Hailing from the West Coast, I am used to being surrounded by cheap, delicious Latin American food. There are practically a dozen places within a couple miles of my house, all with varying degrees of authenticity; there are the Taco Bells and Chipotles that you will find everywhere, as well as La Hacienda, where it's difficult to get service if you don't speak Spanish.
Since coming to the Boston area for college, I have been disappointed by the quality of this type of food. Anna's Taqueria does a decent job, but I wanted some diversity, something new. As I flipped through the Boston Zagat guide, I found a place called Tacos Lupita in Somerville (there are also locations in Lynn, Haverhill and Lawrence) that was more highly rated than any other Latin American restaurant in the area. It was also categorized within the cheapest cost bracket that Zagat records - basically, perfect for a college student.
Yelp! indicated that the Somerville location was near the Porter Square T stop. It would appear, however, that Yelp! and I have different ideas about the term "close," as it was in fact a 10?minute walk. This doesn't seem like much, but when you are headed through a residential neighborhood and not quite certain that you're actually going the right way, you begin to question it.
Once I got there, however, I was greeted with the familiar sight of a taco joint that doesn't care about anything other than the taste of its tacos: no fancy neon lights, nothing particularly decorative - just a sign saying "Tacos Lupita" on a vaguely stucco?esque building.
The menu is simple: tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas, gorditas, soup and pupusas, all available with one of five proteins - chicken, steak, cow tongue, pork or chorizo. I ordered the three taco combo platter (one steak, one chicken, one chorizo), served with rice and beans, to maximize my tasting options.
The steak was very well seasoned but a little tough. It didn't make the tacos inedible, but I would have appreciated if it were cut into smaller pieces. The chorizo was flavorful, although it could have used a little more spice in it. The chicken was similarly well seasoned, with the spiciness instead provided in the form of a green chili sauce, which could be spooned over the dish as desired. This seemed to be their way of making their food acceptable to people with lower spice tolerance.
Beyond the basic protein, the tacos were all superb; they had your standard taco fillings that tasted just like I came to expect from the best taco joints back home.
Tacos Lupita provided a delicious meal. It was leaps and bounds better than what you find on campus at Dewick or what passes for a quesadilla at Hodgdon. It is, however, only marginally better than Anna's Taqueria and is much farther out, so I can't in good conscience enthusiastically endorse a trip all the way past Porter. It would be ideal for a Saturday lunch when you've rented one of the Tufts Bikes, but other than that, it's probably not worth the trip.
