Carmen’s Taqueria offers a considerable variety of delicious, authentic-style 
Mexican foods at affordable prices, which made ordering about as stressful as choosing my favorite chapter of R. Kelly’s "Trapped in the Closet" (Impossible!). I started with the horchata, a cinnamon/almond flavored rice milk drink. I love horchata, but I’ve found that some restaurants make it a little too rich, leaving you with something reminiscent of a melted milkshake. Sweet but still light, Carmen’s mix was flawless. The perfect compliment to the fresh flavors in their salsa.
Mexican foods at affordable prices, which made ordering about as stressful as choosing my favorite chapter of R. Kelly’s "Trapped in the Closet" (Impossible!). I started with the horchata, a cinnamon/almond flavored rice milk drink. I love horchata, but I’ve found that some restaurants make it a little too rich, leaving you with something reminiscent of a melted milkshake. Sweet but still light, Carmen’s mix was flawless. The perfect compliment to the fresh flavors in their salsa.After agonizing over the menu for what seemed like 4 hours, I finally decided that I should take advantage of its uniqueness. I began with húaraches. What the hell is that, right? Right. It’s a gigantic piece of flatbread piled high with refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and plenty of queso fresco. Also included in the price of the dish is your choice of meat (a concept to be expanded upon later), which I skipped in order to save room for a taco. This dish was simple, warm, filling and comforting. And at 5.99, the portion size is more than enough to constitute a whole meal. Our friendly waitress also provided us with our choice of condiment: salsa verde or a spicy red sauce.
Next, I had the funnest taco-ordering experience ever. I never want to be asked "Beef or chicken?" again. Carmen’s tacos roll in style. Along with asada (steak) and pollo (chicken), diners may choose to fill their tacos (and bellies) with chorizo (mexican sausage), barbacoa (slow-cooked over an open fire-style), carnitas (fried pork), pastor (pork broiled with pineapple), lengua (tongue), cabeza (head meat), and tripa (tripe... you know, stomach lining). I’m still learning to be an adventurous eater, so this time I went with the pastor. The tacos are small. Their white corn tortillas are maybe half the size of one you might find at another Mexican restaurant, and at 1.25 a piece, they are perfect for sampling. Topped with fresh cilantro and onion and served with lime, the presentation was really quite charming. The flavor was incredible. The pork was tender, but not at all fatty. And the sweetness of the pineapple really balanced whatever was in the mystery marinade.
My fellow dining divas (I give the best nicknames EVER) also wound up with some tasty vittles. Crisi (left) had a chicken torta (Mexican-style sandwich). Her thumbs were definitely way up. Nicole had a cheese empanada, a sope (a smaller version of the húaraches), and some very tasty and very fresh-to-order guacamole. Her thumbs were doing something similar to Crisi’s.
I really cannot wait to go back. I grabbed a menu on the way out in order to plan my future Carmen’s dining endeavors. Items that grabbed my eye? Mojarra Frita (fried queen tilapia), Camarones A La Diabla (shrimp in a spicy sauce), and Pozole (soup made of hominy and pork). And don't worry, vegetarian friends, there're plenty of choices for you, too!Carmen’s Taqueria is located on Northfield Boulevard directly next to All Things Possible Bargain Center. They have daily lunch specials on pretty much everything from 11am-1pm. Girlfriend, you know that burrito is so tired! And, boyfriend, those nachos are extra faded! Give Carmen’s a shot. It’s nothing short of a fiesta in your tummy.
4 comments:
welp, i know what this girlfriend will be doin' wednesday for lunch.
Yay, Carmen's! Yay, fantastic food blog by friends! Keep it up, ya'll.
I've eaten there. It's great.
Probably the worst service of any restaurant I have eaten at in Murfreesboro. We have eaten at Carmen's Tacqueria 5 times. I am going to go ahead and say we are 20% tippers whether the service is good or bad, so our service didn't stink because we are bad tippers or are rude. 3 times we have eaten there, we have had to have our bill corrected because items weren't taken off. We go there soley because the food is good, so we tend to overlook the management and service. Tonight, we went to Carmen's for my wife's birthday. We were going to Camino Real, as we live on the other side of Murfreesboro. I found a coupon in Value Mint (a coupon book you find in Kroger and other stores) for FREE Cheese Dip AND Guacamole, so I asked my wife if she would rather go there. She hesitated because of previous slow service, but said that would be fine. We came in the restaurant and waited 5 minutes for someone to come over and ask about drinks. We then waited 10 minutes for someone to bring simple drinks to our table ( a Coke and two glasses of water) We ordered the cheese dip and guacamole when the drinks came. It took about 10 more minutes to bring out simple guacamole and cheese dip. Our server did not take our order until about 20-25 minutes after we came in the door. It was almost as if they didnt want to come to our table. The food was great, but I had to get up and ask for more chips from the kitchen. This isnt the first time I have had to go to the kitchen to ask for something. I ordered a combination meal that included a soft drink. I told the waitress that my daughter could have my soft drink as I drank water. When the bill came, I handed the server my coupon for the guacamole and cheese dip and asked let her know the drink had not been removed from the bill. She stated that she charged my daughter for the drink because she ordered separate. I told her it didnt matter who drank the drink because it came with my meal, and I told her my intentions of giving it to my daughter when I ordered. I also noticed that the cheapest of the appetizers had been removed, but not both. I told her that the coupon was for both the cheese dip AND the guacamole as it plainly states on the ticket. She and her manager refused to take both off, even though it was the offer on their coupon. I let her know we would not be back. There was no posting on their door or anywhere stating they were not honoring the coupon they placed in Value Mint coupon book. This is the second time in a row we have had issues with our bill. The manager (possible owner) should have come to our table to talk with us, and let us know it was a misprint (MAYBE?), however, he left it to the server to come over and tell us the coupon would not be honored as it was written, which is undoubtedly horrible management. We tipped $5 on a $24 tab despite the poor service, It will take a lot for us to go back. A $3 management call cost the owner ill will with a customer and plenty of bad publicity.
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