Not long ago, one of my blog visitors commented that her favorite Los Pericos (apparently there are 5 of them) is the one at the Los Pericos Market on East 14th & Stoaks. Of course that meant we had to try it.
The restaurant is located right inside the small supermarket by the cake section. The people are very friendly and the clientele is almost exclusively Latino. It’s nice to go to a place where English is the second language. Both Mike and I had chicken special quesadillas (~$5), which resemble large burritos sans the beans and rice. Instead they have cheese, meat, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and lettuce (I always order mine without the latter). We found these to be good, but not particularly better than those at the other Los Pericos. The chicken super quesadilla (a small quesadilla with cheese, sour cream, salsa & chicken) we ordered with Mika, however, was very good. The chicken was in large chunks and it was very nicely grilled. We don’t understand how come that wasn’t the case in our quesadillas (the chicken pieces were smaller and less tasty).
In all, we thought it wasn’t better than our regular Los Pericos and we wouldn’t make a point of going there again.
The Los Pericos on Pelton Center Way has an *extremely irritating* atmosphere and decor. I like the food enough to regard it as a treat, but I never sit down to eat there if I can avoid it. One of the best take-out places in town, though.
Now I haven’t had a chance to check it out, but it appears Los Pericos #5 is situated in what *used* to be Pedro’s Taqueria (1389 E 14th St). It’s a nice, quiet venue and the decor appears to be unchanged. When it was Pedro’s Taqueria, the staff seemed depressed and the carrot juice was watery. I don’t see anything online about the change, but the fact remains that the signs reading “Pedro’s Taqueria” have been replaced with “Los Pericos #5”.
I actually wrote about Los Pericos #5 here. The menu is basically the same as the other Pericos, though their special quesadillas are twice the size of those at the Pelton Center Pericos. They changed the seating from Pedros’ time, and now they have those uncomfortable hard plastic “booths” that they have at the other Pericos.. It definitely makes it look much less nice than in Pedros’ times. BUT, it’s still much quieter than the Pelton Center Pericos. That is, unless someone uses the jukebox or is watching TV loudly – or my kids are there 🙂 Still, usually it’s quieter. Try it.