La Calle 10

This restaurant used to be called T-Rex, and according to the owner, it changed over to La Calle 10 a couple months ago. I have been to the T-Rex on many occasions during the previous Warriors playoffs, and have enjoyed the vibe and food each time. So to find out that it closed, I was disappointed. But with the warriors in the playoff once again, I wanted to repeat what "worked". So my friends and I decided to come back despite the change. Fortunately, despite the menu change, everything is still very good and there is still ample tables and TVs to catch the game. The service is different, in that we have to order up front and food are brought to our table, instead of being waited on. But it was not a big deal. Overall, despite the name change everything is still good, and best of all, the Warriors just keeps on winning when we are here!! Haha...

We ordered chicken sandwich, tacos, ceviche and cacti salad. All of them tasted great! The chicken sandwich was awesome, would order again! The cacti salad was big and was delicious! I think one downside was the quality of service, pretty slow and it took sometime for them to take our order. The atmosphere is good as well!

The food is delicious, service is average but friendly, and it's conveniently located next to REI with a parking lot. The prices are a bit on the higher side but the food is also better than average with some unique dishes, including vegetarian ones. Come here for the happy hour, lunch or dinner. It's great for reading by yourself, a casual date, or a group of friends for dinner or weekend brunch (yes, they have a weekend brunch menu!). If you're looking for something beyond the usual Mexican burritos or tacos, come here. They have plenty of unique and excellent dishes that will make you want to keep coming back.

In a market with stiff competition slinging tacos, much less "Tacos De La Calle" (street-style, or "truck" style tacos) is a real challenge in these parts. La Calle 10 (Tenth street, located on, you guessed it, tenth street) has some pluses and minuses. Pluses: I am always heartened by the sight of an older person in the kitchen of any establishment, because we simply cook better. Check. The menu is fairly simple, and I thought I'd go for a sampling of their tacos. They sell them three at a time, so I ordered the Barbacoa (Roast Lamb) which surprisingly, came with an actual sweet tasting BBQ Sauce, a Pollo Asado, (Which the server got wrong because it sounded like "Pescado") and a "Carnitas traditional" I also ordered some guacamole, and they plates come with a side of beans of your choice, I always go with black. And as usual I ordered a nice cold Horchata. La Calle 10 is a pace that excels in concept but can use some work in execution. 1: The accidental fish taco was really good, and came with a thousand Island type seafood sauce with mayo in it, (no problem for me) 2: The carnitas were decent but not really Traditional nor "De La Calle" as they were a little too clean, not little bits of fat, or juice, or skin. 3: The barbacoa was tender, and savory and did not have to two same ornate toppings as the other two tacos. (See photos) Which had radishes, a sprig of cilantro, and some kind of slaw I could not identify. The problem with these toppings is not themselves, they are healthy and good for you, the problem is that they are water based, and dilute the taste of a bite, and really have no distinct flavor of their own, rendering them basically a filler. This is not to say the tacos were bad, far from it, but they could have been GREAT. Perhaps they are trying for a more Berkeley foodie aware crowd, but these tacos kind of lost me, a person far more at home in Taqueria El Paisa in east Oakland, or the Tacos El Autelense truck at the Hotsy Totsy nightclub on San Pablo in El Cerrito/Albany The Guacamole is good, and I really liked the thin, seasoned tortilla chips. I would have enjoyed the entire meal more if I had been brought some napkins and a fork as well or spoon to eat by beans with, since there weren't enough chips to eat both the Guacamole and the beans. Overall, I give the pace 6/10 for the attempt and hope they ditch trying to impress the little food-a-riffic lords and ladies of Whole Foods, and start providing a people's taco for the working class people who know what a Taco is. I'll still go back again to see what's new there in a month or so and I'll try something different.