Asadero Norte de Sonora
If you want to sneak some Mexican food before heading to the Phx International Airport then you’ll want to check out Asadero Norte de Sonora. They are only a few blocks from the Rental Car Return Center and they’ll give you a generous serving of flavorful cooking. Click HERE for the entire review!
OVERALL BITES:
Value: $7.50 for the plate of asada with tortillas to make my own tacos wasn’t bad. Especially when you consider I could have easily made 5 or 6. Each taco on its own is $1.90. I also had an agua fresca for $2.25. It was a great deal for the amount of food I receiving – not to mention the chips and salsa and also the cup of frijoles charros I got with my meal.
Taste: What stood out the most was the frijoles (beans). Goodness they were good. Super tasty, salted well, and simply cooked to perfection. I’m craving some right now!
Presentation: Nothing special to note here. A healthy portion of asada was garnished with some lettuce and cucumber and it also came with limes and guac on the side.
Vibe: I arrived just before lunch time and there wasn’t much going on. It didn’t take long for the place to fill up with the local working crowd. There were office workers, construction and city workers too. There were even a few new people who were talking about how excited they were to try the Asadero Norte de Sonora.
Accessibility: Relatively easy to find. It’s on the West side of 16th St between Van Buren and Washington. What I liked best was that it was a right up the street from the airport Rental Car Return Center….I was getting tired of having the Burger King on the corner.
Review – Asadero Norte de Sonora
It was time to return back to Albuquerque after a week of being in Phoenix for work. I hadn’t had anything to eat and I skipped breakfast, as I usually do, and I didn’t want to eat airport food. I wasn’t quite feeling the Burger King on the corner just before getting to the Rental Car Return Center either. Google found some local restaurants for me to try just up the road.
It was just before lunch, 11:40, when I arrived at Asadero Norte de Sonora. You seat yourself in any of the wooden picnic like tables. It only took a few seconds before I was asked for my drink order. While I waited I was given some chips, salsa, and a cup of frijoles charros. I had the agua de Jamaica, or Hibiscus Tea, which I found pretty satisfying. They also offer different types of aguas frescas including horchata, tamarindo, and limonada (lemonade). If you order a coke you get a cup of ice and a bottled coke which is really the only way to enjoy a Coca-Cola in my opinion.
The tables have rolls of paper towels and a rack of 3 bottled red salsas and salt. The floor has red Saltillo tile, the wood tables have tile on top and each has a couple of wooden benches. The walls weren’t anything to look at. A boarded up window was on the East wall but it didn’t seem to bother any of the customers. They were more interested in the food as was I.
The chips seemed to be the tortilla strips that you can get from your local Costco so they weren’t anything special but the Salsa was! It was just like mom used to make. Red Chile de arbol (I think) with a bit of tomato and lime. It was a bit spicy. Similar taste to what you would have in a menudo. I don’t know about you but I appreciate a good salsa that I can keep dipping my chips into and that I can use on my food after. What stole the show though were the frijoles charros – super tasty with just enough spice!
The Asada plate seemed like a better value to me as each taco was $1.90. If you were willing to make your own tacos you could probably get 5 to 6 out of the amount of asada meat you got on the plate. My eyes were bigger than my stomach on this day. Not only do you get a healthy serving of meat, the asada plate also comes with limes, some lettuce as garnish and a guac salsa. 5 tortillas came wrapped in foil for your ‘some assembly required’ tacos. The meat was a bit chewy at times but I couldn’t deny the good flavor it had. I filled up after 3 tacos and then tried to eat as much meat as I could but after the chips and frijoles I wasn’t able to eat much more. Yes, I was a bit disappointed in myself. I can usually pack it in like a champ but it was simply too much on this day.
Asadero Norte de Sonora gets 3.5 Bites! The location was easy to find, the beans were great, and the service was also good. There wasn’t much parking so if you go during lunch you might have to park a little further away. The meat was also not as tender as I could like but it did have great flavor. Sneak them in next time you’re in Phoenix and let us know what you think.
Check out their menu and hours of operations on their website and give them a Like on Facebook.