Taqueria Gonzalez is equal parts grocery store and restaurant located in a strip mall in Middleton. It’ll certainly satisfy your Mexican food cravings if you’re in the area.

First, let’s discuss the format. When you enter, an employee standing in front of a counter under the menu will take your order. You’ll then take a seat (FYI, there’s not much seating), and your food will be brought out to you. When you’re done, you’ll go to another counter, tell them what you ordered and then you’ll pay.

The menu consists of 10 items plus specials. Of course, I had to try the tacos ($2) at a taqueria. I liked my steak taco ($2) because the steak was juicy and tender, and there was enough flavor that I didn’t need any sauce. Other toppings include tinga, chorizo and for an extra charge, barbacoa.

The torta de jamon ($5.99) is huge. Despite the relatively high bread-to-meat ratio, the sandwich was enjoyable because of the lightly fried ham, crunchy peppers and fresh tomato and avocado. The regular tortas ($8.99) has more meat.

Other menu items include sopes ($3.50) and burritos ($8.99). You may notice the pricing here is inconsistent, as some items end in .99 cents, and others are rounded to .00 or .50.

One of the specials was the tamales ($7). Most of the ones I’ve ordered recently at various restaurants have been super dry, but fortunately, that was not the case here. The tamale and the chicken were both moist, although they both were fairly bland (the two kinds of table salsa helped). The accompanying Mexican rice was super fluffy, and the refried beans had zero taste.

Taqueria Gonzalez is open every day for lunch and dinner.