My beef with the New York City taco scene is biblical. I'm so tired of paying $5+ for a one bite taco. It's against the whole ethos of the taco. The humble taco has its beginnings as a street food meant to feed workers, families, and travelers at an accessible price. Walk into a Tacombi today and they look you dead in the eye and charge you $5.99 for a tiny chicken tinga taco. What has happened to the great and powerful taco? I know I'm probably being dramatic, as no one else I talk to gets this emotional charged over Taco-gate like I do, but I can't help how I feel. All this to say, I approached Carniceria Maribel in Chicago ready for my hope to be restored. I had no idea Chicago had such a large Mexican population, but that's why traveling is the best thing ever. You learn so much in such a short period of time. As we entered, my dopamine receptors began to flood when I realized this taco spot was in the back of a liquor store. This is how you know a spot is gonna go crazy. I felt like I was back in a hole in the wall taco in Puerto Vallarta. As we approached the menu I couldn't believe my eyes. All tacos (Carne Asada, Al Pastor, Chorizo, Ribeye, Lengua, Carnitas, Pollo, & Beef) were $4.99. Damn. I mean it wasn't Tacombi prices, but I was expecting $3.99 max. Are tacos everywhere just cooked? I put in my order for 5 tacos, sat at one of the 8 metal chairs, and began to spiral. "Maybe the affordable taco that I grew up on in the US is just gone..." After about a 10 minute wait, our names were called. My eyes LIT up when I saw these gargantuan tacos. My first thought was "omg there's no way I'm going to finish these." Each taco was served with two thick, handmade corn tortillas with a large surface area STUFFED with meat. At least double the size of a taco I had come to expect in NYC. It was a bigger serving per taco than the $11 burrito from Los Burritos Juarez in Brooklyn. Just when I thought all hope was lost, the good Lord threw me a life raft. These tacos were PHENOMENAL. SENSATIONAL. My favorites were easily the chorizo and the carne Asada. My goodness. Steam coming out and juices dropping on every bite, with a distinct flavor that reminded me of my favorite taco spots in San Diego. I'm getting hungry at my desk at 7:34am just thinking about these things. I will GLADLY pay $4.99 for this taco. As we were getting up to leave, I saw them making a few burritos and became rushed with regret that I didn't get one. If I had to do it over, I would have got 1 chorizo taco, 1 carne asada taco, and a carne asada burrito... but hindsight is always 20/20. Shoutout to Rob Martinez for the rec. A Rob Martinez rec has never let me down. If Rob Martinez has no fans, I am long gone.

This is exactly want you want out of a taco shop. Simple perfect huge tacos. Everything we tried was amazing! (Chorizo, pastor, carnitas, and carne asada tacos)

Yummy! Casual taqueria in the back of a store, walk up, place your order then wait patiently for it to be ready. We got tacos de cecina, pastor and a torta de asada. Todo muy rico! Y porciones grandes.