Restaurant review: Jalisco Cocina Mexicana inspires dreams of tacos

It’s easier to get similar California-influenced Mexican fare since the couple behind the cart opened Jalisco Cocina Mexicana in April on the top block of King Street, with sidewalk and street seating in front and back.

When I waited at the concerts, I was amazed at what Gerardo Hernandez and his wife, Brooke Hernandez-Barajas, could pull off from a cart. They do even more at the chilly, comfortable, brick-and-mortar restaurant, and most of it well.

The cart is now only used to cater private events, Hernandez said, adding that once he finds more employees, he hopes to start bringing it to local events, too.

The staff he does have is fantastic. During three visits over two months, I’ve had three different servers, and each made the meal more enjoyable. Plus, service on all three occasions was surprisingly quick.

I’m crazy for Jalisco’s fish taco ($5.50), a huge piece of cod in a featherlight beer batter that was not at all greasy, served in a corn tortilla with red cabbage, pico de gallo, mango and chipotle sauce. The combination of ingredients was spot on.

The other taco in my order ($4), a chorizo one, had plenty of piquant, salty, finely ground sausage that was charred until it was partly crunchy. It had great flavor, plenty of onions and cilantro, and provided a nice contrast to the fish taco.

The menu doesn’t list tacos à la carte, but you can order them that way, or with rice and beans as the “classic taco combo,” like my daughter did. She got two well-marinated adobo chicken tacos and one steak taco ($16) with rice and beans that were actually worth eating. That isn’t always the case in some restaurants.

For me, even great rice and beans need salsa, and there was plenty left over from the chips and salsa we were served right after we sat down.

That service at Jalisco starts with a generous basket of bulky tortilla chips and perfectly piquant, chunky salsa won immediate points from me.

Hernandez said other restaurants can charge up to $8 for chips and salsa.

All the tacos had double corn tortillas and didn’t skimp on meat. And with the exception of the fish taco, they all had onion and cilantro. The steak also had good flavor with only a uncommon gristly piece.

Enchiladas verde ($16) were listed on the menu as coming with chicken or cheese. Mine had lots of both which proved to be a winning combination. The three stuffed tortillas had an impressive variety of toppings: homemade verde sauce, shredded lettuce, tomato, pickled onion, sour cream and more cheese. The pretty plate benefitted from Jalisco’s excellent rice and black refried beans.

On a separate visit, a steak quesadilla ($16) was packed with flavorful meat that was mostly tender. But some pieces were too tough to chew, a problem I often have that doesn’t seem to plague other people as much. It was more of an issue here than it was with the steak taco. The quesadilla also had pico de gallo and sour cream inside.

Meanwhile, a established chicken burrito ($14) was dominated by rice and beans. Not every bite had chicken, but enough did — at least once I got a quarter of the way in.

The homemade bland green sizzling sauce, made with jalapenos, tomatillos, cilantro, onion and garlic, was as good as this classic sauce can be. The fiery red sauce had to be used sparingly and was made with chile de árbol, guajillo and ancho peppers. Both were brought out in attractive cups without prompting and were much appreciated.

A side of guacamole came with the quesadilla, and it, too, was delicious, made with lots of tomato and onion.

During one of my visits, a prickly pear house margarita ($9) was overly, un-drinkably sweet. A mojito ($10) on a follow-up visit was much better, with rum, fresh lime juice, agave nectar, mint and club soda served in a distinctively shaped glass.

The restaurant has three tables on its front sidewalk patio on King Street and five tables in back on the Main Street side. The only problem with the latter is that it’s next to Maduro, the cigar bar, so smoke may interfere with your experience.

On one occasion, when it was too sizzling to sit outside, the temperature was perfect inside. It wasn’t overly air-conditioned like so many places can be.

A pink and blue neon sign that says “Tacos & Dreams” adds a playful touch on the Main Street side. Even more whimsical are the radiant pink neon words apparent through the front windows: “Feed me tacos & tell me I’m pretty.”

Hernandez and Hernandez-Barajas, who moved to Madison from Porterville, California, between Fresno and Bakersfield, in June 2020, ran their cart for a year and a half, mostly on State Street Mall.

The restaurant space that they found for Jalisco is a prominent one. It used to house Muramoto Downtown, and 43 North before that. Cafe Continental was there from 1998 to 2010.

Jalisco is a fantastic utilize of the space, which, along with its tacos, is pretty darn dreamy.