Pura Vida Ville — Restaurant in Town of Gates

As a native San Diegan, Baja California Mexican food is part of my DNA. Migrating to the East Coast 6 years ago has been a disappointment in one area - not a single decent taco 🌮 from Florida to Maine and now out to WNY until today.

And to be clear, I am only vouching for these Birria tacos, the super sweet woman working the place by herself and the charming decor and seating area to enjoy these delectable, finger-licking Birria tacos 🤤

Some people do not like corn tortillas. I freaking LOVE them. The perfect taco is made with a thick enough corn tortilla that the contents do not split the tortilla when taking a bite, are not dry or too greasy. And they have a subtle yummy flavor that contributes to the overall flavor and mouth satisfaction of a perfect taco! (As an aside, I have experienced each of those horrid situations at the many tacos I have tried the past six years on the East Coast.) So after this explanation, the corn tortillas were fantastic. She went to the kitchen with the 3 corn tortillas loaded up with white shredded cheese (this amount of cheese made my mouth water immediately!) and added the delicious Birria meat and side of sauce. Then loaded the tacos with a perfect amount of onions, cilantro, another white cheese and limes. These were also served with a side of salsa Verde.

There was spiciness, which short of Indian or the Laos/SouthEast Asian cuisine in the WNY area, is so rare to experience outside our home kitchen meals.

The experience of eating these tacos was sheer heaven this afternoon and I found myself licking my fingers ....because I said no when offered a fork. 😆

Only criticism is that the tacos could have been cooked longer so that the cheese melted out and crisped up along the edges of the tacos BUT, they were delicious as they were today.

Will try the other tacos on other visits.

Support your local, non-chain...

This review is specific to the Gates Itacate Express location. I work over in the tech park and one day I went to Wave, a gas station with a little Mexican restaurant attached aside it. My co-worker was like "omgerd Mexican food nom" and so we got two 8inch burritos. Our server Paco was so friendly and he paid attention to small things like when I asked for less rice and a boatload of hot sauce. He was very professional and the food was incredible. Everything is made from scratch so I know I'm getting the best possible flavor plus, the size of this 8 inch burrito was like trying to fit a truck into a minivan. I'll admit the burritos can be a bit messy, but it doesn't matter because its flavorful as heck!

Since our first visit we have become religious to this location. Their chips are made with perfect flavor. Just a hint of lime in every bite. Both their red and green salsas are rich and delicious. Their guacamole is my favorite thing on their menu. Chunky green avocado goodness! Their taco soup is so yummy on a cold day, and there are lots of cold days this spring. Portions are massive, which for the price makes it perfect. 4$ for an 8" Everyday (literally) after work we go to our second home where we meet wonderful people. Tatianna is like our second mother, the most sweet person you will meet. She runs the place as far as we are concerned. All the other servers are friendly, attentive and leave a pleasant mark on every visit, and I wait until 7 everyday just so I can get a tasty burrito from Itacate! I'll see you tomorrow, Itacate. (And the next day and the...

Went there with my wife and parents yesterday for lunch. Waited quite a while for the solitary server (and apparently the hostess?) to clumsily greet us. Once we were seated, we asked for water and chips while we looked over the menus. (Everyone else seemed to be doing the buffet instead, but we were interested in trying out some of the dinner selections.) Chips and salsa showed up at the 20 minute mark. At the 30 minute mark we still had not placed our order or yet received our water, so we decided to leave because we didn't want to be stuck there all afternoon. (As we were walking out, the waitress was finally bringing the water).

We ended up at the Wegmans Market Cafe, where everyone quickly got what they wanted. There were even some Mexican themed dishes available there, some of which were quite good.

So we tried to give our money to a local middle-class restaurant owner, but instead we gave it to millionaire Danny Wegman.

It's really pathetic that my favorite sub, pizza, and Chinese food are made by Wegmans. I would like to buy from someone besides Wegmans, but the unprofessional staff and spotty food quality of so many of the local restaurants keeps pushing me to buy from Danny instead.

So, good job small Mexican restaurant owner. Your inability to properly staff your restaurant sent us off to Wegmans, again. Maybe your food is great, but now...