Nice Folks Fresh Ingredients Clean Yet A Bit Run Down Bring Cash No problem with placing my order here, the sign clearly states the taco fillings. With an understanding of the definition of the proteins will get you some very good tacos on your plate. How many + tacos + choice of protein + cilantro & onions (yes/no) = your order. We all understand money, so your total will be given to you in dollars. Service is courteous, surfaces and prep area clean and the food is prepared as you watch. The refreshments are located in a soda cooler with a bottle opener tied to the handle using a length of string, serve yourself as the food is being prepared. On the counter you will find green and red salsas, hot sauce and plenty of fresh wedges of lime, this is a sort of fixins' bar. Now go grab a seat and enjoy some great food, the carnitas are the clear winner for me. I don't get the comparisons to other areas of the country as the neighborhood is made up of Mexican immigrants that cater to their community. Are folks really that surprised to find great tacos in a ethnic enclave, or perhaps the Mexicans that move to Brooklyn or California come from a culinary background? Psst: Passaic NJ Has Great Tacos! read more

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A real no frills place, but the home-style flavors did not disappoint!! We had two tacos carnitas and two with suaderos. The tortillas were soft and bursting with flavors of corn. So good, and even better after we noticed the ladies in the back pressing and grilling them by hand. Carnita is a pork shoulder, usually, that's first simmered and then roasted. It was great inside these soft corn toritllas, and topped with roughly chopped cilantro leaves and diced onion. The suadero...oh boy, that was surely the topper of our lunch. It's beef brisket...cooked down to a soft and tasty consistency. Topped off with the cilantro onion concoction...just a big hit to us! Accompanying the tacos, we grabbed a bit of medium spiced homemade hot sauce and a fresh tasting tomatillo jalapeno salsa verde to slog on top of our tacos. No beans, no rice, no need! These gems were all we needed! Together with the lime and tamarind soft drinks, the bill was $18. That's eight tacos and two bottled drinks. Not bad. What a great find this joint is! Just make sure you speak a bit of Spanish, or can at least get by with Spanglish or Kitchen Spanish. No speakey-de-Ingleesh here. Service was good, quick, and generous. We'll be going back here, perhaps tomorrow! :-) read more

Taqueria Brenda Lee - Business Card - Mexican Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Note: No one here speaks English. With that out of the way, these tacos were amazing! I had two carnitas and two chorizo. the chorizo was fantastic, the carnitas big chunks of pork and fat. All were served with sliced radish and lime wedges on the side, choice of roja or verde salsa, topped with tons of fresh cilantro and raw onion. on the side of the plate was grilled onion and whole scallions. I've been tasting them in my head over and over again. if you can get over the language barrier, and the no-nonsense storefront, then you need to come here. With a bottle of tamarind soda, the total was $9. It may have been higher if I took the gentlemen behind the counter's offer of a GPS unit. read more

Taqueria Brenda Lee - Mexican Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Me: "Hello" Taqueria Brenda Lee: "Hola" Me: (In my head) "Crap Lexy, remember your Spanish...think think!" Taqueria Brenda Lee: "Que quisieras" Me: "Hola, Me gustaria ordenar... tres of the chicken tacos, tres of the chorizo tacos, tres of the bistec tacos and tres of the carnitas tacos." Taqueria Brenda Lee: "Ok, that is good. To go?" Me: "Oh, you speak..Yes take out" Taqueria Brenda Lee: " Si a little English yes I speak" Me: (Blush red) "I'm sorry, thank you" I walk back to my husband and it hits me. HOLY CHORIZO.... I think I just ordered 36 TACOS by mistake! In the end, we had Tacos for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner and YES it was worth it! If you want AUTHENTIC, CHEAP, CASUAL HOOD STYLE MEXICAN TACOS then Brenda Lee is your gal. It's my own darn fault ;-) read more

Wanna feel like you are in Tijuana eating tacos that have been chopped on a tree stump and grilled by a local hombre - but minus the hookers, murderers and Federales? Brenda Lee is the place to go. Just as the other reviewers stated, this place is the real deal... hole in the wall, no Inglés se habla aquí. Just look at the picture here on Yelp of the menu on the wall - no prices. Who cares when the tacos are only 2 bucks each? They have some tongue twistingly hot salsas, self service bucket of limes, nopales and Jarrito to enjoy. I love the big cauldron of steaming yumminess of whatever the hell is simmering in it. Shit, it's probably tripe, head, ears and all kinds of other assorted biology parts that you avoided in high school. But that's part of the allure of Brenda Lee. If this repulses you then go elsewhere. If you want to eat like you are in the third world country that Mexico truly is, then you've come to the right place. You will most likely be the only Gringo here. But that is not a problem since they welcome everyone. The folks at the counter are really helpful for Spanish speaking-challenged people like me. I came on a Sunday morning around 11:30am with my wife and two daughters. The restaurant began filling up with Latinos who were dressed to the nines coming straight from church for an affordable and delicious lunch. Bring cash - no credit cards accepted. Stop at the bakeries along the block nearby for some marranitos, conchas and other artery-clogging desserts on the way home. I judge all tacos joints against Taqueria Coatazino in Jackson Hights, NY - which I still like better - but Brenda Lee saves me $25 in tolls over the GW and Triboro bridges, being closer to home. read more

Excellent for what it is, which is a very Latin American looking, feeling and smelling taco shack with about 6 tables, run by a single family. They make one thing, tacos. Your options: what you'll drink, what meat you'll fill the taco with, and what you want on top (salsa and/or lime), and whether you want nopales and fried shallots on the side. Orders are comprised of 4 tacos. BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU ORDER, we almost got charged $37. You can pick up to two meats per order. It looks like rural Mexico inside. Very simple one color paint on everything, tiles everywhere, tables and chairs. I've been to Mexico and other Latin American countries and if you woke up one day there without your memory and weren't allowed outside, you'd swear you were South-of-the-border. I have never had such good meat in a taco, it's simple but works so well with the extra spicy green salsa and lime juice splashed on. The family is adorable, dad cooks, mom washes dishes, the kids help with the orders and bussing. The little girl is absolutely adorable. Highly recommended for an authentic experience and taste. Not recommended for the picky, unadventurous and pretentious. read more

Alright, so I just saw a video online that will make you want to VOMIT! They show a person off loading a garbage can full of meat out of a Truck. The meat was being transferred in a Garbage Can that's dirty broken, and like nothing happened the worker comes outside and receives the meat in the garbage container and hauls inside like nothing happened. Check out this Video I saw that was posted by a person that saw it happen live: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=741794732509959 read more

I have to agree with the other reviewer, much like Brooklyn's 5th ave., the food I had at Taqueria Brenda Lee was seemed perfectly authentic. The price was $7 for 4 tacos, but I was able to get two for $3, which was more than enough for me. I had Carnitas, a pork taco. The meat was succulent, moist and tender. I had mine with cilantro, onion, radish, and green salsa. They were making the Tortillas by hand when I was there.. which was fantastic. In 5th Ave., I've often been served tacos that have TWO tortillas PER taco. At Brenda Lee I was given just one. I'm not sure of the how and why on One vs Two but I am happy to get just one... (less carbs). When I Googled Brenda Lee there is also a place by the same name in Dover NJ; I don't know if they are related businesses or not. read more

Passaic has to be the ultimate stronghold of Mexican food in the tri-state area. More sprawling and just as authentic as 5th avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn; Market St. and Monroe St. are the ones to explore. Brenda Lee has the best salsa for my money--its the avocado one that I'm talking about. It lubes up my carnitas tacos perfectly every time, with a good amount of heat. The carnitas themselves are moist, tender, and fatty. Yum! Good tortas too. The Brenda Lee in Paterson is good too, and has a cool hacked up butcher block that they chop shit on. read more

BEST TACOS I'VE HAD. Bar None. Have had tacos everywhere from Queens to Chicago to Los Angeles, and Brenda Lee in Passaic is my ultimate favourite. The meet is always prepared fresh, the girls are rolling the dough into tortillas before your very eyes, and the staff is very pleasant (Spanish is a MUST, however). I recommend the tacos de pollo, for it's cut right off the bone and chopped into your taco, as well as the Sunday special (believe it's pork roasted w/ pineapple). The carnitas are always a safe bet as well. Make sure you ask for nopales (cactus) as well, a little greasily prepared, but delicious. They have delicious horchata as well, and you will be stuffed and quenched for about $10 read more

I give this place 5 stars because its a simple little joint that makes really tasty food at a reasonable price. I am not rating it on ambiance because its the size of a walk in closet that sales tacos and soda. After reading numerous positive reviews, my husband and I decided to give this place a shot. Man, was it worth the trip. The place is a complete hole in the wall and no one speaks any English but if you are open to new experiences, you are going to love this place. Between the two of us, we split 12 tacos and had one drink each and our total came out to $25. Each taco is roughly 3 bites each and we could have stopped at 4 each but figured we would try as many flavors as we could get our hands on. I ordered 2 carnitas, a suadero, a buche (stomach), lengua (tongue) and a Oreja (ear) taco. My husband order a chicken, 2 chorizo, bistec, 2 carnitas tacos. Aside from the carnitas, my favorite was the ear taco. I know that most Americans are not down with ears but it was so flavorful and had a nice chew to it. It was a little on the salty side but so tasty. My husbands favorite was the chorizo. It was moist but has a nice little crust from the grill. It also had the faintest little kick. The condiments are really simple . There is a red sauce, a green sauce, limes and cilantro and onions. There is no frills involved and that's whats awesome. The flavors are so rich and simple, you don't need anything else getting in the way. read more

Very no frills place. Some people might be scared to eat here because of the look of the place. Don't judge by the looks. Really good tacos. The Carnitas tacos were a little fatty. The chorizo and the beef tacos were really good. You get four tacos per order. Take the time and try these out. read more

Don't go here whatever you do last time I passed by this place they were loading the meat in a garbage pail meanwhile it was raining the meet was just exposed it was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen I don't know where they get their products from I don't want to know where they get it from but the fact that the meet was just hanging out in a garbage can. Probably the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. read more

This place is dirty!! So disgusting notice that they don't even use gloves, they leave the bathroom and don't even use gloves. Also I saw a video of them dragging in a pill of meats from a garbage pail and a meat fell and they picked it up and put in back inside. That's soooo disgusting I hope this place closes down for being so dirty. DONT EAT HERE! read more