Grabbing Street Tacos at Mercedes and Family — Get Yaklimated

Baby Joel was talking about authentic street tacos and where to find them in Yakima. There are several places in town to get authentic street tacos, but some of my favorites come from Mercedes and Family at 56th and Tieton. Time to get Baby Joel yaklimated.

This place is family-run and operated. Mercedes is a mom both to her staff and to the customers that come in. You can often see her making the awesome food behind the counter. It doesn't get more authentic than that.

We grabbed a few things for Baby Joel to try including the street tacos. Unlike standard tacos -- which seem to consist of a crunchy shell, seasoned ground beef with lettuce and tomatoes -- street tacos are, in my opinion, way better and the only taco you'll ever need. Soft, warm, homemade tortilla with meat of some kind, cilantro, onions and salsa and lime if needed.

We also grabbed a couple of Mexican Cokes -- which contain real sugar in a glass bottle -- a couple of tamales and a big beef burrito, which is everything they say it is. It's enormous! A couple of apple empanadas for dessert and we were more than good.

There are several authentic Mexican restaurants in Yakima, so this will be the first of many that we visit. Where should we take Baby Joel next?