Taqueria Vallarta Re-Opens, But For How Long?

I love Vallarta. Or rather, I LOVED Vallarta. Few people were as pissed as me when the 24th St Taqueria was shuttered in September for health violations. And no, I don't want no pigeons, but pigeons aren't half as bad as what I found on my return visit following their re-opening this week. 
 
As I first walked in, I was taken back by how clean and well lit the place looked. It was still the same Vallarta, but with a fresh coat of paint and a notable effort put into cleaning. The biggest difference was how uncluttered it seemed, aided primarily by a second archway being opened up to connect the kitchen/register area to the 'dining room' previously inhabited by their pigeon mascots. 
 

Vallarta: Come for the tacos, stay for the media piracy.

 
Now, I'd like to tell you how great the $1.75 tacos from the cart by the main entrance still are.  Really, I would.  For the sake of science journalism blogging, I purchased a single pastor taco. I went into the dining area, snapped a quick photo of some lady selling bootleg DVDs and video games out of a suitcase, and sat down to eat.
 
And that's when I saw it. Black as night, thick as a needle and wiry as hell. There was no mistaking it; I had pubes in my pastor. Human pubes. At best they were from someone's armpit, if not their genitals. 
 
So that's it Vallarta, you're dead to me. I wept long and hard for you when the health inspectors closed your doors in September, but I will shed no tears for you now.  
 

HUMAN PUBES YALL

Comments (13)

Thank you for your sacrifice.

It’s an episode of Kitchen Nightmares just waiting to get made.

The dirt under your fingernails really drives home the message about unsanitary.

Little hair not gonna kill’ya bro!

Let’s be honest. Hair happens. We’re all dropping hair constantly. You have it in your food all the time. The only question is how often do you notice it. You shouldn’t interpret a single incident as a pattern. Hell, when I find a hair in my food, I usually just tell myself it’s mine and keep going.

let’s not assume the hair surfaced from someone’s groin area. it may have slipped from someone’s head, landed on the grill, and then curled from the heat. no big deal! (now, if it was KFC fried rat/urban legend.. that would be different….)

Could be chest hair.

If you frequent 24th St taquerias as you say you have, you’ve eaten way worse than that, my friend. Trust me.

Pubes go great with their new jukebox. Me and my friend played a 10 minute anthem by Destroyer at 2am while enjoying a Spinach Mushroom burrito. Worth it.

Destroying a business with this article because a piece of hair? You must not be a local.

The carnitas from Chilango on Church @ Market has ruined me for any Mission taqueria plates with meat. Seriously high quality meat, clean but not fou-fou dining room. Damn that’s some amazing pig.

Too many taqueria’s lay on the sauces and fixins as a way to hide that fact you are getting some inferior meat.

I can dig into a Cancun veggie burrito from time to time, but unless its a bacon wrapped doggie; its Chilango or bust.

Perkins: You really should remove the caption from the photograph; unless you have irrefutable proof, and you’re an expert on Mexican crotch hair.

perkins, i agree that this is probably pubes from the taco dude and yet it does nothing to deter my love of vallarta