Celebrating 10 years, Tacos Las Penitas 3 opens new food truck location offering authentic Mexican food
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IDAHO FALLS — Celebrating 10 years, Tacos Las Penitas 3 is a hidden gem that recently opened a second location in Idaho Falls and serves authentic, savory Mexican food.
Tacos Las Penitas 3 owner Ernesto Ledesma told EastIdahoNews.com that his brother encouraged him to start a business. He did, and quickly found himself ready to expand. Tacos Las Penitas 3 now has two locations: its main restaurant at 115 South Higbee Avenue near 1st Street, and a new food truck at 1600 East Lincoln Road. Both locations are open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, except Wednesdays.
Ledesma said the business began as a food truck in 2016 at the Yellowstone Food Village and later became a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Higbee Avenue. On Facebook, Ledesma said that the restaurant opened in 2020.
Now, they’ve brought the original food truck back into the business.
While at the food truck location, EastIdahoNews.com sampled a variety of dishes.
The first dish I tried was their order of sopes, which are disks made of corn masa flour, filled with beans and a choice of meat, and topped with lettuce, onions, cilantro, cream and queso fresco.
These were fantastic, as the sope is fried, giving it the crunch and structure to hold all the toppings. The meat, carne asada, was well-cooked, and the toppings wrapped the dish up nicely. While sopes can get a bit messy to eat, they are worth a try.
The second dish I tried was their quesabirrias with a cup of consome, and it was delicious. The tortilla was very crispy, which I often find is rare in quesabirra tacos, and it was a pleasant surprise.
The barbacoa meat melted as soon as I took a bite, and it was very well seasoned. Overall, with the cooler weather coming in, this dish is a perfect fall option.
Lastly, we had three tacos with some of the meat options that they offer. In total, they offer 10 meat options, ranging from well-known classics like carne asada to campechano.
The three tacos we had were carnitas, tripe and adobada.
The tripe, made from a cow’s intestines, was crunchy and super delicious. If you’re unsure about this option, I definitely recommend giving it a try.
Overall, Tacos Las Penitas 3 is a must-try for any taco lovers out there in the community. While they may offer other options like tortas, asada fries or their Hot Cheetos burritos, there is something delicious for everyone to try.