The locals know it. I arrived after 7 p.m., and right after me came a steady stream of locals, including a couple policemen. Policemen often know the best values around. Puentez Taqueria is a good value. My meal was $10.36 + tip, and the food was in generous portion. And the high speed wireless internet is free, although I didn't bring my mac. This is a family run business, and I had an enjoyable conversation with the young man at the counter who told me he enjoys 'street basketball'. I'd never heard of it, and asked him what that meant. Apparently it's quite anarchistic in that there is no real organization. The players just show up - or not, there are no teams, and it seems as though it's as much about showing off great tricks and plays as actually playing. Sounds like a young man's fun!

Not realizing the portions, I tried assembling my own 'plate', which they gave me unassembled. I tried a cactus taco (left), veggie taco (next right), cheese tamale (continuing counter clockwise), with pinto beans and rice. The cactus taco was fine, but the veggie taco was wonderful. You can guess which one I actually finished. The cheese tamale was a little dried out around the edges, but aside from that, had a nice flavor. I forgot to ask if the pinto beans were entirely vegetarian or not, but they were good, ditto the rice.

NOTE: I just received confirmation from Puentez Taqueria that their pinto beans are indeed vegetarian, no animal fats nor meat in them at all!