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duotaco_review.html
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">
<style>
body {
background-color: white;
font-family: Monospace;
color: black;
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img {
max-width: 50%;
height: auto;
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<body>
<h1><center> Duo's Taqueria </center></h1>
<p> <justify> I am Andrés Alejandro García Rubio, I am a 28-year-old Mexican-Mexican (not Mexican American).
I am a lonely person with no substantial achievements, both bad at sports and intellectual pursuits.
Therefore most of the dopamine that has flowed through my brain came through food, and the number one food source in my voyage through this earth has been tacos.
If you do the math, I have eaten more tacos than even the most fervent taco-loving American or Mexican American will eat in a couple of lifetimes.
Because of my size, spiciness resistance, and emotional food compensation habits, I have eaten more tacos than most Mexicans.
</p>
<p>
As of August 2022, Duo’s Tacos are the best tacos in Pittsburgh. Here’s a list of reasons they are superior to their two closest rivals, Las Palmas and La Palapa:
</p>
<img src="/Files/duotacos.jpg" height="" width="380">
<p>
<b> Drinks: </b> Any taco joint can get Jarritos and Mexican Coca-cola, but classic taco joints in Mexico have agua de horchata (and agua de jamaica and LIME lemonade). Duo’s agua de horchata tastes authentic. They only lack cinnamon on top to be indistinguishable from a Mexican Taqueria agua de horchata.
</p>
<p>
I will let the “avocado and lime” drink pass, as their orchata compensates for such an adventurous white? aberration. They are a street place, so I don’t expect to pair my taco with Mexican beer.
</p>
<p>
Quick guide to Taco pairings:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Fish tacos -> light beer (pacifico if you can, corona if pacifico isn't available) to combien the citrus taste in your mouth</li>
<li>Grilled Red Meat tacos -> stronger Mexican beer</li>
<li>Burritos -> Soda (this is a personal opinion I can’t defend)</li>
<li>Street tacos -> street drinks like Horchata and proper mexican lemonade MADE WITH LIMES</li>
</ul>
<p>
Duo wins at drink taco pairing vs its closest competitor in this area, La Palapa (Las Palmas is sadly way behind). La Palapa has the best red meat -beer pairing, but the street taco + horchata pairing wins as it cannot even be replicated at home by a taco cook/enjoyer like me.
</p>
<img src="/Files/horchata.jpg" height="200" width="380">
<p>
<b>Street Taco Tortillas: </b> No other Pittsburgh joint has taco tortillas. Taco tortillas must be smaller and thicker than normal tortillas and they should be slightly fried, but also have a rougher texture. Duo’s tortillas are very slightly larger than Mexico city taco tortillas, but anyways the real deal would freak out Americans (“omg they are too small”), yet Duo’s are about the size of taco tortillas in a northern city like my hometown.
</p>
<p>
Proper taco tortillas were designed for the perfect ingredient: tortilla ratio (for street taco ingredients). Every taco ingredient under the sun has a tortilla size and style that matches it e.g. chicken tacos should use fried flauta tortillas. Mexicans have explored this ratio assignment for 3 thousand years with vegetables and 500 years with European meat like pork and beef. Las Palmas uses household corn tortillas for street tacos and La palapa uses *household* flour burrito tortillas for burrito/ heavy taco ingredients, so superior tortilla-ingredient matching gives Duo an edge
</p>
<p>
To avoid another Mexican civil war, I will not delve into whether the tortillas were hand-made or machine-made. I will just say that taco tortillas ARE machine-made, even in South Mexico.
</p>
<p>
<b> Variety: </b> I haven’t found Lengua, suadero, or nopales together on a menu at any Pittsburgh taco place. This place breaks the “has pastor” benchmark and sets a new one for Pittsburgh. This variety sets it on par with the best Texan and Cali taquerias (I have lived in Houston). I don’t really expect more variety, as they define themselves as a Mexico city street taco imitation. They do not have longaniza, or tripas, but it makes sense as not even Mexican-Americans or American tourists in Major cities have experienced those taco ingredients, and I kind of think tripas would be illegal in the US? Not sure.
</p>
<p>
The street taco ingredient market is a blue ocean if we use the red/blue ocean market strategy analogy. All taco places in Pitt are competing for tex-mex ingredients (red ocean), which are good, but Duo’s taqueria has boldly defined itself as “Mexico city street” and lives up to its specialization promise. By just defining itself as a street taqueria (not trying to do carne asada tacos or fish) it clearly dominates its market niche.
</p>
<img src="/Files/duo_tacos.jpg">
<p>
<b> Standing Experience: </b> Good street tacos must be served on a tall table where people are standing. Las Palmas doesn’t offer tables and La Palapa is a nice restaurant experience, but the standing with a table experience is needed to appreciate a good street taco. Tacos must be eaten fresh, as toppings will lose temperature faster than tortillas. This is due to the higher surface area of the toppings and low thermal conductance of tortillas.
</p>
<img src="/Files/duoscreen.jpg">
<p>
Tortilla scientists could graph the temperature curves of tortilla, salsa, and topping, but centuries-old experience tells us that tortilla-topping-salsa temperature curves will match in the first 5 min after salsa has been put in the taco (with a taco fresh out of the stand of course). Other ways will always be super, including microwaves, eating them in styrofoam containers, and even comal heating.
</p>
<img src="/Files/duotest_2.jpg">
<p>
<b> Ingredient quality and authenticity: </b> Their pastor tacos have the actual consistency and flavor of non-shawarma pastor tacos. Their nopales tacos have the right consistency and seasoning and their lengua tacos taste like average lengua tacos from Mexico.
</p>
<p>
Plastic chairs could also be used as a courtesy for seniors, but there aren’t that many taco-loving seniors around in Pitt. As a side note, them using paper plates and aluminum foil makes it the best to-go taco packaging in town (same deal as in a good mexican taqueria)
</p>
<p>
<b> CONS: </b> Salsa is limited in variety and quantity. They could easily have salsa saucers on their tables. A taqueria becomes iconic when they get their own avocado salsa and red creamy salsa.
(Here’s a secret, avocado salsa is sometimes made with what you white people call zucchini and is an actual mesoamerican vegetable, that salsa is as old as avocado, but the humble zucchini has been eclipsed by its gentrified cousin, even in Mexico)
</p>
<p>
Their opening hours are very restricted. For a taqueria to be legendary in Mexico it must provide good tacos from 8 AM to 5 AM, which is one of the reasons why Las Palmas still holds 2nd rank vs la Palapa. Duo’s opening hours are its achilles heel. But this may change over time I guess?
</p>
<p>
<b> Takeaway: </b> You can create the perfect Pittsburgh taco experience by using Las Palmas avocado salsa on Duo’s tacos. As we normally do with a taqueria, we Mexicans will go over all their toppings and salsas to create an easy guide for you, my non-Mexican friends.
</p>
<p>
Duo’s tacos could compete at the lowest taqueria league in south Mexico (chain mall taquerias and posh neighborhood fake taquerias), and it could compete with the low/medium-tier league of street taquerias in northern Mexico, and it is clearly a match for best taquerias in Texas.
</p>
<p>
Duo is now the leader of the VIP club of Pittbsurgh taquerias (!= mexican food restaurants), the ranking is now:
</justify></p>
<p>
Places that Mexicans actually look forward to going
</justify></p>
<ol>
<li>DUO</li>
<li>Las Palmas</li>
<li>La Palapa</li>
<p>
Places that are “eh, they are good I guess”
</justify></p>
<ol>
<li>Tocayo</li>
<li>Condado</li>
<li>Patron</li>
<li>Tako Torta</li>
</ol>
<p>
Every “taco” place below does not even attempt to make tacos, they attempt to attract an americna crowd with a watered down version of tacos.
</justify></p>
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