The New Orleans Chronicles: Taqueria Corona

On my last night in New Orleans, the gang and I were craving some Mexican food.  We also wanted to see the garden district of New Orleans.  Thus, it made sense for us to go to the Taqueria Corona on Magazine Street.  Upon entering the restaurant, the feel was rather family dining meets taco bar.  There was a sign over the bar reading Taqueria Corona, and a good amount of tables scattering the room, all full to capacity.  The walls were smattered with old black-and-white photos of Mexicans with sombreros and shotguns.  This place had quite a reputation, and we had gone here on a tip that it would be an excellent Mexican dining experience.

We started off with a pitcher of margaritas, which came with salt-rimmed glasses upon request.  The drink was good, though heavy on the mixer and light on the tequila.  We then proceeded to order tacos, burritos and gorditas from the ala cart menu.  There were combo specials, but they also required specification as to the fillings of your tacos, etc.  There were many meats to choose from, including beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, tongue, shrimp and more.  Upon ordering, I thought we were going to get the real deal.  I thought we had a chance to be part of something great.  Instead, what arrived at our table were heaps of mediocrity layered in bland beans and rice. 

First of all, the waiter got one of our orders wrong, which was corrected, but was a nuisance.  Another of my compadres ordered some avocado on the side and was given a dish of guacamole without explanation or apology.  Then we started eating the food, which I admit was correctly portioned for a man of impressive appetite, but I was not impressed with the flavors.  The beef was cubed, which I thought would be nice, but I would have preferred the ground slurry in a Taco Bell namesake.  This beef was very dry and flavorless.  Where were the spices?  Where had the reviews of greatness come from?  I moved on to the pork and chorizo.  They had slightly more flavor, but again, nothing near the flavor I have had at local Boston/Cambridge favorites such as Anna’s Taqueria of the Forest Café.  My shrimp gordita took the blue ribbon for worst food on my plate, and I am ashamed to say that they called it Mexican food.  The shell was like dense fried dough, crispy on the outside, and gut-bustingly dense and biscuity in the center.  The shrimp were most certainly baby shrimp from a frozen bag, and boasted no flavor from the grill or the sea, and I think there might have been three of them in the entire gordita.  Sad.  Very sad.  Finally, there was a bean burrito, which had soupy black bean and orange cheddar in it.  It wasn’t rolled well and came apart in my hands.  I resorted to a knife and fork.  Then I realized that the beans on the side plate of rice and beans were the exact same beans as inside the burrito, and I was disappointed.  I hoped that at least one bean dish would taste like more than a starchy paste.

In the end, I felt full of filler, but my hunger for Mexican food was far from fulfilled.  The meats were bland, the beans were bland, even the margaritas were bland.  There was a lot of food, but I would spend my money elsewhere next time.  This restaurant was definitely lacking, and if I had to put my finger on where it was lacking, I would need a bigger finger.