Where to get the best tacos on the Treasure Coast
Want to take a little trip to Mexico without leaving the Treasure Coast? Just drive to your nearest Latin grocery store to immerse yourself in the culture and practice your Spanish. Just don't judge a book by its cover. The lack of curb appeal and expensive signs with fancy logos often belies the treasures inside.
If for nothing else, go for the tacos — fast, flavorful and cheap, averaging $3 each. Typical fillings for the double-layer corn tortillas are pollo (chicken), asada (grilled/seared steak), carnitas (braised pork), al pastor (spit-roasted pork seasoned with chilis and pineapple), barbacoa (juicy grilled/shredded meats) — and, if you're lucky, birria (stewed meats) and cabeza (pot roast-like head meat).
Tacos come with cilantro, white onions, a lime wedge and spicy sauce — and sometimes sliced radish or roasted jalapeno. Ask for Tex-Mex if you want lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream.
You'll likely find other handheld favorites like burritos, tostadas, tamales, tortas, gorditas, empanadas, flautas/taquitos and even elotes (grilled corn). Some stores have more substantial hot lunches, often displayed on a steam table, such as pozole, menudo, caldo de res and other beef, chicken and shrimp stews.
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Order from the food counter, pay at the cash register, then return to the food counter for pickup. Sometimes you'll order from a literal hole in the wall separating the kitchen from the store.
Then explore the store while you wait for your food! Aside from typical household goods, it's common to find the following:
Imported spices, candies, snacks, drinks, cheeses and other cooking ingredients from across Central America
Butcher shops with quality meats at a fraction of chain store prices, from offal to oxtail to salt-cured whole fish
A dizzying array of dried beans and dried chiles
Hard-to-find products like yuca, cactus paddles and whole tamarinds
Fresh, homemade, refrigerated salsas, guacamoles, soups and fruit salads
Festive pinatas hanging from the ceiling
Veladoras (tall, thin, religious votive candles, commonly called saint candles)
Cowboy boots, work boots and other shoes and hats
Interesting cookware uncommon to American kitchens.
Among Latin grocery stores that serve tacos, there are at least six in Fort Pierce, three in Vero Beach, two in Fellsmere, two in Port St. Lucie and one in Hobe Sound. Hours and food service hours vary, so check first. Some open as early as 5 a.m., close as early as 2 p.m. or as late as 9 p.m., and may not serve food all day.
THE STANDOUTS
La Primavera Grocery Store
Hands down, the best. This large super store has everything: produce; fresh chicharrónes, either prepackaged in small and large bags or self-serve by the pound; an extensive butcher shop with everything you could want; homemade tortillas, including wheat, nixtamal and warm ones in the cooler; a large selection of imported cheeses; a variety of homemade breads and pastries, including atypical ones you don't see in every store; homemade gelatins, ice cream and popsicles, prepared in the store while you watch; and a bright, airy, colorful indoor seating area with booths, which looks like any Mexican restaurant. The $2.50 tacos are the cheapest and tastiest ones we found, and the steam table had an array of delicious-looking stews. There's also pottery, mortars and pestles, and a small selection of legit tortilla presses. The confusing entrance is the third door from the far right.
2729 S. U.S. 1, Fort Pierce; 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; 772-409-4376
Garcia Plaza Bakery 2
This large store also has produce, imported cheeses, a butcher shop and inside seating. Exterior murals depict rural life. The Fort Pierce store is related to the Fellsmere store, but not the other Garcia stores in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach.
702 S. 25th St., Fort Pierce; 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon-Sat and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sun with kitchen hours 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily; 772-448-8664
Azteca Mexican Store
Groceries on the right, food in the middle, and department store on the left. You'll find flags, blankets, oversized statuary, shelves of pottery, a sizeable shoe store with hats, and an assortment of tortilla presses and volcanic stone mortars and pestles. Tacos are $2.75. In addition to typical Mexican steam-table fare, they have Colombian and Salvadoran favorites. There's a coffee bar and inside tables. It's not affiliated with the Azteca store in Fellsmere.
102 Angle Road, Fort Pierce; 5:15 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mon-Sat and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sun; 772-466-6547
El Torito
This food is legit! Amid the classic fare is one particular standout: a deep-fried, chalupa-like empanada loaded with Tex-Mex toppings. These grab-and-gos are stocked in the acrylic case by the cash register every morning. Outside, there's a pickup window and picnic tables. Don't get confused by online posters who incorrectly link to a California restaurant of the same name. Make no mistake, this gem is west of Gifford.
5085 45th St., Vero Beach; 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily; 772-299-0431
OTHER LATIN GROCERY STORES TO TRY
Fellsmere
Garcia Plaza Bakery (2 S. Pine St.): Family-owned since 1997, the store started as a tortilleria, then expanded to a bakery, then expanded to a restaurant
Azteca Mexican Store II (24 S. Lime St.): Homemade breads, pastries, tortillas
Vero Beach
Tienda Mexicana Tres Hermanos (1690 14th Ave.): Has some meat and shrimp; serves our favorite, cheesiest steak quesadilla; and has a couple of cafe tables outside
Garcia Mexican Store (600 6th Ave.): Family-owned for over 25 years, the business opened a Vero Beach store over six years ago that offers third-party food delivery.
Fort Pierce
La Tienda Nueva (2712 Orange Ave.): Menudo, rotisserie chicken, indoor seating
La Placita FTP (1508 Delaware Ave.): $3 tacos, ribs, charred chicken and other hot lunches
Garcia Store & Bakery (1900 Okeechobee Road): Hibiscus tea, indoor seating, infectious music that'll have you dancing in the aisles.
Port St. Lucie
Mercadito Centroamericano (6690 S. U.S. 1): Tacos available only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until the kitchen renovation is complete in about a month. Look for The C Bakery's pretty little packages of goodies. Meylin and Francisco Gamez of Cuscatlán, El Salvador, bake and box them at the Sunshine Kitchen in Fort Pierce.
La Bonita Market (770 S.W. Bayshore Blvd.): Mini-market with a sizeable indoor seating area
Hobe Sound
Green Apple Meat Market & Produce (11543 S.E. Federal Highway): Quesabirria every day, plus caldo de res, menudo de res, caldo de camaron, tamales, chicarrones and carnitas on weekends.
TCPalm reporters Laurie Blandford and Gianna Montesano contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Cinco de Mayo: Best tacos from Latin grocery stores on Treasure Coast
