12/30/2023
El Paisa Jr
Decatur, Alabama
Today we traveled a little north to try a recommendation of El Paisa Jr.
It is a food trailer so it does move but you can regularly find it off of Central Parkway in Decatur by the Little Big Store. The menu is short, sweet and to the point. Everything on it is delicious and has been perfected over time by the owner whose father owns a nearby restaurant.
The owner greeted us at the window and shared in friendly banter with us as he took our order, even helped with some pronunciations. About ten minutes later, we had several bags brimming with food and a recommendation for his uncles store to get some Elotes.
Now you may be curious why there’s no photos of the food. Truth be told…it smelled so good and we were so hungry by the time we got to Decatur to locate this truck, a photo was on the back burner of our thoughts. But you can go to their page (El Paisa Jr) and see photos that look as good as the food tastes.
Let’s discuss what was consumed.
Street Tacos were on the forefront. Asada and Chorizo were selected and presented together with all the normal trimmings of a street taco as well as sliced cucumber. Asada is a seasoned steak that is sliced up and cooked to perfection. Chorizo is a type of sausage that was scrambled up. Now if you’re not familiar with Street Taco trimmings, this is generally onion, cilantro, lime (for juicing). There are other things that can be included or altered, but this is a good generalized list. The presentation in the container was minimal but you can’t do much with a taco. The asada was good but the chorizo was the better of the two hands down. 7/10
Birria is what was recommended when I was told about this place and Quesabirria Tacos were ordered. 4 Birria and Cheese tacos with trimmings for street tacos on the side, sliced cucumber and a sizeable portion of the consome. Now if you’re unfamiliar with Birria, it’s similar to a pulled pork bbq and consome is basically like a broth or similar to an au jus. These tacos were delicious and dipping it into the consume brought them to a new level. The blend of trimmings with the meat and cheese in the tortilla made a perfect savory flavor and the consume just made everything taste packed full of juice. Similar to an au jus, just think of the juiciest bbq you’ve had and double it. 10/10
Now the Paisa Fries were a guilty pleasure because it caught my attention. This was a base of fresh cut fries, melted cheese, chicken (meat I chose), cilantro, onion, lime, tomato, cream, avocado and more. The fries were a great base and cooked just the way you would want fresh cut fries to do. Choosing the fresh cut also was a great choice because it could do what store bought couldn’t and keep it together and its texture better. There was a TON of cheese on it and if you’re really into cheese this would be a good choice for you, but I like a little more balance. All of the toppings were great on it. I did find myself going back to the consume from the Birria and dipping my fries and chicken in it. 9/10
I also ordered a plain cheese quesadilla to try something simple. The quesadilla came by itself in its container, but it left little room for you to add anything with it. This thing was HUGE! It again had a blend of cheeses (a yellow and white blend) and was cooked to the perfect golden brown. 9/10
Now I’m going to include the elotes because sometimes it’s hard to locate it. But La Estrella which was behind where El Paisa Jr was set up is a convenience store ran by El Paisa Jr’s uncle. I stepped right inside and up front was a little elote stand. Of course you got the option of elotes in the cup or on the cob. I chose the cup for its convenience. The lady put a healthy scoop of corn in, followed by two dollops of mayo, cheese, a spoon full of spice and then freshly squeezed two like halves in before another scoop of corn. When I opened this up to eat, I used my spoon to mix it all together. This was hands down one of the best elotes I have eaten. Everything blended perfectly and there was just enough heat to make your nose run but not too hot so you wanted more. 12/10
Pricing:
All of the food that was ordered from the truck only ran $38. That included Paisa Fries, Two tacos, an order of Birria Tacos (which was four tacos) and a quesadilla. Everything was healthy portions and I feel I got what I paid for.
The Elotes was $3 a cup and for the size cup and product put in, worth the money.
I would definitely make the trip back to this location or track where they go to. If you are up in north Alabama, we recommend El Paisa Jr. I hear he has Tortas and it working on perfecting a cheese dip for nachos and honestly I will have to review it for an excuse to come try it.
