Taqueria Almeida #1 — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

It had been a while since fortunes had led me down Waldron and into flour bluff proper... But thanks to my inability to ignore the whims of pretty girls, I found myself just barreling down Waldron eager to drop her butt off and ... When she suggested we stop at the Taco Stand .. My spirits lifted when I saw it still in operation and that in fact it had expanded to enclude at a roomy, and clean, area decades of bare foot summers, surfing with bluffrats and island brats and of course... The Taco Shack (Taqueria Alameda). Last time I was there, maybe 2012? i was disappointed to see a noticable decline in ingredient quality, serving size vs menu price, sanitation etc etc... I thought it would most likely in it's death throws, it has lost the love, I thought, and would soon surly go the way of other local landmarks ie JP Luby Surf Pier etc.. I felt a tinge of regret that future generations of permatanned, waterlogged salt crusted C-urchins might never know just how awesome it was when Jericos made way for what was to become a flour bluff landmark of a taco stand. fast forward to now, 2022..I ventured back into flour bluff once again, to visit a friend and decided to go get an order from the Taqueria. It's was as good I'd not better tasting that it was in those first few years. The cheese and ingredients seemed to be back on par with expectations. The only counterpoint would be the cost. We got a simple nachos and two breakfast tacos and charged it to the card, and later when I looked I saw it had came out to $18 and change. Excessive for 2 tacos and some chips 😬 but delicious none the less and I'm happy to know they are back at it making...

Those in the area will know what gem this place is: this review is for the others. . We visited after a brief visit to a local, who recommended their tacos. There was quite a line for the drive through, but luckily we planned to dine-"in". . Parking out front, we entered via the chain link gate. This place clearly gets busy, as there was seating for multitudes and standing for even more. We walked up to the unprepossessing order window and studied what to have. . I decided on the Brisket taco ("Do you want BBQ sauce" , huh? On a taco?) and a Picaddillo taco, plus unsweet tea. We sat at a picnic table, and the cashier brought us our drinks. A very few minutes later, she brought us tacos. . Yeah, they are superb. The tortillas are awesome, and stuffed with almost too much fillings. We also had a few of they salsas in the bag. . The brisket was truly top-notch, not too lean and tossed in BBQ sauce. I was surprised to see pickles too. This was like a brisket sandwich, but using a tortilla. The picaddillo taco was equally perfect, filled plentifully with delicious meat and potatoes . There was nothing about the experience that was at all bad. Really excellent meal. . They do have a drive through. When busy, the locals came in to the window and left a few minutes later. . If I lived anywhere close, I'd definitely...

Awful. This run-down, less-than-clean dive is a chaotic mix between Dine-In and Drive-Thru and offers zero reassurance on up-to-code cleanliness.

The staff, a motley crew of college-aged young adults, are friendly, but are not professional, or attentive, and are less-than-presentable in terms of uniform/food safety clothing. Though it should be noted, I did see one hair net in use amongst the 5 teammates who should have been using them.

Let's talk about the food. Using "food" loosely here...

My order was supposed to be - 2 chicken tacos with cilantro and onion and 2 al pastor tacos with cilantro only.

I received - 4 egg tacos, 2 chicken tacos all the way, 2 al pastor tacos all the way. None of which were made with Taco tortillas. Apparently, here they use some kind of pita-like bread as taco tortillas.

The "salsa" is something akin to sink water and tomato juice. Skip it and just drink bath water instead.

It's important to note that though we did not order the egg tacos, they were dangerously undercooked. The chicken tasted like cat food. The pastor was good, but not great, and was swimming in oil and grease.

TL;DR, don't eat here. This place is dying and we need to let it before someone gets sick or dies. Or the owners need to mount a strong executive presence immediately and effect...