It's funny how life teaches you perspective and provides the arc through which you grow from your experiences. Like when Revenge of the Ninja was such a good movie that I watched 8 times in one week, only to realize as an adult what a piece of crap it truly was. Or maybe something most Americans can remember is how incredibly dope a birthday or happy meal at McD's was when you were 5, but now can't stomach the place. These are the thoughts that began to scroll through my mind as I paid my tab at Arandas just two days ago.
Arandas was one of the first places I found the kindred spirit for my drunken soul and empty wallet in college. Tortas, tacos, and burritos were all to be had until ungodly late hours for the couple of bottle caps and pieces of broken sea shell I was able to gather together for payment. How had I missed this? Was this America's greatest secret and testament to our greatness? Should I share the knowledge to untold happiness with the masses? Or should I cherish the secret, protecting it in the highest Templar fashion, so that only us few lucky ones could maintain the greatness of cheap, late night eats? It was burden usually forgotten by morning, and my ignorance was bliss.
Fast forward many years and late night taquerias later and I realized that we had grown apart. Arandas now has locations dotting every point of the Houston compass, a shiny new menu, and I've not stepped in one for years. Lately I'd been keen on tacos, and happened to be passing this outpost of Arandas, so I thought like the famous phrase from a certain chili brand: "it's been too long."
I ordered 5 taquitos and got a smattering of taco hits: pastor, barbacoa, beef & chicken fajita. The tacos came with a side of charro beans to boot, and the expected chips and salsa while I waited. I'll keep this brief. If this is what Arandas used to be, I'm disappointed in myself, but if this is what Arandas has grown into, they are the ones that should be disappointed. Everything pretty much sucked. The beans were more broth than beans and carried a faint metallic taste. The tacos were universally dry, flavorless, and uninspired. Part of my desire to eat here had been because I'd been craving tacos lately and wanted something more authentic to sate my taco lust than very recent visits to 100% Taquito and Tacos a Go Go. Both of these places are passable, but not in the upper echelon of my taco hierarchy. My thought was to go back to my roots, hit a tough part of town, and get down with some tacos authenticos. Mistake. The service was excellent, the location was decent, and the price was right. However much as the bloom has come off the McDonald's rose so many years ago, and much as I resigned myself to the fact that Sho Kosugi is not Lawrence Olivier, so to must I move on knowing Arandas is not what it used to be...and worst yet, maybe it never was. read more