In Search of The Perfect Taco : Jalapenos and shredded beef, chicken and tortillas, and everything zesty--that’s what tasty Mexican creations are made of.

It started a long time ago. Eating was the thing to do. Soon it became a fairly sophisticated undertaking, and people were concocting flour wrappers for their food. The Aztecs and Mayans had masa --corn shucked and placed in a metate , crushed by the mortar and pestle. They would add some stuff, make a ball, go patty pat, and get this round thing. Let’s call it a tortilla!

Hernan Cortez landed at Campeche in 1519 and burned his ships. But he had brought along horses, pigs, goats and cattle. There were animals of both genders, and soon there were more of them.

Cortez determined that if he were to bring down the entire Aztec empire, he should have a few local friends. So with the help of his Mayan girlfriend and translator, Malinche, he communicated to the people that he was going to give them some of the animals to breed.

They had already given him several hundred pounds of gold. It came out to about a pound of gold per pound of animal. Not a bad deal, but those were the old days. The Mayans bred the animals, roasted the meat and rolled the meat in the tortillas. Thus they invented the taco, which has been with us for hundreds of years.

Before going further, I have to admit I am prejudiced--I love Mexican food. I once drove 7,000 miles through Mexico, living for the most part on tacos. I know my tacos.

I have eaten Mexican food in many countries, and generally when you order a taco, it comes in the hard shell. Almost nowhere in Mexico, with the possible exception of border towns, is a taco served in the hard casing. Tostadas, yes, tacos, no.

If you want to eat real Mexican food, order the soft taco.

Before moving to Oxnard, my wife, Katy, and I lived in Malibu and we would drive to Oxnard in search of the perfect taco. At one restaurant there, we had taco de cabeza . I should amend that. I had taco de cabeza while my wife looked in the other direction. Taco de cabeza means taco of the head. The cheek meat is shaved from the skull. It is wonderful.

So, when the chance came for me to go in search of the best tacos in Ventura County and then write about them, I jumped at it.

One caveat on reviewing food: Anybody who goes to a restaurant and writes about food must be subjective. I aim for objectivity, but no matter how scientifically I approach this, my taste buds do the talking.

Which isn’t to say that I don’t have a methodology. I do. In fact, I use a very simple axiom: If you like the frijoles and the salsa, in all probability you will like the food.

In testing these various restaurants, I came to the conclusion that 99% of the time this was true.

A little hint: The best frijoles and salsa can be found at El Dorado and Somis Market.

Familia Diaz, 249 S. 10th St., Santa Paula

I used to go with a friend to Santa Paula Airport where we would go up in an open cockpit biplane. After our “mission” of Immelmann turns and hammerhead stalls and a series of other maneuvers that would make the average person sick, we would go eat at a terrific restaurant called Quince Letras.

That was years ago. It is now called Familia Diaz. The restaurant is beautiful, the service is good, the company was excellent, and the food completely gringo.

I was seated at a nice table promptly after entering. Then I asked the waitress what she thought was the dumbest question of her life. “Do you serve Mexican food?” She insisted they did. They had ground beef, beef and shredded beef--nothing that might make my wife shriek in disgust.

I asked her to tell the chef that I wanted a taco dish of the chef’s choice, but it had to be authentic. Out came a carne asada , which was excellent. The frijoles were good, the salsa just right. The only disappointment was the rice, which was just OK.

So, my advice is that anytime you go into what you feel is a Mexican-gringo restaurant, do what I did--make it the chef’s problem to provide a good meal.

El Taco Loco, 611 S. Oxnard Blvd, Oxnard

Of all my experiences, this was the strangest. I had bypassed El Taco Loco many times, trying to expand the areas of eating. Then one day I was driving by and thought, let’s give it a try.

This is a small hole-in-the-wall taco stand with video games on the right in a smaller hole in the wall. I ordered tacos and waited. Ninety cents apiece, sounded OK. Everyone was extremely pleasant. Then I looked to my left and discovered that inside is a whole restaurant, which seats up to 110 people.

Walk in and you are back in Mexico. It is very comfortable, and the carnitas are unique as far as I’m concerned. El Dorado, one of my favorites, is 50 feet away. There you get carnitas made from succulent pork. But this restaurant has both crispy and succulent pork mixed together. I’ve never had this. My assumption is that they cook two different kinds and mix them together.

The taco de cabeza is wonderfully juicy.

I’ve gone back several more times, and the people are just as nice and the food is just as good. They have a total of seven different tacos, all fine, with one exception: those made with the animal that supposedly eats tin cans. I just don’t like goat meat, but that’s my prejudice.

Somis Market, 3319 Somis Road, Somis

When I first arrived in the county I had never even heard of Somis. Then more and more people began telling me about the Somis Market. Taking out my trusty Ventura County map, I spied Somis just north of Camarillo.

A friend had said that it was a one-horse town. I never saw a horse, but I had some of the best food I have ever eaten. We got into the car and drove, finally getting to Somis Road.

There, on the left, was a little green and white building with a sign saying Somis Market. I entered through a door on the left and saw cans of frijoles, jalapenos and other such things. There were people of all ages, all colors. It was the United Nations gone West. I watched the people eating, noting their expressions. What they were eating, I discovered later, was superb, and their expressions were filled with ecstasy. My friend and I ordered tacos de: papas (potato), chorizo (sausage), ground beef (real tacos are not made with ground beef), cabeza , pollo (chicken), carne asada (steak meat) and lengua (tongue), each $1.35 to $1.45.

The most expensive item on the menu is $5.

Menudo, the menu says, is served on Saturdays. So you don’t have to go to Somis Market on Saturdays if you don’t want to. But do go sometime.

Angela’s, 6333 S. Meta, Oxnard

Once in a while you get an inspiration. I was walking down the street, thinking about where I was going to get my next taco, when a police car passed me. I thrust my arm in the air and yelled, “Officer!” The brakes went on, the car screeched into reverse. I smiled and asked where they would go for a good taco. They seemed nonplussed; I assume not many policemen in Oxnard are halted in the street and asked where to get a good taco. But I managed to convince them, with hands well away from my body, that I was serious. One suggested a restaurant that I will get to later, and the other suggested Angela’s.

So off I went to Angela’s. Naugahyde chairs, a man reading a newspaper, a stove, a counter, and Angela (from Michoacan) with a couple of other women. I asked them what were the best tacos in the house. Carne asada and machaca (shredded beef and eggs) and ropa vieja (shredded beef). OK, give me some of those. Very, very good. If you’re looking for authentic, down-home Mexican cooking, try Angela’s. If you’re looking for decor, as they say, go elsewhere.

Mercado La Plaza, 500 E. 5th St., Oxnard

This place is an experience. We were once in Oxnard having lunch with some Spanish friends with whom we were trying to avoid political talk. These people felt Eisenhower and Goldwater were communist dupes and that Nixon was a little far left, so one didn’t even mention Kennedy or Johnson.

We were leaving the restaurant and going down 5th Street when they spied a sign in the sky, proclaiming, “Franco’s.” My friends thought Francisco Franco was the world’s greatest leader, so we had to drop in.

Today, Franco’s has become the Mercado la Plaza, and if you want anything Mexican to eat, come here. They have everything. Best of all, right in front, is a taco stand. You can buy pounds of cooked meats, from carne asada , machaca , lengua , pollo and much more.

Or you can order a taco or burrito. The tacos are $1.29 and all are very good. If you go for takeout, buy the meat at the stand, then go to the back of the store where there is a tortilla factory. The corn is mashed into masa , and a machine spews out thousands of tortillas, warm in the package. Then go to the salsa section. Even in my travels in Mexico, I have never seen such an array of salsas, from very gentle to fiery. Definitely a place to visit.

Familia Melgoza, 155 E. 7th St., Oxnard

Now here is a place worth trying. As the name suggests, it is a family restaurant and very comfortable. You are led to the table by Jose Luis, a very personable man, whose wife runs the kitchen, and you are made to feel at home. It’s a nice atmosphere, and there is a picture of Emiliano Zapata on the wall, glaring down from behind his mustache.

There are a couple of things in Mexican cooking that I don’t like. One is mole , a spicy chili and chocolate sauce, and the other, I already mentioned, is goat. But I keep trying, looking constantly for a tasty mole or birria de chiva , which is goat meat. I have failed.

In Spain, there is a dish called cordero , which is baby goat leg, maybe my favorite Spanish dish, but birria de chiva brings me to my knees. Why I keep trying to find a palatable version of goat meat doesn’t make much sense, but I did it again.

My wife, however, to keep me on an even keel for this assignment, ordered tacos de carne asada and carnitas , along with a couple of cheese enchiladas. I ate half of her order, then ordered tacos de cabeza and lengua . The carnitas were a little dry, but the rest was extremely good.

El Dorado, 601 S. Oxnard Blvd., Oxnard

For my taste, these tacos are the best. Get the carnitas platter for $9.50. The carnitas , served on a huge platter, are surrounded by vegetables of the season. Flour or corn tortillas are served and you make your own tacos. The meat here is incredibly succulent and certainly among the best I have ever eaten. El Dorado has mariachi music on the weekends and a full bar. And there is a jukebox filled with songs about beautiful girls with beautiful eyes.

The carnitas platter will generally serve four people. Chicken and meat platters are also offered, which are good but not comparable to the carnitas .

As far as atmosphere goes, it is all Naugahyde, very clean and recently renovated. Lots of neon. Don’t go to El Dorado to propose. Go to eat.

Tacos D.F., 636 S. C St.

It was our first night in Oxnard and I drove up and down streets not far from my home, searching for a home-base taco stand. A place to which I could walk, hold my gringo chin high and have a good meal. I was in luck. Tacos D.F. is not far. D.F. stands for Distrito Federal , which is Mexico City and its environs. The owner greeted me with a great smile as if he knew me.

I ordered Tacos Al Pastor, Tacos de Buche, and one of cabeza and lengua , knowing full well that I would disgust my wife. I succeeded. I love my wife, but I also love real Mexican food. And that’s what I had that evening. The cost of each taco was 50 cents. Three bucks for two people. That’s a deal, perhaps the best in town.

La Pocha, 609 Cooper Road, Oxnard

The restaurant is in La Colonia. While I was eating, a train went by, making all the proper train noises.

You sit in their little patio, where there are three tables, and you eat, if you will excuse the expression, al fresco.

It’s a funny little building, shared with office workers, and you look up and down the street and swear you’re in Mexico. The sun is bright and you order various juices, all made in the restaurant.

I realize that tacos were the thing, so we ordered tacos de pollo , carnitas and carne asada , but it said that menudo calientito , or tripe stew, was a specialty. It was very good.

The tacos were fine, but the salsa wasn’t. Altogether, I liked the place, particularly sitting out in the sun, and the extraordinary hospitality of the owners.

El Taco de Mexico, 112 7th St.

This restaurant was introduced to me by friends in Malibu. It’s funky and the food is very good. The tacos and burritos, in fact, are sensational. The people are nice, there are places to sit--once again on Naugahyde. And over the years I’ve come back many times. This place gets very close to having a perfect taco.

Cielito Lindo, 637 S. Oxnard Blvd., Oxnard

This is going to be one of the strangest reviews I’ve ever done. I’ve never liked Cielito Lindo. The atmosphere is OK, the drinks are good, but the food is gringoized; it’s not Mexican food.

The thing is, when my mother recently visited us in Oxnard and heard that I was doing this article, she asked specifically that I be kind to Cielito Lindo; she loved the place. She said how good the chilies rellenos were, how good the enchiladas were, and most of all, the margaritas.

OK, I admit I may be straying from my job, but my Mom wanted to be heard.