El Vaquero is pretty dang good. And super cheap.
My co-workers convinced me to scout this place out for them and I'm glad I did. Don't let the decor or the semi-seedy strip mall location deter you, this is some of the most authentic Mexican I've had in Richmond. But it is a dive.
The salsas are not like what you get at local Mexican restaurants - the pico has a nice flavor and a little heat, and the green and red salsas complement the tacos, gorditas and other dishes very nicely.
My favorites so far are the tacos and gorditas. They offer them in steak, pork, lengua (tongue), tripe, and chorizo. As far as the gorditas, they offer additional options including chicken, chicharron (fried pork), and chorizo with cactus.
Tacos are generously filled with your choice of meat and topped with cilantro and onion, and served with the red salsa. I've had the steak, pastor and lengua. I really enjoyed the flavorful steak and pastor tacos, and the lengua not so much.
The gorditas are thicker corn tortillas that are sliced on the side (think like a round, corn sorta pita-style pocket), filled with meat and cheese and topped with cilantro and onion. The chicken, steak and pastor styles are awesome and $3.25 each.
They also have burritos and other dinners that I haven't had a chance to try, but I assume are pretty decent.
On the beverage front, El Vaquero serves horchata, the sweetened rice milk and cinnamon drink, as well as various domestic/import beers, sodas, and Jarritos.
The restaurant is open 7 days a week from 8am-9pm. They serve breakfast everyday (the options sound awesome) and they have special items on the weekends such as menudo, pozole, tamales (cheese, chicken or pork), champurrado atole (special Mexican hot chocolate), and seafood soup, according to their menu.
Listen - this restaurant isn't going to win any prestigious awards and you may not like it if you're expecting to be knocked off your feet. It's definitely not Chicken Fiesta, but it is the closest I've come to the taquerias of Texas, and that makes me happy. (Side note: I still like the steak taco at Chicken Fiesta better than the one at El Vaquero, thanks to the smoky char flavor).
El Vaquero offers a lot more in the way of authentic Mexican cuisine than many of other "Mexican" places in town. And that's worth a try and a few of your dollars, right? read more