I’m back in Rochester for my Mom’s birthday weekend which means catching up with old friends!
Last minute plans when visiting home are the only way I get to see people so I was super excited when my friend Andy texted me and told me to come out for dinner with him. Andy and I are old RIT Hockey buddies so I haven’t seen him in literal years although we have our nerdy Snapchat streak going full of office dogs and getting through our 9-5s we don’t actually see each other very often.
Andy isn’t actually from Rochester but after college I left and he stayed and has been a great source for food recommendations so he picked the place for dinner.
LOCATION: 55 RUSSELL ST., ROCHESTER, NY 14607
I’ve never been to Old Pueblo Grill before and it’s never actually come up in any of the food blogs I follow but that’s not uncommon. Rochester always has new little spots popping up and I feel like there’s always a ton to discover and find. I’m never against tacos and Old Pueblo actually has the ever elusive elote that I always crave and can never find so I was ready to go!
When it comes to tex mex style food I’m always more of a fan of tacos vs. burritos though Andy said everything at this place is good so I couldn’t pick wrong. I decide to go for a taco bundle and got 3 for $13 which isn’t a bad deal. Of course I had to pick the Baja Fish Taco, and the Al Pastor. Both of which are my go to choices when trying new taco places to get a feel for the flavors. I find this deal often and usually that third option is my wild card where I pick a special for that place or see if there’s something different that they’re doing. I had a few options but decided to go with the Chorizo N’ Potato Taco. I love potatoes, of course, so that’s usually the draw for me.
Clearly, these tacos are PACKED and I’m totally here for it. I honestly only ate two tacos at dinner and took the last one home and these are not clean tacos to eat. They’re so full that it’s hard to eat everything cleanly but it’s worth the money. Everything has amazing flavors and the right amount of sauces so nothing felt dry. They use corn tortillas which are a must for me and I would order all of these again. Even the Chorizo and Potato taco held up for a late second dinner reheat. It still had great flavor later and even after a quick microwave it wasn’t dry or gross in texture. Love that reheat test.
Now, as I mentioned before, old Pueblo also has elote which I haven’t really been able to find around Rochester at all (though I can’t say I’ve looked TOO hard recently) so of course I had to order one to go too. However, instead of a regular elote, which is a corn on the cob with crema, cotija cheese, and tajin, I had to go the extra mile and try the Flamin’ Hot Elote. Which, as you can probably guess, is elote rolled in flaming hot cheetoes. I was not disappointed.
This corn was a hilarious color that I was a little embarrassed to eat outside around people judging me so this was also part of the late night snack. The corn itself was pretty good as we are in summer and are in the midst of corn season and this thing had a kick to it! I enjoyed it though I would say that the cheetoes did get a little soggy in my reheat and travel time letting it sit so I won’t really knock it because if I ate it fresh, it probably would’ve been better. It was a little too creamy for me and I wanted to feel more of that crunch from the corn but it was really good in flavor. I love this so much and it was fun to try one time. I would absolutely go for a regular elote next time and now that I know where I can get one, I’ll be back to Old Pueblo Grill for sure.