Tortilleria El Molino — Restaurant in Concord

7/6/14

After a dental appointment with a mouth-numbing shot, a small filling, and a teeth cleaning, I decided to chomp on some crunchy tacos. I stopped in El Molino on Monument, placed an order for two tacos dorado, and took a spot alone at a table by their juice bar.

I watched a man (perhaps the manager) come out and kill the single fly in the place with a swift "SWAT" with his flyswatter. Keeping it clean! He also sprayed down the tables while another woman swept the floor. They do a good job keeping everything clean, especially with the high volume of foot traffic. There was always someone in line while I waited for my food and while I ate.

I really enjoyed the crunchy tacos while their hot meat-potato filling and crispy, fresh lettuce. I'm still not a big fan of crispy, crunchy chips, but I do like their hot salsa. And I love how fresh the tortillas are! (of course).

This is definitely one of the nicer taquerias on Monument!

Updated from: 1/25/13 (three star)

I LIKE MY CHIPS THIN AND CRISPY ~ WITH LOTS OF SALT

I came here last nght for dinner #2. What's dinner #2, you ask? It's when you spend all afternoon thinking about what you want for dinner and you can't decide between two places so you eat at them both. I came here after Mercado Del Sol, less than a block away.

For $5-something I ordered one carnitas taco, chips & salsa, and 2 cheese tamales (to go - $1 each). I had some leftover glass-bottled Coke from dinner #1 so no drink here.

The taco was okay - the meat was very good and super tender but there was too much of it for me. Lots of cilantro on top and some salsa verde but the presentation was a little sloppy. Plus, the salsa verde wasn't my favorite. I requested a hotter salsa also and received a chipotle-red. The flavor was smokey and good but not all that hot either. The tortilla was very good. It was bigger than expected and very fresh. It tasted like a flour tortilla but I imagine was white corn? I don't know...

The chips were disappointing. They were super crispy but much too thick for me. They had a lot of grease, which I like because it makes the salt stick, but lime juice also makes the salt stick and when chips are served in a plastic bag the grease gets all over your hand every time you go to grab one. But I wouldn't have cared if they hadn't been so thick - just too filling. (And not just cuz it was dinner #2 - I always prefer skinny chips).

The tamales were picked at later in the evening but they will be tonight's dinner. I'll definitely be back to this place since I want to try the nachos. And maybe a smoothie from their juice bar. It looked good and several people inside were sipping refreshing parfait-style drinks. Chunks of fruit and thick...

I recommend grabbing a pack of their flour and corn tortillas whenever you visit, blows market tortillas away.

Service is quick, despite the line usually running out of the door.

I don't consider them a dine-in venue, as it is loud, crowded, and only has a couple proper tables.

As for the food...

Al pastor torta is the best torta I've had in this area. (Walnut Creek, pleasant hill, Concord, Martinez, Danville) I have eaten a torta from every restaurant that offers them in all of those cities, and I reiterate, theirs is the best.

Breakfast and dinner burritos were fresh, hot, tasty, and large. Breakfast came with packets of salsa verde made specifically for breakfast. I've had burritos with every selection of meat, and every meat was great.

Menudo with bones was great, and came with all the fixings (cilantro, onions, spices, salsa, tortillas), but didn't come with hominy. I spread it into 4 servings, and added...

Nestled in a small plaza in Concord is this great Mexican restaurant, juice bar and tortilleria so you can bring home extra freshly made tortillas after you enjoy their food. The menu is pretty standard but does include things that are not always on the menu of other Mexican restaurants in the area (e.g., chicharron, bionicos, pupusas, pork stomach, etc.). More importantly, the food is high quality and you get pretty large portion sizes at a decent price. The service is consistently friendly and despite the place hopping much of the time, they turn out the food pretty quickly. Our favorites so far include their street-style tacos (especially with chicharron), carnitas or carne asada burrito, tamales (comes in pork, chicken or chile cheese) and puffy taco salad. It has definitely become one of our...