Taqueria El Paisano

The place is absolutely filthy. Flies are everywhere with an eating area that feels more like a storage area for old patio furniture. I honestly don’t understand how they received a license to serve food with these conditions.
Tacos were way too greasy. We also ordered some elotes and when we received them, the top portions were black. Now I’m typically not someone to send back food, but I refuse to pay to eat spoiled food. My bf told the counter lady that the corn was black and she proceeded to tell him that they were all like that. It wasn’t until he said that he was going to get sick if he ate them, that she finally refunded our money.
Do yourself and your stomach a favor and stay far, far away from this disgusting place.

Real, authentic mexican. Love the elotes though i agree with other reviewers that they often put too much mayo but its nothing a napkin wont fix. The tortas, burritos, and tacos are great, but my favorite are the gorditas. Hard to find of this quality elaewhere. I often regret not ordering more, even when im full. Great salsas.
Casual atmosphere would be a compliment though the fella in the cowboy hat has really upgraded the place over the years. Cheap, delicious, and ghetto, just the way i like it!

No. No. No. Don’t do it. Save your gas money.
Just showed up to this place cause I was craving an elote, but that was a mistake. I pulled up to the parking lot, the place was run-​down like they were getting evicted, it didn’t even look sanitary, but my desperation led me inside. While inside, only one dude was there and he didn’t have any food in front of him, he probably worked there?
Anyways, there were bars on the order window so I peered down to make eye contact with one of the two ladies in the back room, who just looked at me and walked away. I figured, she walked away to wash her hands or walked away to get someone to help me, but no, she came back and kept on doing whatever.
There was a second lady there looked like she was making food, although she was looking straight at me she didn’t seem like she cared to asked what I wanted. As if they didn’t need to be in business because there was a line out the door… not! The two ladies just kept on conversing like I wasn’t even there. But my desperation, made me wait for another 5 minutes. After that my common sense kicked and told me and told me to get the f out of there. So that’s what I did.
I have driven by this place and never once noticed it before, until I Unilocaled ‘elote’ and this place popped up. After this experience, I will continue to drive by like it doesn’t exist, just like I have many times before. Good riddance.

my favorite tamales de elotes con crema

Unless your grandma us cooking or you’re eating out of someone’s garage, hands down, the best mexican food in town. Everything ive ever ordered was made from scratch. Just make sure you bring cash

Yummy.
It’s a little old fashioned hamburger stand type place with wall enclosed around a over hang, sort of.
Reminds me of one of the places at Roseville auction, outdoors but not? Flies are everywhere because it is outside but the small windows to order through hopefully keeps them out of the kitchen I have not seen any in there atleast. .
I am very picky about my Mexican food. If it’s not like my Nana ’ s and how she taught me, it’s not right.
I just every Mexican restaurant by there beans first and second the rice. Well, they have both of them perfected. I have had tamales and they’re pretty good but I really am used to having extra sauce with mine so no one else’s are ever as good as my Nana ’ s and now mine but they were okay. I think most people would like them. Tacos good too.
Prices aren’t bad.
4 adults for dinner was under 20.00.
I with they had take out menu’s and weren’t so close to the recycling place that just doesn’t set well with me for some reason.
But food is a lot better and staff friendlier than the other taqueria a block east on fruitridge.

the food is good but ive noticed the recent raise in prices and decrease in size. 7 dollars for a medium sized burrito? no thanks ill go somewhere else. the place is really sketchy, its practically a hut in the hood. and the ladies take forever to make the food. i waited 15 mins for 2 burritos (keep in mind there was only one person ahead of me) if ur thinking about grabbing something quick and easy, dont come here.

Love the food here. I recommend the torta and elotes. The tamales here are cheap by the dozen. Gets very crowded on sundays and certain hours.

I ordered two items– elote ($ 2) and quesadilla de maiz ($ 3). I’ve always wanted to try elote. It’s basically corn on the cob rolled in mayonnaise and cheese sprinkled with chili powder. The corn was sweet, but overall it was just ok. The quesadilla de maiz is more similar to a taco than a quesadilla. It took a while to come out, because it’s deep fried. I burnt my tongue when I first bit into it.
I would’ve never come to this place if a coworker hadn’t suggested it. Unless you know where it is exactly, you’ll probably drive past it. It’s behind Hite’s Market & Gas. The location isn’t the best. Cheap eats, but I wouldn’t dine in again. The music was loud and there were a lot of flies around.

This place is sketch as fu… but damn were the tacos good.
My fiancé and I needed something quick and we were in the area. We got two tamales (I think he got carnitas?) and three tacos, two pollo and one carne asada. We took it home to eat and the car smelled AMAZING the whole way. We got some salsa verde to go along with it and the woman put it in one of those fold-​over sandwich baggies, tied in a knot. A little strange, but delicious.
The pollo tacos were my favorite. So much flavor and everything was fresh. I thought the carne asada was going to be dry, but it wasn’t.
If you don’t mind the smell of pee (seriously, why does it smell so bad outside?) or creepers waiting around the gates, stop here for some good, cheap food.

They have the best food and very cheap the only thing I would not recommend are the carne burrito almost tastes like ground beef but for the tacos they use different meat. They are the only restaurant that I know of that has elote mmmmmmm

This place is easily missed if you’re just driving along, so make sure you have your GPS ready (it’s located right behind Hite Gas)! Before judging this place because of its exterior, it is authentic family-​owned Mexican food. We ordered 2 pork tamales, 1 lengua gordito, and 1 elote ALL for $ 8! It’s inexpensive and the portions are big too! My favorite was the elote, sooooo bomb. It had too much creamy texture for my liking (due to the excessive mayo), but the seasoning was really good. The tamale was soft, the masa to meat ratio was pretty even and for a dollar each, you can’t beat that! I can’t judge for the lengua gordito personally because I’m not a fan of beef’s tongue, but my boyfriend said it was just average.
There’s no rating in terms of service. You order/​pay first before getting your food. The price you pay is definitely worth the quality of food you’re receiving. The owners speak minimal english but are extremely friendly!

Tried this location only because everyone at work bragged how good and cheap this place was. Well I must have come on their off day because the food was just ok. Nothing special.

Ok… so maybe the location and structure look like they should be on the Ciudad Juarez half of the border on the TV show «The Bridge» but don’t let that discourage you! This place has some of the absolute best Mexican food you’ll have at prices that are beyond reasonable.
I discovered this restaurant a few years ago when told that they take tamale orders around Christmas time. Mom and sister deserved a break so we placed an order for 3 dozen tamales and they handled it with no problem. The 1^st thing we discovered is that we would have been better off with 2 rather than 3 as the tamales were HUGE. We ordered an array of pork, chicken, and cheese with peppers and they were almost a meal onto themselves. Since that point I’ve been hooked.
Aside from the tamales I am very partial to their sopes. At 3 bucks apiece I was expecting a smallish sope but no… each one is gargantuan with an overflow of toppings. The already excellent taste is amplified with a dash of their housemade salsas.
Be prepared: They are a cash only business and don’t seem to have staff that speak English well so you might want to have Google translate handy on your phone before ordering. However, they are exceedingly friendly and get orders completed rather quickly.
I can’t say enough good things about El Paisano. Give it a try. Once you have it for the first time you’ll become a regular just like me.

This place screams don’t judge a book by its cover. its basically a hole in the wall, a food stand with a covered picnic area, and a large fan sitting on top of a shelf to keep costumers cool. But the food is amazing! Everything I’ve tried in this place has been top notch, I especially recommend carne asada sopes are to die for!

WHY WE WENT HERE:
— ELOTES!!!
THE LOOK (FROM THE OUTSIDE):
— easy to pass by
— behind Hite’s Market & Gas through a black metal gate
— shack like appearance
THE LOOK (FROM THE INSIDE):
— definitely a hole in the wall
— tables and chairs similar to those used at parties, except for the wall seating (long wooden counter/​panel with a row of chairs facing the wall)
— order window/​counter is very old (counter is rotting/​sinking in)
THE MENU:
— my Mexican friend told me that, «It isn’t legit if the menu isn’t written in cardboard — that’s when you know they don’t have time to invest in a fancy menu because they’re too busy making good food.»
— quesadilla: reg $ 5.50 each; super $ 6.50 each
— tacos: $ 1.50 each (asada, adobada, buche, carnitas, polla, cabeza); $ 2 each (lengua y tripas)
— tamales de elote: $ 1.25 each
— tamales: $ 1.00 each (chicken or pork); $ 1.25 (cheese with jalapeño)
— tamales preparados: $ 1.00 each
— enchiladas: $ 3.00 each or 2 for $ 6.00 (pollo o queso)
— torta: $ 5.50 each
— tostada de ceviche: $ 3.50 each
— burritos: reg $ 5.50 each; super $ 6.50 each
— elote: reg $ 1.75 each; rebanados $ 3.50 each (elotes con chile y mayonesa)
— gorditas: $ 3.00 each
— flautas: 5 chicken flautas $ 5.50
— tostada: $ 3.50 each
— quesadilla de maiz: $ 3.00 each
— sopes: $ 3.00 each
— tacos, burritos, y tortas (cualquier carne): asada, adobada, cabeza, buche, tripa, carnitas, pollo, lengua, chorizo
— aqua fresca jamaica y horchata: chica $ 1.50; grande $ 3.00
— torta ahogada: $ 5.50 each
WHAT WE ORDERED:
— regular elote and elote rebanado (both without chile)
THE TASTE:
— AMAZING; WILL come back for more (and to try the other foods available!)
— if you ask for the elotes to-​go, they give them to you in plastic bags similar to the ones newspapers delivered to your home that are wrapped in for rainy days
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
— made to order; hot and fresh!
— Spanish is a must (in my opinion) but if you are able to pronounce the food you’re trying to order, that’s OK too

This is totally a hidden gem! My fiancé found this place on Unilocal and saw they had the corn we both so loved but he never knew where it was. We were driving in the area and made a quick right turn passed Hite Gas to Taqueria El Paisano. It’s a hole in the wall but there were about 10 other people when we pulled up. They have pictures of everything on their menu from tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, tortas, tosadas etc. Prices range from $ 1.50−6.50. For the size of their entrees… that’s a deal!
My review is only based on the tacos and corn but we had the chicken, carnitas, and adobada. As soon as we finished them I said «I want more.» They were so full of flavor! The corn or Elote was just okay. It was huge and the corn was really sweet but I was hoping for more of a roasted flavor and some more seasoning. Either way… I’m so glad we found this spot and we will definitely recommend this place to our family and friends.

Sometimes looking for some good ethnic food in Sacramento can make me feel a little bit like Anthony Bourdain. I have been on a mission the past couple of years to find the best tamales in Sacramento. When a Mexican friend recently promised me that the best tamales were made in a little taco stand on Fruitridge Avenue, I definitely had to continue my search.
Taqueria El Paisano is in a run down shack that looks like it is ready to fall down any time with sheets of corrugated plastic tied between it and an old cyclone fence to create an indoor seating area. I would have driven past the place if I had not been told that it is beside Hites. Hites turned out to be a run down convenience store with a bunch of old rusty gas pumps out front and a few wandering, aimless crack heads stuck in here and there to add to the ghetto ambience.
Sometimes the best places aren’t pretty.
I have to tell you, these were some of the best tamales ever. If you are looking for overly dried out tamales with some kind of ground up mystery meat smeared in the middle, than you have come to the wrong place. The tamales here are moist and have large chunks of savory meat inside. We are talking about gourmet tamales in a ghetto atmosphere. Don’t forget to try the cheese tamales with the spicy peppers.
Make sure you also order an elotes. It is an ear of roasted corn rolled in mayonnaise and some kind of stinky cheese with a stick stuck up its bottom. It might sound a little corny but I assure you that you will be glad you did.
We are talking about some of the best Mexican street food in Sacramento. I cannot wait to come back to try their street tacos.

They are located a little ways off the street, behind and to the right of some old gas pumps. Looks can be deceiving. Don’t be scared… just head to the back of the parking lot and get your grub on.
They used to sell their elotes con crema y queso (corn on the cob w/​cheese & mayo for us gringos) from a portable cart that they would have right at the street so there was no missing them. My roomie and I lived near by for years and there would always be a line at the cart. We finally decided to try it (after a few years of driving by). It was quickly referred to as «crack corn» because it was so addictive and we wanted it all the time. I think after our first bite, we had it at least once a week for a good 6 months.
The street tacos are super good too. Simple and super grub — meat, onions, cilantro and salsa. Tamales are great. The flavors switch up each day — sometimes they have sweet ones too.
If you have no Spanish speaking skills, they speak English and will be able to take your order. My friend used to make me practice my Spanish by ordering everything in Spanish. They likely would have understood my English much better :)
It can be a little shady at times, but everyone has been cool. You may be offered a bootleg movie on your way to the car… Two birds with one stone.

For years I have been driving by this place, but never summoned the courage to go in until today. It looks a little shady and I don’t speak Spanish, so I wasn’t really sure what I’d be getting myself into, but it turns out the food is fantastic!
This place is little more than a glorified taco truck with some plastic siding around a patio, but in my experience that’s usually a good sign for some quality Mexican food. There’s a few fold-​out tables and a large air conditioner, but that’s about it. The menu offers the standard Mexican fare (with descriptions in Spanish) with reasonable prices. Not wanting to get myself into anything too crazy, I ordered a vegetarian super burrito, which came out to $ 6. Perhaps a dollar or two more than I would have liked to have spent, but the burrito was pretty darn big. And it was delicious. It included some spicy salsa on the side, which really helped tie it together. Well worth $ 6.
While waiting for my order I saw someone eating an amazing looking quesadilla, so I’m gonna have to come back to try that out. If you can get past it’s shady exterior, you’ll find yourself some of the best Mexican food in town.