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I recently wrote about Taco Shore on Second Street, where owner Jenny Cuevas recently introduced a full bar at the restaurant she worked at for 14 years before buying the business.

In 1999, when Jenny was in her mid-twenties, she immigrated to Long Beach from Mexico City.

Then called Taco Surf, she worked her way up from host to server to manager before finally buying the restaurant in 2013. She told me when she travels home to Mexico, she loves bringing back ideas or recipes to serve, so I was excited to stop by the next time I was craving some authentic Mexican food. 

I brought our Visuals Editor Thomas Cordova and reporter Maison Tran with me this time. By the end of our visit, we agreed — the food did not disappoint. We went on Taco Tuesday, which meant the soft corn or deep-fried corn tortillas were $2.99 each. 

We ordered carnitas, beef, veggie and potato tacos.

The carnitas and beef tacos were topped simply with some diced white onion, cilantro and salsa verde. The crunch from the raw onions added a nice bite to the tender, juicy meat. And like all good tacos, these made for a bit of a messy meal with salsa and broth dripping all over.  

The veggie taco came with white rice, beans, mushroom, onions, bell peppers and was topped with a creamy chipotle dressing. If you like a smokey kick to your food, you’ll love the chipotle dressing. I’m not the biggest fan of chipotle so it wouldn’t be my sauce of choice, but the veggies and rice still needed some sort of sauce or topping and I was happy to have that one. The white rice felt a little out of place, but it certainly made the veggie taco filling. 

We ordered the potato taco in a deep-fried tortilla shell. It was wonderfully crispy, but the potato filling was soft, warm and almost buttery. It was offset by some crunchy lettuce and more salsa verde. 

Finally, we wanted to try an entree and went for the flat Mexican tostada with chicken. This ended up being the highlight for me, even though I tend to prefer beef-based dishes at Mexican restaurants. 

The chicken was tender, but not dry, and generously placed on top of the tostada which also had refried beans, cotija cheese, crema and lettuce. I added rice and beans ($11) to the plate so even though it came with only one tostada, I would’ve been fully satisfied by the portion size for a lunch dish. 

Usually beans and rice are a casual add-on, but in this case they stole the show. The rice was fluffy, soft, and very garlicky. Even though we were all overly stuffed by the end of the meal, I found myself unable to resist picking at the last bit of rice before we got up to leave. The beans were well seasoned and topped with melted cheese, perfect to scoop on top of a tortilla chip or by itself. 

We didn’t grab any margaritas, but that’s only because we wanted an excuse to come back. 

Taco Shore is at 5316 1/2 Second Street, right next to George’s Greek Cafe. Directions | Website

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Dishes on my to-try list

• This seemingly endless rainy weather has kept me in the mood for something warm and comforting. I’ve been craving the Mo’s Special rice porridge and Phnom Penh Noodle Shack ($14).
• Since spending so much time in Long Beach, I feel like I haven’t been eating as much Indian food. I plan to head to Flamin Curry soon and grab some chicken korma ($8) and some vegetable biryani ($10). 

New eats around town

Coming soon: Long Beach’s first sports bar focused on showing women’s sports. Recently, I spoke with the women determined to make this bar a reality. We talked about why the time is right and what their concept will look like when it’s open. Read about it here.

It’s always a shame to have to share news like this, but Shady Grove Foods on Fourth Street has shut its doors for good. They’ll still be serving up their unique Long Beach barbecue and I have all the details on where to find them here. 

Have you been to any new restaurants or have some recommendations for me? I would love to hear your thoughts. Make sure to reply to this email or reach me here: [email protected].