La Vallesana 2

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2818 Cherokee St. St. Louis, MO 63118

314-776-4223

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Best Popsicles
Award Winner 2010

Cuisine(s): Mexican

Hours: Daily 11am-8pm

Price: $

Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, cash
Attire: Casual

Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout, Wheelchair Accessible, Kid Friendly

Serving: Dinner, Lunch

Alcohol: None
Reservations: Not Accepted

Parking: Street

Description

If you grade on a cost-benefit curve, La Vallesana might be the best restaurant in St. Louis. For less than $5 you can have three tacos al pastor: smoky pork, grilled pineapple, onion and cilantro on corn tortillas. Give each a squeeze of fresh lime and a slather of fiery red or green salsa, and you have the perfect meal. Can't live by tacos al pastor alone? (What's wrong with you?) Try a taco made with meltingly tender barbacoa or earthy beef tongue. Burritos are very good, especially with spicy chorizo. For a messy, overfilled delight, torta sandwiches deliver the goods and then some.

2010 | Best Popsicles

Mexicans call popsicles paletas, and you should, too: The word "popsicle" seems too quaint, too childish, for something as grown-up as the paletas at La Vallesana 2 (sister restaurant to La Vallesana, the taqueria across the street). While the paletas at La Vallesana certainly are sweet, they aren't as cloying -- as fake -- as, say, a Bomb Pop. You can taste the tart undertones of a strawberry or blackberry, which on a hot day makes them even more refreshing. (It helps, of course,... More »
2009 | Best Taqueria

Sad news from July of this year: Gidget, the chihuahua who became famous in the "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" ads, passed away at the age of fifteen. Noticeably absent from the nonstop news coverage of her death, not to mention her star-studded memorial service at the Beverly Hills PetSmart, was any mention of the scandal that brought down Gidget at the very height of her fame. Though a paid spokes-chihuahua for the "Tex"-"Mex" "cuisine" "cooked" at Taco Bell, Gidget was spotted on numerous... More »
2007 | Best Taqueria

La Vallesana packs some of the tastiest -- and cheapest -- food in St. Louis into a squat structure not much bigger than your average backyard shed. Here you can feast on the best tacos in town, bar none. Several different meats are available, but the absolute best taco you will eat in your life is the taco al pastor: pork, chunks of pineapple, onion and cilantro in a corn tortilla, served with a smoky, searing red salsa and a sharper, nearly just as searing green salsa. Burritos are... More »
2006 | Best Taco

While traveling in England, we stumbled across the McKorma. McDonald's' bastardization of this Indian dish prompted but one question: What the hell In a nation with so many excellent Indian restaurants, why would anyone eat McKorma Then we came to a terrible realization: The taco is the McKorma of the United States. Americans wolf down fast-food tacos by the boatload. Why would a St. Louisan consume such garbage when fresh, delicious, authentic tacos are but a few blocks away Many... More »

The Five Best Taquerias in St. Louis

By Ian Froeb | Tue, October 4, 2011

Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our wa... More »
Rebuilt La Vallesana Opens

By Ian Froeb | Mon, August 22, 2011

La Vallesana (2801 Cherokee Street; 314-776-4223) has opened its rebuilt restaurant. For most of this year, the Cherokee Street taqueria (and Gut Check favorite) operated out of La Vallesana 2, the ic... More »
#10: Tacos al Pastor at La Vallesana

By Ian Froeb | Tue, March 22, 2011

Over the past few years, nothing on the St. Louis food scene has fascinated or delighted me as much as the growing number and popularity of taquerias. While of late my passion for tacos and tortas has... More »
La Vallesana (Temporarily) Relocates

By Ian Froeb | Tue, February 8, 2011

I'm late with this news, which is especially embarrassing because it involves one of my absolute favorite St. Louis restaurants. My apologies.Anyway:La Vallesana will be undergoing renovations, so the... More »
La Vallesana Expands Patio

By Ian Froeb | Mon, August 16, 2010

Just a quick note from an afternoon Mexican popsicle run: Gut Check favorite La Vallesana (2801 Cherokee Street, 314-776-4223) has renovated its patio, covering the original patio area and expanding i... More »
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La Vallesana 2

2818 Cherokee St. St. Louis, MO 63118

314-776-4223

Description

2010 | Best Popsicles

2009 | Best Taqueria

2007 | Best Taqueria

2006 | Best Taco

The Five Best Taquerias in St. Louis

By Ian Froeb | Tue, October 4, 2011

Rebuilt La Vallesana Opens

By Ian Froeb | Mon, August 22, 2011

#10: Tacos al Pastor at La Vallesana

By Ian Froeb | Tue, March 22, 2011

La Vallesana (Temporarily) Relocates

By Ian Froeb | Tue, February 8, 2011

La Vallesana Expands Patio

By Ian Froeb | Mon, August 16, 2010