You may have noticed Pepe’s Taqueria on one of your millions of trips down Mission Boulevard (if you’re a Hayward frequent-driver, that is); it’s on the west side of the street between Harder and Tennyson (across and down a few blocks from Moreau). It’s a smaller place, but it’s got its own parking lot and it’s painted bright yellow so that it blends in a bit less with the flooring stores, consignment furniture lots and appliance outlets.
The interior has a dated, fast-food feel to it; nothing special there for sure. But what did you expect from a taqueria in the bowels of Hayward? I was just excited that there was no bullet-proof glass between me and the cashier. The menu is posted above the counter and offers all the taqueria-style favorites (burritos, tacos and the like) for pretty cheap prices.
Inside Pepe’s: the front counter.
Inside Pepe’s: The seating (and a yawning man).
A duo of signs at the front door boasts the “best fish tacos” and “best Mexican food”. I beg to differ and suggest they re-think this strategy as I in fact ordered a fish taco. It was ok, but it was a bit dry and is nothing in comparison to Tacos Uruapan. Having said that, however, the wet burritos are something quite special indeed.
Fish taco, rice, beans from Pepe’s
Boyfriend ordered an “El Cheapo Burrito” which is essentially a veggie burrito with rice, beans, guac and sour cream. The zinger was that he ordered it “wet” meaning that they slather the burrito in enchilada sauce and cover it in melted cheese. This makes all the difference and their enchilada sauce was absolutely heavenly. I have no idea what was in there that would be so much better than other enchilada sauce, but it was indeed far superior.
Glorious “El Cheapo” wet burrito from Pepe’s.
And the El Cheapo held true to it’s name at only $4.50. And it could have fed a horse* so this option was indeed a good value.
The rice, beans, salsa and chips were all pretty good; these are other items I use to gauge the quality of Mexican restaurants. As nothing was terribly amiss and that wet burrito was cheap and delicious, I would have to say that I may return to further investigate the wonders of the wet burrito.
Plus, gotta love robot man inside Pepe’s.
*If said horse enjoyed Mexican food, of course.
Yes, it used to be a fast food restaurant called “El Taco”. It was similar to Taco Bell, but had a broader selection and more real meals. This was some 30-40 years ago, so your observation, “a dated, fast-food feel to it” was accurate.
Correctamundo senorita! I remember El Taco. When I saw the pic of the inside seating area, I said to myself “oh, yeah! I ate there several times during high school years because it is very close to Moreau. Bullet proof glass…..isn’t that sad? Funny comment, though….made me laugh. I will have to try an enchilada there sometime since you raved about their sauce. I think there are more yucky enchilada sauces around here than yummy ones. But, I am currently avoiding out food (and I think you know why). 🙂