Tacos El Panson, right across from Hoover High School in City Heights, is more than just a taco shop, it feels like home.
After school when we have time to kill or just simply want to enjoy each others company and stuff our face in Mexican food, my friends and I always go for the carne asada fries topped with pico de gallo, guacamole, and the spicy salsa rojo, which we all agree is a must. With all of my other friends, they don’t respect this tradition and maybe… for good reason, but specifically for me and my friend Jayden. We have a little tradition where every time we get our little plastic containers of salsa, we take a little swig. It’s for the love of the game.
I admire how the portions are huge and the price isn’t too high so usually one order is enough for two people so if there are four of us, we get two orders to share. We love to wash down and aid our spiced out tongues with agua fresca which makes the meal feel complete. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with bright orange-yellow walls with maroon accents, a TV playing Mexican news that never fails to get a laugh out of us, and a layout that encourages sitting down and staying a while. There was one time where six of us went and got food and after finishing our meals, we stayed for another three hours, laughing, gossiping, sharing stories, doing impressions of people and just enjoying being together.
The staff already knows us so well that when we walk in, they just say, “the usual?” which makes it feel like we’re part of the Tacos El Panson family. We’ve even joked about buying the place in the future to make sure it always stays true to what it is; authentic, lively, and welcoming. We wouldn’t change the charm of the restaurant and refurbish much. We would just make sure it lasts forever and that the staff are paid extremely well. It’s usually moderately busy, with a mix of locals and Hoover students grabbing takeout, but eating inside at the big middle table makes it feel like our own little space, disconnected from school and the outside world.
Through the laughter, gossip, and countless stories shared, Tacos El Panson is the kind of place that turns meals into memories and makes every visit feel special and makes me look around at my surroundings and appreciate where I’m at. Good people, good food, good conversation is all I need in life to keep my world spinning.
