It was a couple weekends ago when I attempted to try Tacos Cantu after a Texas Rangers baseball game. Unfortunately, it was quite late and the taco stand was closed. Also, this fairly deserted area between Arlington and Fort Worth was a bit more shady at night than I expected. So, my friend and I left with no tacos and a little concerned for our safety.
I decided to give Tacos Cantu, at the Shell gas station of Cooks Lane road on the I-30 freeway, another try but this time during my lunch hour. What I found was a regulars scene with several customers waiting in line to order. This was a good sign. As I placed my order, the woman working the register had some difficulty with the English language but we eventually got my order right, also a good sign.
My 5 tacos showed up with a large lemon wedge and one container of red hot sauce. I ordered two beef fajita, two pastor and one barbacoa. I also picked up a can of Dr Pepper, since the market did not have any of the usual Taqueria drink choices like Jarritos or Coca-Cola from Mexico.
The barbacoa taco was quite good and as noted in some of my earlier reviews, I find the barbacoa at gas station taco stands often slimy and unappetizing so it was great to finally get a decent barbacoa taco after so many failed attempts elsewhere. The meat was nicely cooked and the flavor was subtle yet tasty. All of the tacos were served with corn tortillas that literally came straight from a package and into the to-go container, chopped onions, cilantro and a few shreds of white cheese probably Queso Franco cheese from what I could tell.
Next up were some surprisingly outstanding pastor tacos. The flavor of the marinated pork was perfect! The tacos really didn’t need any hot sauce since it took away from the wonderful spice blend on the chunks of pork. I was really impressed with the pastor and found only a couple pieces that had some small pieces of a fat on them; otherwise, the pork was lean and juicy. It was unfortunate the corn tortillas were not cooked just a bit to help intensify the overall flavor of the taco. After two excellent pastor tacos, I was ready to be let down by some lesser tasting beef fajita tacos that were left.
The beef fajita tacos were quite good, not as good as the pastor tacos, but still the meat was flavorful, nicely cooked. Every bite had a good amount of flavor and the red hot sauce really made for an excellent beef fajita taco. The hot sauce had a generous helping of red pepper flakes and appeared to be made in-house. The consistency was rich and flavorful with plenty of heat for when you want to scoop up a small puddle of hot sauce inside the tortilla.
I’m glad I took another opportunity to give Tacos Cantu I try after missing out after the baseball game. One woman in line who had never been there either said she wanted to give it a try after seeing a co-worker get carryout from here earlier this week. It’s great seeing how Tacos Cantu is getting some good word of mouth marketing and from the looks of the line at lunch, the word is spreading.
Gas Station: Shell
Address: 1401 Cooks Ln Fort Worth, TX 76120
Rating (4 out of 5 oil drops):
Gas Station Tacos 
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