342903 Wed Nov 15 00:24:03 -0800 2006 0 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2022202 Blink and you’ll miss Garcia’s on Old Oakland Rd. hiding inside a tired-looking Horizon Inn. Going inside is a completely different experience – the ranchero music nearly knocked me over when I opened the door, and the place was lively with almost every table filled around 2 p.m. on a Sunday. I finally figured out that the ranchero music was coming from the juke box, so as long as nobody paid for any music, life was good. Otherwise, it was so loud we literally could not hear our server when she came to our table. Chips were served with three types of house-made salsa – a green tomatillo one which I didn’t care for, a red one that was smoky but watery, and a red salsa fresca that was too salty. I ordered two tacos, the boyfriend got three, and for $1.50 each they were a steal. Although my carne asada (steak) and pollo adobado (chicken) ones didn’t look like the best cuts of meat I’d ever seen, they were definitely better than most and were super flavorful. They were served as I like to say, “taco truck style,” with two open-faced corn tortillas holding chopped meat, onions, and a little cilantro. The squeeze bottle of hot sauce brought to the table with the tacos added some needed heat. The boyfriend ordered the pollo asado and the pollo adobado, but both looked and tasted exactly the same. A tortilla-making area of the kitchen is visible near the front door, so since I was still hungry I got a $1.50 side of freshly made tortillas. I only got two (I chose one each of the corn and the flour) so it didn’t seem like a great deal, but they ended up being my favorite part of the meal. They were served finger-burningly-hot in a “tortilla coffin.” The corn was good and earthy tasting, definitely giving La Perla in South San Francisco a run for their money on corn tortilla honors. And while I usually prefer fresh corn tortillas, the flour ones here were even better, and tasted just slightly saltier which really brought out the flavor. The only problem during all of this was the service. It took about 30 minutes to get our tacos, which blew our minds since the restaurant was one third full when we arrived (though totally full when we left – I suspect partly due to the slow service). Also, it was impossible to make eye contact with our fairly cold server. It seemed like it took us forever to get our tacos, then to order tortillas, get the check, and to give her a credit card. At the end we ended up going to the register. Garcia’s Taqueria y Cantina 1390 Old Oakland Road (@ Gish) San Jose, CA 95112 (408) 441-1401 Hours: Mon-Thu 10:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Fri 10:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sat 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Sun 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Wed Nov 15 00:24:03 -0800 2006 10992 katya