While visiting Seattle to see family we took a day trip down the coast and made our way to Portland where I had one place in mind.  Pepino’s Mexican Grill was that spot and this place was one of the restaurants I had gone to years ago before I started this and gave me a reason to write.  I felt it was only fitting that I show others one of the OG spots that gave me the vision to share these spots.

Walking into this place you see a wonderful array of Latin inspired colors and pictures.   The music is authentic and the vibe is just positive and uplifting.

Looking over the menu I decided to order two Pepino’s Tacos, one chicken and one steak.  A Pepino’s Taco is a corn tortilla topped with pinto beans, salsa fresca and cheese.  One thing that caught me about this place years ago was their salsa and condiments bar.  They offer 4 salsas as well as lemons, limes and pickled onions and jalapenos.  They have everything you need to kick up your Mexican meal.

When the tacos came I could hardly see the corn tortillas under the mounds of topping.  I started by putting mild salsa on the chicken and a salsa verde on the steak.  Squeeze a little lime and top it with a pickled red onion and you have a bomb taco.  The chicken taco was lightly seasoned and mixed so well with the salsa and beans.  The steak taco had just the right amount of char on it to also pop greatly with the lime and onion added.  Most tacos spots don’t top your tacos with pinto beans and growing up my family would have beans or rice with almost every Mexican meal.

So if you are around Portland and need a place to eat that is cheap and authentic be sure to hit up one of the two Pepinos’s Mexican Grills.  They also offer Horchata to drink just know it is made with milk and not a rice milk like most.