Picante Uno Mexican Groceries

Because I loved this place, even despite its food, I want to giving it 3*.

Reasons to love it:
1) When you walk in, it smells like a taqueria, the air is heavy with the heady smell of corn.
2) There is no menu, that I could tell.  Just a window into the kitchen, where I asked the lovely woman what they had.
3) On the weekdays it's tacos and tortas - tamales are for weekends.
4) This place is truly authentic - Mexican for Mexicans.
5) Tacos are proper tacos. Soft corn tortilla con solamente meat, onions & cilantro.
6) I don't think I've seen a torta anywhere else in the region.

Reasons not to love it:
1) The meat... not so good.
2) Considering how authentic it is, the prices are a bit steep. Two tacos and a torta set me back $12.
3) Did I mention the meat?

The pork wasn't carnitas, it was more like a bad version of al pastor with hard bits of chewy things in the meat.  And the beef was more like vaca frita, but a bit gamier, and in hard thin slices rather than delicious shreds.

Seriously in former life this would be a 1* joint.  But it is redeemed by the torta.  Next time I'll skip the tacos and ask for the torta with extra jalapenos.  And should I be back at Harvest Spirits on a weekend, I'll stop in here to try the tamales.

So 2* is a nice compromise for what I would like to give it, and what it actually earned.  It also fulfills the rubric of earned score, plus extra point for being near Albany.

Maybe it was an off day, and I'll be able to upgrade them to 3* with a clean conscience in the months to come.

N.B. The seats in the store are perfectly fine for eating tacos and tortas.  Plus for those who are into these things, they stock a variety of Jaritos in bottles.

Picante Uno is more than a Mexican grocery store. They also have a couple of dining options each day. The day we went, they had tamales and pork tacos. The pork tacos were on tiny corn tortillas and fantastic, with tender pork, fresh cilantro and onion. Not sure if you can eat there...there was some seating but it didn't look like it was intended for dining.

Mexican doesn't usually travel well, so it is good if you live nearby.  I don't know about costs because I didn't get a receipt, but the food is well worth the visit.