Loteria

After a day of wandering Asbury Park Porchfest with my dog and my vape pen, I met up with the wife and two couples of fussy vegan lesbians for a much-needed taco repast at Loteria, a charming taqueria around the corner from bustling Cookman Avenue. For those not in the know, Loteria is akin to Mexican bingo, featuring a marked game board with spaces to be filled. In lieu of numbers, there are brightly colored cards with items like El Corazon (the heart), La Bota (the boot), and La Bandera (the flag).

We sat outside with the pup at one of their brightly painted picnic tables and our waitress Kristen quickly brought us tasty chips and toothsome guacamole with tortilla chips that were just a little too thick, but clearly homemade. I dug in, trying to clear some of the smoke in my head after a heady day of rock and rolling.

I ordered a Classic Margarita, which promptly arrived, supersized in a pint glass. I was glad for it, because as the joint quickly filled up, our server lost us in the shuffle for a bit. Other ‘rita choices included a Smokey mezcal with orange and tajin, a Strawberry Thyme, a spicy Picante with honey balancing coriander and jalapeno, and a sweet Hibiscus. The array was impressive.

We listened to Grateful Dead tunes and Spanish music and watched the highly entertaining stream of Porchfest foot traffic until Kristin made her way back over to take our orders. Between the six of us, we pretty much ordered a sample of everything they had.

The menu is divided into four sections: Platitos, Tacos, Burritos, and Quesadillas. The Platitos offers tasty appetizers and first courses including a crema-covered jar of Corn Esquites, Chicken Tortilla Soup, several salads, nachos, and ceviche. The entrees are pretty much the same fillings wrapped up as either a taco, burrito, or quesadilla. Guests can choose from marinated pollo, grilled flat iron carne asada, vegetarian, roasted pork carnitas, crispy mushrooms, marinated al pastor grilled pork, and blackened shrimp.

The food didn’t take too long to arrive, and it all showed up to the table hot and looking delicious. I ordered three fish tacos, crispy and beer-battered with a creamy slaw, that came with a side of tasty beans and rice for a $4 upcharge. It was well worth it.

We got the El Jefe chorizo tacos slick with grease and larded with gaucamole and salsa verde, then innovatively be-crunched with potato chips. We also ordered the trusty crispy shelled peccadillo beef Gringo tacos. It’s always a winner among us Blancas.

The vegans ordered the Vegetariano tacos, loaded with bell pepper, red onion, corn, mushroom, and jicama. All pronounced it tasty. There were fewer raves over the Crispy Mushroom tacos, filled with maitake shrooms and black beans. Despite sounding promising, the finished product was reportedly far too hard and crispy to be truly enjoyable.

A few missteps on a very busy evening notwithstanding, Loteria proved a fantastic destination for reliably good tacos in Asbury Park. And while the outdoor seating was perfect for our ragtag group, the interior of the restaurant is also highly charming, with a corrugated tin bar flanked by a desert mural and bright Loteria game tile paintings, plus a wallpaper of Loteria cards on the restroom walls.

As Las Damas (the women) paid the tab and made our way into the night, we were all sated with bellies as big as La Sandia (the watermelon). In the end, Loteria proved as good as its tagline: “Es Muy Delicioso.” But in this game, everyone wins.  

Loteria
632 Mattison Avenue
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
732-455-3610
Tuesday–Friday 4-10 pm
Saturday 12-10 pm
Sunday 12-8 pm

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Save a Few Clams

Head to Loteria Wednesday and Thursday from 4-7 pm (and all day Sunday) for Cantina Hour. Featured items include deals on chips and dips, $8 margaritas and sangria, plus a Bites menu with Small Nachos for $8, a $3 Gringo Tacos, and $5 Papas Fritas. Qué bueno!