Remember when you were a kid and you freaked out the first time you drank beer? I mean the way you see adults pouring that stuff down their throats you figure it’s better than a Cactus Cooler or Chocolate Milk. Then you take a sip and you’re like

“What the F dad? Seriously? Why?” 

Well eating a Kim’s Taco at El Granjenal is the exact opposite of that experience. You pull up to this little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant on the wrong side of Costa Mesa. There’s almost no parking except for some by the shady “sports” bar. The tables are a little dicey. There’s a 50/50 chance the guy behind the counter is going to give you the stink eye for ordering in English. Then instead of an Al Pastor taco you order a Korean Kim’s Taco. Why? Why are you ordering a Korean taco at a Mexican restaurant?

Then you notice a lady coming back from her walk around the neighborhood. She’s Korean. She speaks Spanish. She goes in the back and talks to the cook and the counter guy. She gives you a quick once over before she starts reading the paper in the back corner.

That’s right… now you get it. So they slide two tacos on a try with a Horchata and you take your first bite.

“What the F? Holy Crud? Why didn’t anyone tell me sooner? I thought we were friends? What are you keeping secrets like this?”