Taco Giro Mexican Grill has all the right stuff.
There's the salsa bar chock- full of dips and other accouterments for your meal. There's the $1.50 domestic longneck happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. And not one menu item costs more than $5.99.
Taco Giro is a place where you can order. And order. And order some more. You're still going to be hard-pressed to rack up a $30 tab for two if you're not drinking alcohol.
Open since March, the smallish Mexican eatery is a bit difficult to spot because it sits back from East 22nd Street, east of Craycroft Road. Just look for the Dairy Queen on the south side of 22nd, and Taco Giro is immediately west of it.
Taco Giro is owned by Ben and Norma Lugo of California. Manager Diana Folsom said most everything is made at the restaurant, including its corn and flour tortillas, soups, salsas, fish tacos and adobada pork burros — pork marinated in red chile powder.
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A clean, well-lit atmosphere greets diners. Seat yourself in either one of the two rooms, each with a flat-screen television, and a server will be over to hand out menus and get drink orders. Order to-go food and pay at the counter in the front room.
Help yourself to the handy salsa bar, which is stocked with pico de gallo, avocado spread, green and red salsas, cucumber, limes and chiles.
On a first visit, the server recommended the chile con carne ($5.29). At first bite, it was easy to see why. Paired with a couple of fluffy house-made corn tortillas, the shredded beef and New Mexico Hatch chile juices permeated the taste buds.
Other standouts: The fish taco ($1.79), a battered pollock fillet wrapped in a saucer-size flour tortilla and topped with a house-prepared, salsa-mayonnaise-sour cream concoction.
Don't leave without trying a bean and cheese tostada ($1.59). The crunchy flat tostada was piled high with refried beans, mild white casero cheese crumbles, pico de gallo and shredded lettuce. Drizzled with sour cream and guacamole, the tostada took two hands to maneuver and was messy but delicious.
The carne asada burrito ($4.29) arrived jampacked with lean beef chunks, rice and beans. It was a meal in itself.
Having only ever had the well-packed Sonoran hot dogs from El Guero Canelo's, it was a surprise to find the bacon-wrapped Sonoran dog ($2.59) at Taco Giro plumper and snuggled comfortably within a thicker, fluffier bun. The dog was then topped with a layer of mayonnaise, onions and tomatoes, challenging lunchtime visitors to a game of "Don't Spill Any on Your Work Clothes."
Good luck trying to see the bottom of the chicken enchilada combo plate. The greyhound-racetrack-shaped dish sits chockablock with beans on one side, rice on the other and two shredded chicken enchiladas under a thick red sauce with cheese. The food came out piping hot, though the enchiladas were fairly tame.
The flan ($1.72) was a sweet finale, a healthy serving of custard in a delicate glass sundae bowl with caramel resting along the bottom.
And the arroz leche ($1.59), or rice pudding, arrived sprinkled with cinnamon and surprisingly hot from a stint in the oven. Though it was our first taste of the sweet pudding as a warm dish, we hope it isn't our last.
• Where: 5754 E. 22nd St.
• Parking: Several spots are located in front of the small building.
• Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays; and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays.
• Phone: 514-2199.
THE BILL
Carne Chile Plate: $5.29.
Bean and Cheese Tostada: $1.59.
Sonoran Hot Dog: $2.59.
Chicken Enchilada Plate: $5.29.
Fish Taco: $1.79.
Carne Asada Burrito: $4.29.
Two sodas: $3.58.
Arroz leche: $1.59.
Flan: $1.72.
Total, before tax and tip: $27.73.
