No need to make a pilgrimage to Cherokee Street or Overland if you’ve got a taco itch in West County. Tucked under a hill on Manchester, just east of Woods Mill, perhaps hiding from nearby Costco and Walmart, La Morena Grill and Grocery offers a brief menu of The Right Stuff. Tacos, tortas, sopes and gorditas—all with various meats—plus homemade tamales and a few more substantial items to boot.
And while the pork tamales were excellent, the lengua taco left us sighing with pleasure. Not the chewy slices that leave the texture-averse cringing, this meat was cooked until it almost fell apart, the beefy juices keeping it moist. Served the Mexican way, on a couple of corn tacos with a sprinkle of Mexican oregano and a blessing of chopped white onion, the proffered lime juice and red (hot and smoky) or green (near-incendiary) salsa in squeeze bottles were superfluous. The pork a la pastor was spicy, and the chorizo on our sope spiked with a little cinnamon and some heat in the finish.
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Sparkling clean and lit well enough to do minor surgery, it’s a couple of steps down to the grocery, where an after-lunch browse shows a wide range of (labeled!) chiles and Mexican spices, as well as a lot of baked goods and other interesting comestibles.
Located in a disjointed strip mall and bookended by St. Louis landmarks Tucker’s Place and Uncle Bill’s, it’s part of an international journey that also includes Seema, an Indian grocery; Indian Kitchen restaurant; Monsoon,a Vietnamese restaurant; and Cafe Lazeez, a halal restaurant.
Keep in mind that La Morena stops serving at 6:00 p.m. and does a brisk takeout business. And also note it cannot be seen from the street as the door faces east.
by Joe and Ann Pollack
