Tacos El Perico

• 702 Douglas Avenue
• Kalamazoo, MI 49007
• (269) 742-4149
• Website
• Menu

Tacos, chicken wings, pizza, and burgers.  I think I’ve made it clear over the last 13 years how much I love those four foods.  

Tacos is kind of a newer one.  I’ve always liked “tacos”….mainly Taco Bell and Taco Johns, but I eventually discovered what actual tacos are and it blew my mind.  

Anytime I see a new taco joint or a taco truck, I make it a point to get there.  

I noticed quite a while ago a sign for a new taco place pop up on Douglas Avenue.  I drove by it several times and it never seemed to be open.  Earlier this month, I finally saw the “Open” signs.

Tacos El Perico is on the corner of Douglas Avenue and North Street just in to Kalamazoo’s Northside Neighborhood.  The restaurant has the corner spot where Station 702 used to be nextr to Cookie’s Five Star Grill.  

The restaurant is pretty much what I remember it being when it was Station 702. There’s a small order counter right in front of the kitchen. The menu is on a laminated sheet on the counter as well as above the kitchen pick up window on a TV monitor. There is a big warming case next to the cash register with chips and tamales so you always get warm chips when you order them.

The person in front of me had a pretty big lunch order so it took a few minutes. It was one of those where he was ordering for a job site and there were a bunch of separate orders and a bunch of credit cards he had to hand over. I wasn’t in a big hurry so I patiently waited for all that mess to sort it. I’m the guy everyone in the office hates because I refuse to do that. If you want me to get you lunch, you’re going to Venmo me the cost…I’m not doing a dozen separate orders.

I put in my order for quesabirria and three steak tacos. The cost was right around $20.

There is a pretty large dining room for eating in. The furniture all looks pretty new as it has a big Tacos El Perico on every table. The atmosphere is set by TV’s that were playing music videos the day I was in there that were slightly too loud. I just played on my phone while I waited for my food to come up. Again, big order in front of me so it took slightly longer than I expected but still wasn’t that bad of a wait.

When I got back to the office, I started with the quesabirria tacos. I am so glad I found birria at a food truck a couple of years ago. I love regular tacos but birria…holy cow.

The quesabirria come with two birria tacos, in flour tortillas with chihuahua cheese, cilantro, and onion. It also comes with consommé to dip them in. If you’ve never had a birria taco, you’re really missing out. They’re delicious without the consommé but off the charts delicious with it. The tacos are fried in the oil from the consommé so they become this delicious orange color. They’re not quite crunchy tacos but there is a little more of a bite to them than regular tortillas.

The three tacos I got were much more traditional. They were steak tacos with corn tortillas, cilantro, and onion. There was also some hot sauce included which I absolutely took advantage of. The corn tortillas were filled to the point of over flowing and the meat was super tender. It’s hard to follow birria tacos but these were good and I would have been super happy with meal even if this was the only thing I ordered.

Just like BBQ, I don’t think there is a thing as too many taco joints. They’re all pretty similar but also different in their own little ways. Tacos El Perico is another solid taco joint in Kalamazoo. It’s right next door to Cookies but other than that, there’s not a lot of food options in this part of the neighborhood. A little diversity is a good thing and the tacos are fantastic.