Carne Asada Fries, Oh My: Try Elena's Taco Shop

Carne Asada Fries, Oh My: Try Elena's Taco Shop

Summer Ave. might boast the most taco shops per capita of any street in Memphis, which can make it a little hard for any given taqueria to stand out. Elena's does, though. The new California-style taco shop has homemade tortillas, tacos, tortas and some of the best loaded French fries in the city.

Elena's has a salsa bar with eight homemade salsas ordered from mildest (there's one that's actually labeled as weak sauce) to hottest. The sign on the hottest salsa warns that it may cause hallucinations. It didn't, but it did cause parts of my mouth to go numb when I ate some by accident.

Salsa bar, Elena's, Memphis, Tenn.

The main event, though, was the plate of carne asada fries, which are basically steak nachos with fries where the chips should be.

Carne Asada Fries, Elena's, Memphis, Tenn.

While the fries were crispy and perfect, they're not the most effective vehicle for the shredded beef, pico de gallo and cheese. Try though you might, It's nearly impossible to pick up a piece of meat with a French fry. I recommend attacking these with a fork.

Elena's is open Monday through Saturday for breakfast (which includes a lot of breakfast tacos), lunch and dinner. It's not a very big place, but it's bright and clean and the staff is friendly. The prices are crazy reasonable with most items under $10.

Go there:

Elena's Taco Shop

6105 Summer Ave. #101
Memphis, TN 38134

Elena's Taco Shop on Urbanspoon

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rm
no to be a stickler, but carne asada usually is a thinly cut slice of beef grilled. not shredded beef.
January 4, 2013 7:35pm
Jeff P>
Usually is the key word here rm. It can also be chopped or cubed as in the picture and the way they serve it on the streets in Mexico for tacos.
January 11, 2014 4:46pm
mexican marina…
Pretty nice post. I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon! Thank you.
February 14, 2014 2:27pm
deborah
I'm addicted to Elena's rolled tacos and steak tortas (sandwich). All the food is so fresh, and the service is fast and friendly. I have to go out of my way a bit to get there, but it's worth the drive.
March 23, 2014 1:39pm
vicki
Closest to real mexican food yet. Rolled tacos- with creamy guacamole is the best. Thin crisp, shredded beef- Just awesome. Only problem is the 45 min drive from DeSoto County.
July 5, 2014 2:11pm