Review: Pinches Tacos

I keep asking myself why I'm trying to learn to cook when there are all these fabulous Birmingham restaurants available to me! Today I went to lunch at Pinches Tacos, a new and very trendy downtown Homewood restaurant on the corner of Oxmoor Road and 19th Street in the lovely Hallman Hall building.

I won't repeat the origin of this venture, but I encourage you to read about Homewood native, Ty Taylor, and his second restaurant venture in Birmingham written in al.com: Homewood's Ty Talor comes home to open first Pinches Tacos restaurant outside of Los Angeles by Bob Carlton.

The restaurant was packed and I was illegally parked (oops) so I chose to get take-out, thus my excuse for the photos here. Maybe you can get an idea of how colorfully decorated, although small, I found the restaurant. Handwritten signs informed of "real Mexican food made by real Mexicans". Oh, and there was a sign with parking instructions (ahem).

Orders are placed at the counter, fast food style; however, the food is anything but fast-food style. Portions are smaller than most American-Mexican restaurants, but so much better.

It was my day to be adventurous and try something new. I ordered the Pollo Mole Taco ($2.75), the Nopal Taco ($1.75), the Camaron Burrito ($8.95), and a side order of guacamole ($2.50) - to be tried but not all eaten in one sitting!

 

Nopal Taco, front  (cactus)

Pollo Mole Taco, back (chicken and mole)

The Nopal was quite good and not at all heavy. The cactus was tender and reminded me of a flat green bean or possibly a cooked green bell pepper with a tiny bit of citrus. A quick search showed it was low in calories so that was a plus (22 calories/cup). The delicious salsa was served as a topping for this and the Pollo Mole. I had heard that eating salsa before a meal was to Mexicans like eating salad dressing before a meal would be to Americans.

Had I remembered beforehand that Mole was actually pronounced Moh-Leh and that mole was a sauce I might have enjoyed the Pollo Mole Taco more. There was something reminiscent of an elementary school lunchroom entree to me so I did not enjoy it as much.

Salsa - as fresh as if the ingredients were picked right out of the garden.

 Camaron (shrimp with Veracruz coleslaw) served with beans, Mexican rice, guacamole, onions, cilantro and salsa according to the menu, only everything I brought home was missing except the burrito.

I certainly got a burrito full of plump, juicy shrimp. The coleslaw dressing reminded me of a smoky Catalina-style salad dressing. The best part was that it was not loaded down with the usual heavy cheese and cream sauces seen often in usual American-Mexican restaurants. Of my three orders, this was definitely my favorite.

The guacamole was simple, plain, and incredible. I can't wait to go back and try everything on the menu.

Full menu can be seen here. 

Desayuno (breakfast) is served on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Gosh, I love Birmingham.

CELEBRITY ALERT!! Birmingham celebrity and chef, Frank Stitt, was also ordering lunch when I was there. Stitt is attributed to bringing higher quality restaurants to our Magic City. He owns Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottego, and Chez FonFon. Cookbooks include Frank Stitt's Southern Table: Recipes and Gracious Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill (with foreword by writer Pat Conroy) and Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef's Love Affair with Italian Food.