with the blanket inoculated with smallpox asking to direct me to the gold, but she got over it. When Jason and I went a few weeks ago, she spotted us like a couple of straight guys at a Clay Aiken concert. She swooped over and seated us at a table in the middle of the small restaurant. Unlike previous visits, we were provided with a menu in English.
The menu is wicked plain. Tacos, sandwiches and authentic quesadillas. That’s it. That is a good business model right there. Make a few items, but make them the best that they can be.

Before taking our order the nice lady brought us some chips and salsamole. Yeah, that’s some new shit there folks. This stuff was amazing. It was a nice chunky salsa with fresh tomatoes and onions, but it had mashed avocado mixed in it. It wasn’t salsa and it wasn’t guacamole, it was something in-between for which I would trade my first born child. Dipping freshly made tortilla chips into it made it a religious experience. I have now promised the good Lord that I will attend ceremonies here every Sunday.

For lunch, I ordered 3 chorizo tacos and Jason ordered 3 quesadillas. The drink selection is limited to bottled pop and some really weird rice milk stuff, but we’re not adventurous enough to try that crap. We stuck with the old stand-by, two Cokes.

While we waited for lunch we kept busy by watching the man prepare our food, along with that of others, in the open kitchen. We also spent a bit of time trying to figure out Telemundo. Do you think television shows are more ridiculous if they are in a different language? I tend to believe that Telemundo has the most ridiculous programing in all of television, other than the Lifetime Network, of course.

The tacos and the quesadillas arrived at our table steaming hot along with the traditional Mexican accompaniments of onions, cilantro and hot sauce. The chorizo tacos were fantastic. Two corn tortillas wrapped around freshly grilled chorizo sausage, topped with onions and cilantro. You will not find a better taco in Ohio. The quesadillas, while a little bland, were very good too once topped with the condiments.

It didn’t look like a lot of food, but once we finished, we were stuffed. I was literally shocked when we got the bill though. 3 tacos, 3 quesadillas, 2 Cokes and a basket of chips and salsamole, all for only $10.75! What a steal.

I can’t wait to go back to El Lobo. Not only was the food ridiculously good, but it was inexpensive and the service was just perfect. While it may be intimidating to visit a restaurant like El Lobo where most people don’t speak your language or share your heritage, it is definitely worth stepping out of your comfort zone every now and then.