Taqueria El Charrito/128 Pearl Street/ Chelsea, MA 02150

Not that solid.  Not awful, but considering the amount of competition in the immediate surrounding area, not much worth the trip either. Now I'll be the first to admit that I tend to limit myself at most Guatelsalvadorexican restaurants to the three tacos that I got here, but that's because A: I can't try everything on the menu everywhere I go and B: I happen to like chicken, steak, and lengua tacos. Especially tongue.  I like an occasional carnitas taco thrown in too, purely for its health benefits.  I also generally have a hard time with people that label what they are about to say (especially if the say "A,B, and 3" or "1,2 and C"), but I felt that it was quite appropriate in this instance.

Not great Steak, Chicken, & Lengua Tacos

Not great tacos minus one plus hot sauce

And for those of you that think I have tiny plastic taco pieces that I artfully put together a little bit differently in one of my standard take-out size styrofoam boxes that I keep in the closet for each one of these places that I claim to have visited, you are sorely mistaken.  I realize that tacos almost always look like tacos, but if you look at all of pictures I have posted, each place has its own subtle take on what the taco should be.  Take the radishes, for example.  Not every Guatelsavadorexican restaurant gives you radishes if you don't ask.  And I didn't.  I happen to love radishes with tacos, but that alone won't make me stray from my opinion that this place really doesn't have great tacos.  All the meat was drier than it should have been, except the chicken, which is odd.  Not much flavor to speak of, but it is almost as though they know that and give you their green hot sauce to fix that problem.  See I am most often of the opinion that the majority of places, however bad, have some sort of saving grace.  If they sold this green sauce by the bottle I would buy up a bunch of it for all the Mexican food that I don't know how to make.  It's REALLY good.  But, sadly, I would bring it around with me just to put it on other places' food.  Oh well.  You can't win 'em all.

Pita Mediterranean Cuisine/473 Albany Street/Boston, MA 02118/South End

For some odd reason, every time I drive by South End Pita I seem to be on the wrong side of the median and can't turn around to try it.  I have done this for at least a year, or however long it has been that they have been open.  I decided after breakfast that I would try this place for lunch.  This is how my brain works.  Always thinking about the next meal.

Falafel, Grape Leaf, Tahina Sauce and Salad

Chicken & Lamb Kabob w/Rice & Cabbage

There isn't a whole lot going on on the blocks that surround Pita.  It is directly next to 93, across from the lovely BTD Tow Lot, on the same street as Zapatos and The Boston Flower Market and that really nice looking soccer field. I mention this because it is actually pretty easy to get a parking spot here, unlike most other parts of the South End.  And for anyone that hasn't noticed, the new $1.25 an hour parking rate has already gone into effect.  Funny how quickly things can get done in Boston when the city decides it can make some money.  Yes, yes, I LOVE it here, don't worry.  I t must be the fact that it is the coldest day since January 22, 2005 that is wearing on me.  

So on to the food.

This place is good.  I like Middle Eastern food, but I haven't had any falafel in years.  Not sure why exactly, I just forgot about it, I guess.  I'm sort of glad I waited.  This falafel was perfect, granted, this is coming from someone who hasn't had any for awhile, but it was that nice deep-green-on-the-inside-golden-crispy-brown-on-the-outside type falafel.  I know, I know, I should have broken one in half and taken a picture, but I'll go back again soon.  Great flavor, well accented by the simple, light, tahina sauce on top.

As for the grape leaf, it was fine, good even.  I have an odd relationship with grape leaves.  They seem to me to be pretty much the same everywhere and never overwhelmingly good, but for some reason, you can tell a lot about a place if the grape leaves are better than just OK.  These were not too dry, not overly spiced, not overly lemony or olive oily, good, solid grape leaves (or leaf) all-in-all.  For a meal I got a little twist on one of the daily specials: Chicken and Lamb Kabob with Cabbage and Rice.  Good choice.  It wasn't knock you out amazing, but there was nothing bad to say about it by any means. The rice was white rice with a barely discernible amount of spice and yellowness, the meat was rolled in a simple, not to spicy-hot rub that seemed to be a mix of paprika and black pepper, and grilled perfectly, and the cabbage came served in a little bit of what seemed like tomato sauce with sumac and onions.  The latter was the most interesting part of the dish ("interesting" meaning "good"), but I would like to stress most of all just how beautifully the lamb and chicken were cooked.  And it was that type of lamb that you could introduce to your friends that don't like lamb and they might just change their mind.  I want to try more stuff here.  I didn't get to try the hummus, or the Moroccan Mint Tea, which you can get hot or iced, but the next time that I am on the correct side of the median and hungry, I'll be sure to stop again.  And this time I will get a pic of the inside of the falafel.  Finally, this is a much nicer place on the inside than it looks on the outside.  There are at least 4 or 5 tables in there and it is pretty cozy, not small cozy, comfortable cozy.