Taqueria Y Mariscos El Primo
27 W. Main StreetI knew I was going to Hartford for work on Friday so I kind of planned my meals in the preceding days around it.
Thursday I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner. I had a taco place in mind but I knew my colleague had said we needed to go to Hartford on Friday.
There’s a Mexican place in Hartford that I’ve been wanting to stop at so that was going to be my excuse to finally do that.
I could have had tacos two days in a row but I chose Steak ‘n Shake instead. Tacos were for Friday.
That taco joint in Taqueria Y Mariscos El Primo on West Main Street in downtown Hartford. The restaurant is a fairly large building right next to City Hall west of Center Street which is the only stop light in town and the road that brings you back to I-94. This spot has been a restaurant for the better part of a decade having been a family style diner and a different Mexican restaurant previously.
There is parking along west Main Street in the form of parallel parking. If you still can’t pass that section of your drivers test, there is a municipal lot behind this row of businesses accessible from Center Street. There is also an entrance from this lot so you don’t have to walk all the way around the building.
I got really excited as we walked up because I saw signs for street tacos. In the big open lot next to the building, there is a tent set up and signs pointing you to “street tacos.” I just wanted street tacos but I guess I was too early. The guy setting up they didn’t start outside until 2:00 on Friday and it was only 1:30. He told me to just go inside and I’d be able to order the same street tacos in there.
The inside is a full service, sit down Mexican restaurant. It’s a bright space but it’s not overdone with the red, white, and greens of the Mexican flag that you see at a lot of Mexican restaurants. This is much more subtle and just feels like a sit down restaurant. There are sturdy wood tables and chairs sitting on a tile floor that are tightly packed in to the dining area.
There is a small grocery section off to one side where they have some of the staples of Mexican cooking. There’s not a lot but it’s probably stuff that they also use and it’s stuff that is common in the cuisine.
This building’s past life must have been a bar as there is a huge wooden bar that takes up a big part of the space in the back of the building. The front of it has been tiled to match the current decor. There is no room to sit at this bar anymore as a lot of it is taken up for storage for the wait staff. At one end, there is a cash register for to-go and pick up orders. My colleague and I headed there to put in orders to take back to Kalamazoo with us.
My order was my usual four steak tacos on corn tortillas Mexican style. The cost was right around $13 for the four tacos which were tightly wrapped in foil and tossed in to a paper bag. My colleague ordered two Al Pastor tacos and tried to eat them in the car on the drive back but as soon as he opened, steam poured out. They were way to hot to eat right away so he let them marinate a little bit longer until they were a little more manageable.
I say this every time I get tacos, I make no bones about the fact that they are one of my absolute favorite foods. The thing I can never replicate at home is the softness of the tortillas. These double layered corn tortillas get so soft in the foil which make biting through them effortless. Each of the four tacos was overflowing with grilled tender bits of steak and chopped cilantro and onion. There were cups of both red and green hot sauce in the bag. I only used the red and there was enough to cover the tops of each taco with a thick layer.
Tacos are good. I don’t think that’s a hot take. They’re also really simple and hard to screw up. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad taco. Taqueria Y Mariscos El Primo is no exception. The tacos were delicious and everything I want when I get a craving for street tacos. There really is no more perfect food.
SW Michigan Dining 