Restaurant of the Week: Taco Man, Upland

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CLOSED

Taco Man, 915 N. Euclid Ave. (at Foothill), Upland

Taco Man opened in August in the Stater Bros. CVS center on the southwest corner of Euclid and Foothill, fronting Euclid just south of Coco’s. (I’m being precise on the location because I had trouble finding it.)

It’s a simple storefront operation with ample natural light through the floor-to-ceiling window. The decor involved some work: There’s a tile floor, a panoramic mural of a Mexican street scene (below) and a second mural featuring a man who resembles Diego Rivera but probably isn’t. The interior practically sparkled. (I also cracked up at the sign at right.)

A group of us went recently for a mid-afternoon meal. I had two soft tacos ($1.39 each, pictured above), one each of asada and pastor, which arrived in double tortillas and were very good.

A friend who also got tacos liked them equally well. Not outstanding, but a bit above average. (For the record, this was “Ask a Mexican” columnist and food writer Gustavo Arellano, a man who knows his tacos.) The others in our group got sopes and cheese enchiladas and were unimpressed.

Hey, it’s not named Enchilada Man. You go to a place called Taco Man, you get the tacos. Oh, and I got a Mexican soft drink I’d never seen before, Sidral Mundet (apple soda), in a bottle for $1.69. I liked it.

Service was bilingual and helpful. The kitchen seemed unprepared for a group of six at that hour, our food arriving a plate at a time courtesy of the lone cook. So, a mixed review, but if you’re looking for decent Mexican food in Upland, you could do lots worse.

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